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Cause and effect of great depression
Causes and results of the great depression
Cause and effect of great depression
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The Great Depression was a monumental event in the turbulent timeline of American history. Perhaps it could have been avoided, or at least have inflicted less damage into the heart of the American people and economy, if a few key items had been changed or reversed. The American tariff policy could have been changed and the banking practices and Hoover administration philosophies and policies should have been completely reversed. However, even if the practices had been different the depression still could have occurred because of other problems the world faced such as the world economy influences, automation and World War I. The American tariff policy such as the Fordney-McCumber Tariff and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff caused problems that shook the entire world …show more content…
The Hoover administration believed in a weak and small government thus the unregulated banking practices. They also developed the tariff policies that created a huge problem with trade and which was a gigantic factor that led to the Great Depression. The Hoover administration also did not want to interfere in economics which lead to monopolistic pricing which hurt the middle and lower classes. Also, Hoover’s “trickle down economics” led to maldistribution of income and purchasing power which again hurt the middle and lower classes. Allowing the upper class to have all the power makes and unfair economic situation. This creates the problem where the lower classes, mainly the middle class, cannot purchase goods because they have the tax burden (among other things) which in turn leads to hurting businesses since their products are not being purchased. Had the administration not had these ideals and passed certain legislation then other factors would have not happened; along with those, perhaps other policies would have led to a safer economy and more protection to the
Historians claim that Hoovers term during the depression was filled with false promises and accuse the president of doing nothing while the depression worsened. Along with worsening the debt and a fairly aggressive use of government it is clear his approach towards the situation was not the best. FDR’s approach would prove during his administration to suffice in the augmentation of the crisis. Although it seemed like a completely opposite presidency, many ideas came from his predecessor. Roosevelt’s team of advisors understood that much of what they produced and fashioned into the New Deal owed its origins to Hoover’s policies.
What if the Great Depression never happened? Would that have been good or bad for the United States? Would that have affected the world? Well your first thought that would come to mind would automatically be “yes! Of course it would have been a good thing if the depression never happened”. We would think this because both economical and emotional problems would have never happened. Many families would have loved to avoid that situation.
In conclusion, Herbert Hoover tried every method he could think of to combat the Great Depression, unfortunately for him, he didn't know what the proper method was. This depression was unprecedented in American History, and Hoover tried to just let boom and bust run its course. He had some good ideas but they were too late in his term, he was too orthodox in his thinking, and he wasn't willing to try anything drastic. Herbert Hoover could have been a great president in a different era, but he just happened to be very unlucky with when he was elected. Hoover may end up being one of the worst presidents in history, but when you look at it closely, he was a victim of circumstance and environment.
He quickly moves from the panic of 1929 to the ‘30’s and how many of the popular governmental sentiments during the election were no longer so. Hoover quickly moved from a position of public acceptance and admiration to that of a scapegoat. That the Depression was his fault is not entirely true, though. Hoover did not have much of the information needed to foretell the economic situation. In the laissez-faire form of government he prescribed, there was no place for a department that would document these things for the use of the president’s office.
He promises swift action to the problems the he and the nation face. The third issue was the impact of the Great Depression. Hoover’s focused on the recovery from World War I; however, the great depression clouded the nation during the rest his Presidency. Even though he, nor the rest of the nation could not foresee the depression, Hoover did indicate the failures of many institutions that could lead to the downfall of an economy recovering from war.
At first Hoover opposed any relief efforts, but as the Depression worsened, he started a few farm assistance programs. Hoover hoped that theses farm programs would help the farmers’ situation with the low crop prices. Unfortunately farmers had to come dependent on this government handout. Hoover also started federal work projects such as the Grand Coulee Dam and the Hoover Dam. These projects provided many jobs for people and provided affordable hydroelectric power for people but the Great Depression was a much bigger problem than a few extra job openings could fix. Hoping that raising tariffs could help American business Hoover created the Hawley-Smoot Tarrif. This actually worsened economy and caused lower export rates. One of Hoover’s big mistakes was that he wouldn’t go off the gold standard. Hoov...
Some say that the great depression was caused partially by social democracy and planned economies. And although this could be true, it originally started from debts from World War I, and of course the stock market crashing in 1929.
The Great Depression America 1929-1941 by Robert S. McElvaine covers many topics of American history during the "Great Depression" through 1941. The topic that I have selected to compare to the text of American, Past and Present, written by Robert A. Divine, T.H. Breen, George M. Frederickson and R. Hal Williams, is Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first president of the United States and America's president during the horrible "Great Depression".
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 marked the start of the great depression which hit America and much of the industrialised world during the 1930’s. The cycle of prosperity turned into a spiral of depression as consumer spending fell by almost half, unemployment rose to over 12 million and there was widespread poverty and homelessness. The Hoover government’s ‘rugged individualism’ meant that people did not receive any relief from the federal government and led to a loss in support for Hoover as people blamed him for their problems. After his landslide victory in 1932, President Roosevelt vowed that through his reforms and economic policies, America would return to the road of prosperity. In 1933 he set out the ‘New Deal’ which sought to deliver relief, recovery, and reform. It could be argued that although the New Deal was effective in certain aspects such as short term relief, it did not end the depression; rather the war was the decisive factor.
The Stock Market crashed in October of 1929. In the textbook it states that, “Beginning in 1930 President Hoover assumed leadership in combating the depression with more vigor and compassion than any other executive” (Davidson, Delay, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff, pg. 694). He requested that businesses keep wages, employment and prices at current levels. In 1930, President Hoover called for lower taxes and interest rate to strengthen the buying power of consumers. When this back fired causing an unbalanced federal budget, he changed his direction and in 1932 he agreed to raise taxes. Then he supported the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. This was to conserve the country from low-cost foreign goods. Which also back fired, causing retribution from other countries
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 ...
As Document A suggests, Hoover did not want to be considered completely laissez-faire. He seemed less determined to preserve the extremely capitalistic society of the 1920's which was run, often corruptly, by political machines, such as Tweed. However, the success of the American economy under the private interest beliefs of Harding and Coolidge required him to ensure that the lack of intervention ... ... middle of paper ... ...ca afloat as shown in Document D. Roosevelt immediately gained the public's favor with his liberal ideas.
In short, despite other uncontrollable factors, US government could have done a better job of preventing the Great Depression from happening. The depression was not inevitable in some sense. And the effects of the New Deal is questionable. The purpose of studying the past is to learn from the mistakes and move on. Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time. -----George Bernard Shaw h
In conclusion, every single event that took place during the Great Depression made it that much bigger and ‘great’; no matter if it was political, social, or economic. In economics, it was the Stock Market Crash and the drought that caused the Depression; in politics, it was the rivalry between Bennett and King; and in society, it was the unemployment rates and the Regina Riot. With all these factors the Great Depression really does deserve the original name it was given. From all these events, we can learn a lot about how to prevent such a big event from happening again like so many events do. The word ‘great’ really is perfect in describing the Great Depression.
The great depression led us to have a better economic system and changed economic thinking. Laws were passed in order to prevent another depression from happening. Although many years have passed since the great Depression, things that were seen back then are still being seen today in 2014. High unemployment rates and low income among families forced to need the help of welfare are seen today as they were seen during the time of the Great Depression. The contrast between now and then however, is that the economy is under more control due to the laws that were passed to prevent another depression.