The Great Depression, a time in the United States where the national economy caused many hardships and struggles among citizens throughout the country. Beginning on October 29, 1929, proceeding through the 1930s and coming to an end in 1939, the Great Depression put a damper on the economy of the United States. The effects of the Great Depression were felt in every corner of the United States, however, economic centers throughout the country were hit harder than rural areas, such as the City of Philadelphia. In 1930, Philadelphia was the third largest city in the United States, with a population of roughly 1,951,000, thus meaning that one the city of Philadelphia was one of the largest cities contributing to the national economy at the time. Philadelphia felt the effects of the Great Depression, when thirty of the eighty-nine banks located in the city failed, deposit rates fell at an alarming rate, and homeowners struggled to pay their mortgages. The Great Depression led to many emerging policies throughout the …show more content…
At the time Philadelphia was known as “The workshop of the world” due to the jobs in the shipyard building ships for World War I, textile plants throughout the city as well as a large food processing industry. Although these industries had been booming throughout the start of the 20th century, Philadelphia saw an increase in unemployment before the Great Depression even began. Unemployment was at ten percent in April of 1929, roughly six months before the stock market crash, this unemployment was caused by the movement of textile plants as well as plants in other industries moving to new areas in the region such as the Reading, Pennsylvania, a small city located outside of Philadelphia. The relocation of these factories led to many losing their jobs as people in the new location were hired to work in the
During 1928, the stock market continued to roar, as average price rose and trading grew; however as speculative fever grew more intense, the market began to fall apart around 1929. After the stock market crash, a period began that lasted for a full decade, from 1929 to 1939, where the nation plunged into the severest and the most prolonged economic depression in history - the Great Depression. During this inevitable period, the economy plummeted and the unemployment rate skyrocketed due to poor economic diversification, uneven distribution of wealth and poor international debt structure. The United States began a period of uninterrupted prosperity and economic expansion during the 1920s, coining the term, the roaring twenties. Automobiles and construction became the most important and excessively relied industries in the nation as a result of the assembly line and other innovations.
In the Roaring Twenties, people started buying household materials and stocks that they could not pay for in credit. Farmers, textile workers, and miners all got low wages. In 1929, the stock market crashed. All of these events started the Great Depression. During the beginning of the Great Depression, 9000 banks were closed, ending nine million savings accounts. This lead to the closing of eighty-six thousand businesses, a European depression, an overproduction of food, and a lowering of prices. It also led to more people going hungry, more homeless people, and much lower job wages. There was a 28% increase in the amount of homeless people from 1929 to 1933. And in the midst of the beginning of the Great Depression, President Hoover did nothing to improve the condition of the nation. In 1932, people decided that America needed a change. For the first time in twelve years, they elected a democratic president, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Immediately he began to work on fixing the American economy. He closed all banks and began a series of laws called the New Laws. L...
During the Great Depression, millions of families lost their jobs, homes, and depleted their savings in both urban and rural areas. In 1930, 15 million people became unemployed due to the Dust Bowl. Millions of families lost their jobs, homes, and depleted their savings in both urban and rural areas. Out of the 15 million, one million citizens moved to California between 1935 and 1940 in search of work. This made the population increase from 1.3 million Americans to 5.7 million.
With little to no work available, people were looking for jobs elsewhere and many were looking in the big cities.
Heaps of civilians wanted to work for the world fair so they came to Chicago. However, there was an abundance of people present and the fair only took a portion of them. At the end of October, the Chicago World Fair ended and the country was in a substantial economic crisis. The working class and even a large number of companies filed for bankruptcy. The social classes were forced to think about their families and forget about the fair. Citizens around the country hoped that the economy would rise up with the fair’s success. However, all of the money that America earned did not stipulate the economy. The thousands of people who had jobs at the fair were now unemployed. The vast amount of people who came to Chicago thinking they would obtain a job since the fair began were now unemployed. For example, look at the Pullman’s Railroad Company and what they did to the workers. They made the apartment's rent 25% higher than the city and cut back 25% on wages (VandeCreek). The reason why the wage cuts and apartment raise occurred was that unemployment was so high that the workers knew they could not fight back. The Chicago fair truly changed history as it was chronologically right next to the Panic of 1893. Luckily, the economy started rising to shape the twentieth century. "Late in the 19th century American manufacturing started to migrate from the eastern seaboard to the burgeoning Midwest in search of cheaper labor, more raw materials, and cheaper power"(Lowery). All of the inventions may not have helped early on, but towards the end of the 19th century, it truly did. All in all, the fair caused an economic distress as shown by the Panic of 1893 however, it helped towards the end bringing a stable economy into the twentieth
n the history of the United States The Great Depression was the most detrimental economic depression to ever happen. It lasted from 1929 to 1939. There were many things that caused the Great Depression. Historians and Economist believe the stock market crash was one of the first causes that lead to the Great Depression. The stock market had just reached record highs the summer of 1929, but had started to decline in September. On October 24th, the stock market plunged and five days later it crashed. Many people were in a panic. The value was lost by 12 percent and wiping out $14 billion of investments. With in only 2 more months, more than $40 billion dollars were lost by stockholders. The economy was destroyed and America entered into the
The Great Depression was one of the most important historical events that has happened within the last century that impacted every Americans life one way or another. There were many factors that could be an explanation of why The Great Depression happened, but there is no one definitive list of the reasons of what caused The Great Depression. It was a mixture of events in the United States and outside of it that probably led to this period of time to happen. The main reason that everyone could agree on was the event of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Because of The Crash, it made people go on a bank run which made thousands of banks to close because they simply did not have all the money for all the people wanting to withdraw their savings. Because everyone was trying to take their savings out, most people were turned down by the bank and essentially lost of their savings in the bank. The banks were failing and because they had no more money left, this stopped the banks from having available credit for people to use which made matters even worse for the people. This leads people to poverty and were left with nothing. Because people were poor and were scared of spending their money now, it made people stop buying extra things that weren't essential to live. This was the cause of the unemployment rates during this time period because if no one was buying anything, then there was no reason to keep extra workers for things people are not buying.
