The Great Depression
At the end of the 1920s the world experienced a devastating economic depression that struck countries with market economies. Despite the great depression being mildly experienced in some countries, the United States of America was hit so mind-bogglingly that at its nadir in 1933 an approximate value of 25% of all workers and an overwhelming 37 % of all non-farm workers were completely out of work and thrown to the curbs. The book Great Depression: People and Perspectives that is written by Hamilton Cravens gives us a peek of the tribulations suffered and encountered by individuals during the trying times of the Great Depression. It showcases the adverse level of suffering experienced, enlightening the sad misfortunes faced by individuals, instances where some individuals starved to death with their loved ones helpless and instances where many others lost their treasured homes and farms. It paints a pictures of homeless vagrants niggling onboard freight trains that crossed the nation for lack of the necessary funds (Cravens, 2009).
The 1920’s in America
The 1920’s was a very prosperous period for many Americans. Food production increased 64 percent, worker productivity increased by 40 percent, electricity sales doubled, fuel consumption more than doubled, and pay was increased for many industrial workers (Davidson, 2008). With the soaring economy and new items hitting the shelves all the time, American consumers were living the high life. Even if you wanted something and did not have the money you could simply get it on credit and pay for it later.
The 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.
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
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.
The Great Depression
Many times throughout history, the United States has undergone economic depression.
The most recognized period of economic depression is called the Great Depression. The Great
Depression is well known because of the seriousness of the stock market crash. The results of the
crash were more serious than any other crash throughout American History. The Great
Depression caused a change in the nature of the American family, an increase in poverty, and
President Herbert Hoover's proposal for immediate action by the government, balanced his belief
in "rugged individualism" with the economic necessities.
The Great Depression was a period from October 29, 1929 to around 1940, close to when the U.S. entered World War II. This period was an economic depression that was started by the Stock Market crash. Such a catastrophic time span has many different causes that can all relate and combine. The Great Depression had many underlying causes that started originated after World War I. A series of events, including the economic boom of the 1920’s were contributors to the Great Depression.
There were many primary causes for The Great Depression, Unequal distribution of money to the economy,
Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:
October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.