Great Depression
argumentative Essay
893 words
The Great Depression is an event in our nation's history that dramatically changed the lives of America’s people in the 1930s and beyond. After a decade of excess, prosperity and happiness, the Depression threw our nation into a spiraling decline, the likes of which we had never seen. Hints of these difficult times have been experienced again more recently as our country battled through the Great Recession. A number of similarities and differences between the Depression of the 1930s and the Recession of the late 2000s decade are noteworthy. The Great Depression altered American social fabric in the 1930s greatly. With unemployment peaking at 25% in 1933 (Beyer), a large percentage of people in our country were struggling to provide for themselves and their families. As a result, crime rates soared. With many unemployed women, prostitution was on the rise. Suicide rates rose dramatically. Alcoholism became rampant, and many people switched from using expensive cigars to cheaper, but less safe, cigarettes. Enrollment in college dropped dramatically, with many schools shutting down completely. Changes in the areas of wealth, education, rate of employment, crime and regional values dramatically the social fabric of our country in the 1930s and beyond. The economic and social climates of the 1920s and the 1930s were dramatically different in many ways. In the year 1920, the average net income was $3,269.40 (IRS 1920). In 1934, the average net income was $3,125.42 (IRS 1924). A difference of $143.98 may not seem like much, but it was quite significant back then. Adding to this difference is the fact that unemployment rates in the 1930’s were dramatically higher than during the 1920’s. In the 1930s, The boom and mass production of consu... ... middle of paper ... ...d never seen. We have experienced these difficult times more recently as our country battles through the Great Recession. We can learn from the similarities and differences between the Depression of the 1930s and the Recession of the late 2000s decade so we can mitigate devastating economic downturns in the future. Works Cited Beyer, Lisa. "THEN & NOW: THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE." Workforce Management 91.7 (2012): 29. ProQuest. Web. 8 June 2014. "STATISTICS OF INCOME FOR 1920." The Bulletin of the National Tax Association 8.9 (1923): 2. IRS. Government of the United States of America. Web. 8 June 2014. "STATISTICS OF INCOME FOR 1934." The Bulletin of the National Tax Association 8.2 (1936): 5. IRS. Government of the United States of America. Web. 8 June 2014. Johnson, Eddie B. "Bill Will Restore Trust in System." Roll Call May 10 2010. ProQuest. Web. 8 June 2014 .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression changed america's lives in the 1930s and beyond. it threw our nation into a spiraling decline, the likes of which we had never seen.
- Analyzes how the great depression altered american social fabric in the 1930s and beyond. with unemployment peaking at 25% in 1933, many people were struggling to provide for themselves and their families.
- Compares the economic and social climates of the 1920s and the 1930s.
- Explains the similarities and differences between the great depression of the 1930’s and the recession of this century.
- Explains that the great depression changed the lives of america's citizens socially and economically in the 1930s and beyond.
- Describes the statistics of income for 1920, the bulletin of the national tax association 8.9 (1923): 2.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- comparative
- The Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression When a person hears the words “The Great Depression,” almost everyone thinks of the worst economic times in the United States. The Great Depression started in the late 1920s and continued on until the early 1940s. It is known as being “the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the western industrialized world” (History.com). We can learn from the occurrences during The Great Depression that government involvement is the deciding factor of whether an economy will expand or continue to shrink during a recession.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the farmers' struggle happened because of the dramatic decrease in food prices and the loss of export markets following world war i.
- Explains that the great depression was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the western industrialized world.
- Explains that people were desperate to find work, and riots broke out when it came to food and job opportunities. hoover underestimated the seriousness of the economic downturn and was beat by franklin delano roosevelt.
- Explains smiley, gene, and nelson, cary. "about the great depression." modern american poetry.
1596 wordsRead More - How the New Deal Transcends Mere Economic Statisticsanalytical essayThe Great Depression of the 1930s is a period in history that will never be forgotten all around the world. It is described as the worst economic slump ever to have an effect on the United States, and as a result the rest of the industrialized world. The Depression brought with it a number of consequences for instance a huge decline in the standards of living of the working class, the disintegration of numerous nations' economies and mass political disturbance and division.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the agricultural adjustment act raised crop prices by eradicating surplus generated. the government rewarded farmers $200 million to cultivate less than 10 million acres of crop.
- Explains that civilian conservation corps provided employment opportunities to young men to build up parks, plant trees, and other projects to avoid another dust bowl.
- Explains that nira provided money to several states to offer employment in the construction of community buildings.
- Explains that it provided insurance to people who were retired and of the age of 65 years or older.
- Describes the great depression as the worst economic slump ever to have an effect on the united states and the rest of the industrialized world.