The Great Depression was felt worldwide, in some countries more than others. During this time, many Americans had to live in poor conditions. In the United States, 25 percent of the workers and 37 percent of all nonfarm workers lost their jobs (Smiley 1). Unemployment rates had increased to 24.9 percent during 1933 (Shmoop 1). Unable to pay mortgages, many families lost their homes.
The Great Depression was in no way the only depression the country has ever seen, but it was one of the worst economic downfalls in the United States. As for North America and the United States, the Great Depression was the worst it had ever seen. In addition to North America, the Depression greatly affected Europe and other various countries throughout the world significantly during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The Great Depression was caused by the collapse of the Stock Market, which happened in October of 1929. The crash exhausted about forty percent of the paper values of common stocks. It was the worst depression due to the fact that at the time of the Great Depression the government involvement in the economy was higher than it had ever been. A unique government agency had been set up exclusively to prevent depressions and their related troubles for instance bank panics. All of ...
The Industrial Revolution in America began to develop in the mid-eighteen hundreds after the Civil War. Prior to this industrial growth the work force was mainly based in agriculture, especially in the South (“Industrial Revolution”). The advancement in machinery and manufacturing on a large scale changed the structure of the work force. Families began to leave the farm and relocate to larger settings to work in the ever-growing industries. One area that saw a major change in the work force was textile manufacturing. Towns in the early nineteen hundreds were established around mills, and workers were subjected to strenuous working conditions. It would take decades before these issues were addressed. Until then, people worked and struggled for a life for themselves and their families. While conditions were harsh in the textile industry, it was the sense of community that sustained life in the mill villages.
The Great Depression was the biggest and longest lasting economic crisis in U.S history. The Great depression hit the united states on October 29, 1929 When the stock market crashed. During 1929, everyone was putting in mass amounts of their income into the stock market. For every ten dollars made, Four dollars was invested into the stock market, thats forty percent of the individual's income (American Experience).
The longest-lasting economic downfall in the history of the United States was the Great Depression. The Great Depression generated close after the stock market crash. The stock market crash presented itself on October 1929. The stock market crash pushed Wall Street into hectic terror which eradicated millions of investors. Since the crash of the stock market, over the next numerous years, consumer spending and investment dropped. In consideration of consumer spending and investment dropping it caused steep declines in industrial manufacturing and rising levels of unemployment. Rising unemployment was caused by companies that were failing and laying off workers. When the Great Depression reached its all-time low, before 1933, some thirteen to
The Great Depression is known as the greatest time of recession in American history. Many factors contributed to this hard time. With the stock market boom in the 1920’s, our country was filled with optimism for the future. Although there were signs of problems to come former President Herbert Hoover was just as convinced as the nation that they were only going through a rough patch and would be back on their feet in no time. That was until the stock market crash of 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market crash led to bank and company failures. Many people became unemployed and had to leave their homes. Families also had to move away because of the drought that caused dust storms and ultimately the Dust Bowl. Soon enough, thousands were migrating to find jobs elsewhere. Eventually when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office, he presented America with “The New Deal,” the plan that would save America and bring the nation up and out of the recession.
The Great Depression was a period of first-time decline in economic movement. It occurred between the years 1929 and 1939. It was the worst and longest economic breakdown in history. The Wall Street stock market crash started the Great Depression; it had terrible effects on the country (United States of America). When the stock market started failing many factories closed production of all types of good. Businesses and banks started closing down and farmers fell into bankruptcy. Many people lost everything, their jobs, their savings, and homes. More than thirteen million people were unemployed.
Economic depression in 1873 was the main factor in setting off the 10% wage cuts and shortening of work days in the railroad business. In 1877, Laborers took action by seizing control of the rails by sequestering the rail switches and by blockading freight trains, only letting passenger trains through. Strikes broke out in many cities including Baltimore where 10 protesters and bystanders were killed by the local militia. Engulfed in rage, the laborers rampaged through the city destroying all things pertaining to trains. Only after Hayes was called for help did the real action begin. In Pittsburgh, the National Guard was called to quell another...