- Explains how the great depression impacted america's economy, and how other european countries faced high war debts.
- Explains that president herbert hoover was opposed to any type of federal welfare. he and directors of business, banking, and labor worked collectively to improve the economy.
- Analyzes how the second new deal helped the economy by spending at the bottom, and the national labor relations act prevented intimidation and coercion in breaking up unions.
1650 wordsRead More - The Great Depression in the United Statesexplanatory essayThe era of the 1930's through the 1940's is one of the darkest periods in America’s history. It was a time of despair for all Americans. This dreadful time was caused by various reasons and hit America when it was least expected. It also had many effects which left an impact on America still up to this day. At that time, there was no abundance of anything: no jobs, no food, and certainly no abundance of money. However, there was surely an abundance of sadness. America had no hope since the money was a thin, green line, and there was no food or clean water to drink. The monstrosity began on the year of 1930 and lasted up to the year of 1940 or in some places even more. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were one of the most famous events in America's history caused during this time. This period of time impacted the economy, unemployment rate, other foreign countries, and the many lives of the people.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the era of the 1930s through the 1940s was a time of despair for all americans. it was caused by various reasons and left an impact on america to this day.
- Explains that the dust bowl was a horrific event for the people in the 1930's. it destroyed millions of acres of land and ruined several homes.
- Describes the dust bowl as a man-made and natural disaster that damaged america's agriculture in the prairies.
- Explains how poor farming methods led to massive dust storms. in 1934, a two-day storm removed large amounts of topsoil in buffalo, boston, cleveland, new york, and washington d.c.
- Explains that the black blizzards turned days to night. dead animals were covered in two inches of dirt. one storm even left 12 million pounds of dust in chicago.
- Explains how the bad weather caused 5,000 americans to move or be homeless during the dust bowl. they describe how california's police established a bum-blockade at its borders to keep migrants out.
- Explains that wages were too low to get migrants out of poverty. tulare county had two children dying each day and fifty babies died of diarehea and enteritis in one picking season.
- Explains how the federal surplus relief corporation (fsrc) slaughtered pigs to stabilize prices, and planted trees across the great plains.
- Explains that the drought ended in 1939 and regular rainfall increased land value. the dust bowl helped sustain a positive relationship between the government and the farmers.
- Explains that the american crisis was famously known as the great depression. it was a period of high unemployment rates, low productivity, bankruptcy, foreclosures, bank failures and homelessness.
- Explains that the stock market crash of 1929 was the most major cause that led to the great depression. the dow jones industrial average fell by 13% in less than eight weeks and lost 89% after black tuesday.
- Explains that banks began to fail immediately after the stock market crash, leaving banks with no or little money to give to businesses and farmers. because the banks failed, they eventually shut down.
- Explains that banks stopped giving loans as freely as they used to. businesses and farmers went broke, making america's banking crisis even worse.
- Explains that people were worried about their money, so they started saving it. this led to a lower number of items being produced in factories.
- Explains how the great depression impacted the lives of families. the west african nation of cameroon gave america three dollars and seven cents in relief.
- Analyzes how the hawley-smoot tariff, an american economic policy with europe, was supposed to improve america's economy, but instead it made it suffer even more.
- Explains that hoover tried to decrease the unemployment rate by creating more jobs, but it made the economy suffer even more than it already had.
- Analyzes the effects of the great depression on the economy, unemployment, and people's lives.
- Explains how the great depression affected countries such as germany, france, south africa, and canada. these countries depended on america's trade and went into some small crisis.
- Explains that the great depression took a lot of hard work to get america back to where it used to be. president hoover failed to do anything effective to help rebuild the america, and franklin delano roosevelt got elected easily.
- Describes how fdr shut down all banks until they were stabilized, and established the new deal, which helped improve america's economy and got it back on track.
- Explains that the great depression didn't end until world war ii, when people and industries worked hard to provide supplies for the war. congress cut top income tax rates from 94% to 82% and repealed the excess profits tax.
- Opines that the great depression was a struggle for america, but america fought back and found solutions to the problem.
2549 wordsRead More - The Great Depression in the United Statescomparative essayThe United States? Downfall Screams, tears, and cries for help were all part of America's downfall. From 1929 through 1941 there was only one thing that was plentiful, sorrow. During this time the United States was faced with another obstacle. It changed America in many ways.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the stock market crash in the united states caused businesses to close, banks to fall, and many people to become unemployed.
- Explains that there was an immense disparity between the country's productive capacity and the ability of people to consume during the great depression.
- Explains that women, men, and children had to pitch in order to survive. the government helped bring money to the family unit.
- Explains that farmers were asked to make voluntary reductions in crop prices, and then reimbursed for the loss. in the mid to late 1930s people left the farm life.
- Concludes that the great depression was one of the best learning experiences the united states has ever seen.
933 wordsRead More - Causes of the Great Depressionexplanatory essayThe Great Depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in American history, and was highly avoidable. Although it may have caused many horrific events to happen, the depression was a valuable lesson to America and the entire world. Now, we know to avoid outrageously high tariffs, extreme deflation, excessive “credit buying”, and innumerable loans. But we still haven’t evolved out of our greedy, dense minds.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in american history. it affected all of the us from sea to shining sea.
- Explains that the great depression was caused by the smoot-hawley tariff, which inflated the price of imported goods up to fifty percent.
- Explains that credit buying led to mass consumer debts, unreliable (or unpaid) loans, and a multitude of banks failing.
- Explains that americans were too ignorant to realize what was happening is a pretty valid cause for the great depression.
- Explains that the great depression was the most catastrophic economic disaster in american history, and was highly avoidable.
710 wordsRead More - The Great Depression Of The Roaring Twentiesanalytical essayDuring the economic boom of the roaring twenties the average American was buying cars and household appliances, however most of those items were bought on credit, with the production of more goods and rising personal debts, people could not sustain their way of life. On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed and triggered the great depression, what was said to be the worst economic collapse in history. Lasting from the end of 1929 until the early 1940s, more than 15 million Americans became unemployed. The great depression brought on social disruption, with an increase in crime individuals would do just about anything to put food on the table, more and more people were malnourished, some even turned to suicide as an option. Men were hit the hardest because they were expected to provide for their families, the percentage of women in the work force increased with them working in the traditional female fields of work. women who were desperate to pay the bills or feed their families would end up turning toward what was called the “world’s oldest profession” President He...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how franklin delano roosevelt's new deal, a series of economic measures that were designed to lighten the worst of the depression, brought on social disruption.
- Describes how huey "kingfish" long, a louisiana senator, craved power and attention. he supported roosevelt and the new deal, but criticized fdr for not doing enough for the poor.
- Explains that charles coughlin, a catholic radio priest from detroit, was an opponent of roosevelt. he criticized communism, the president's administration, and capitalism.
714 wordsRead More - The Glass Menagerie Analysisanalytical essayLife in America during 1929 through the early 1940s was difficult. On October 29 1929 the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. The Great Depression was known to be “the worst economic collapse in the history of the world” and began in the United States. More than fifteen million Americans became unemployed, which is one fourth of the working people. President Hoover underestimated the Depression and called it “a passing incident in our national lives” and told the Americans it would be over in sixty days. “An empty pocket turned inside out was called a ‘Hoover Flag.’” When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president, he worked quickly to get rid of the Depression by passing the Emergency Banking Relief Act. Afterword, jobs for women and children grew, and people made habits of careful spending and saving. In 1930, fifty percent of blacks were unemployed. Their jobs had been taken away from them and given to whites. Eleanor Roosevelt set up the New Deal Programs and prohibited discrimination to solve the problem (“Great Depression”). Many women created what seems now like everyday things. New inventions had made lives easier in the twentieth century. The windshield wiper was invented by Mary Anderson. When she was traveling there was a blizzard and the trolley car driver repeatedly had to stop to wipe off the glas...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that most of the plays written and performed in twentieth century america were based off of what was happening in the world at that time. the glass menagerie is set after the great depression.
- Describes the great depression as the worst economic collapse in the history of the world.
- Narrates how katherine blodgett invented non-reflecting glass, and how stephanie kwolek invented kevlar, which is five times stronger than steel.
- Explains that american plays were based off of current events and influenced the style of acting in america towards naturalism.
- Explains that tennessee williams was the leading playwright of his age. his family was not very normal, his father was a traveling salesman, and his mother was high-minded.
- Analyzes how the glass menagerie was set in a st. louis apartment after the great depression.
1420 wordsRead More - Contrast Between The 1920's And The 1930'sexplanatory essayThe 1920s were known as carefree and relaxed. The decade after the war was one of improvement for many Americans. Industries were still standing in America; they were actually richer and more powerful than before World War I. So what was so different in the 1930’s? The Great Depression replaced those carefree years into ones of turmoil and despair.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the 1920s were known as carefree and relaxed. the decade after the war was one of improvement for many americans.
- Explains that the decade after the first world war saw tremendous change. progressivism was a leading factor of world war i and in the 1920's the evidence can be seen.
- Explains that refrigeration allowed for better production and transportation of food products, making exporting food a valuable agricultural economy.
- Explains that america was on fire during the period of excitement, with new inventions making life easier for women and men.
- Explains that the word "flapper" was used to describe the new modern woman. women's movement during world war i helped launch women into a new era.
- Explains that the labor force was reaping the benefits of the union strikes during the first world war and the demands that increased wages for workers.
- Explains that the 1920's sounded like a time of peace and relaxation after war and mayhem. this era of triumph was shaken with the great depression of the 1930’s. in the next decade to come, many changes will take place.
- Explains that the stock market took a dive on october 29, 1929, losing over fourteen million dollars in that one day alone. depression grew bleak as unemployment rates soared and hopes of credit were dashed.
- Explains that president hoover made deals to help alleviate foreign loans, but did not give money to feed those dying of starvation. franklin delano roosevelt became president and brought americans the first ray of hope that the gloomy days might be ending soon.
- Explains that president roosevelt brought about the emergency banking act and the economy act shortly after his inauguration. the eba gave federal loans to bankers allowing them to open their doors again.
- Explains that president roosevelt's new deal plan didn't end there. the agricultural adjustment administration paid farmers to retain a part of their land and not cultivate it for crops.
- Explains that roosevelt put himself in the middle of people advocating that the new deal did aid large corporations and that new programs needed to be set up to help the poor and the hungry.
- Explains that the great depression affected everyone from every race. europeans were benefitting in the 1920’s but they were still to be discriminated against.
- Explains that the 1920's were filled with merriment, not dread, but with fun. the fun times quickly changed to worrisome days after black tuesday.
1940 wordsRead More - Money and Bankingcomparative essayThe stock market collapse of the 1929s was the greatest financial crisis the United States had ever experienced and was the start of the “Great Depression.” The depression was disastrous for many American families, and the suffering they went through was world renown. Thus when the financial disaster hit in 2007 and the housing bubble burst, a lot of people proclaimed it the coming of the next “Great Depression.” In this article, we will compare and contrast the characteristics of the financial crisis in 1929s and the late 2000s. To accomplish this, we will first look at the circumstances that caused the 1929s economic collapse. Secondly, we will look at how the economy reacted to the economic collapse and what actions were taken as a result of. Thirdly, we will explore what specifically caused the 2007 economic recession allowing us to compare and contrast pre-recession periods. Fourthly, we will analyze lessons that were learned by the Federal Government during the Great Depression that resulted in monetary or fiscal policies during the current economic crisis. Finally, we will conclude with a conversation about the main points of both economic downturn and look at the long run toward recovery.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the roaring twenties in the us were characterized by unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and significant changes in lifestyle and culture.
- Explains that monetarists and non-monetarists believe in economic fluctuations caused by increases or decreases in the money supply.
- Explains that the era of neoliberal capitalism began with three ideas converging: monetarism, neo-austrians, and deregulation. president clinton shifted the american economy's focus from production to financial services.
- Explains that the 1929 stock market collapse was the greatest financial crisis the united states had ever experienced and the start of the "great depression."
- Explains the dangers of buying stocks on margin, which comes down to market and time. the great depression lasted for ten years and its financial impact was devastating.
- Compares the monetarist view of friedman and schwartz and kindleberger's view that the great depression originated in the united states.
- Explains the reasons for the economic crisis, including the introduction of subprime mortgages and the creation of credit default swaps.
2030 wordsRead More - The Consequences Of The Great Depressionanalytical essayDuring the 1930’s, Americans were going through what was known as the Great Depression. Once the stock market crashed after investors lost security and confidence so in October 1929, the economy fell. Since the economy was great during the 1920’s, people were not prepared for the economic hardship. Many people had no savings so they could not deal with the loss of money. They lost their jobs and homes and were impacted psychologically and physically. Not only did they have to deal with the loss of money, they had to deal with one of the greatest natural disasters (America: The Story of Us, 2010). Families ended up being extremely affected by the Great Depression.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the great depression in the 1930s, when the stock market crashed after investors lost security and confidence, and the economy fell. people lost their jobs and homes and were impacted psychologically and physically.
- Explains that after the stock market crash and the fall of the economy, many people lost their jobs and had to deal with unemployment.
- Analyzes how children, teens and families suffered the consequences of the great depression. they were kicked out by their guardians, forced to get jobs and take care of themselves because their families could not provide them with enough food.
- Explains that the dust bowl affected farmers, families, and farmers. the 4 million people who left the area to find a better life were called migrants.
- Explains that presidents like herbert hoover and franklin d. roosevelt had to try to help people get through the depression.
- Opines that the 1930's was a tough time for america. people lost family, jobs, and homes, but they had each other and their presidents to help.
641 wordsRead More