George Santayana, a Spanish poet and philosopher said, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." This quote applies to the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008. There are many similarities between the two, like the causes, the actual events, and the aftermaths. Several factors led to the Great Depression, which were the following: overproduction by business and agriculture, unequal distribution of wealth, Americans buying less, and finally, the stock market crash of 1929. The Great Recession also had similar factors leading to it, like the housing “bubble” burst and less consumer spending. In both events, the Presidents enacted programs that they believed would help the American people.
In the early 1920s, overproduction affected American farmers. New farming methods led to higher food production; however, they were competing against farmers from other countries. Due to this, a global excess of agricultural products, decreased profits and prices. Many farmers could not make money off of their crops, so they also could not pay back loans from the bank. This weakened banks and forced them to close. In addition, American factories were making most of the world’s goods. There were large profits being made, but there was an unequal distribution of wealth, which made the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. The richest percent of the people were given thirty three percent of all personal income. The middle class did not exist. About forty percent of the U.S. population was never impacted by the Great Depression because they had money. Since most of the families had no money to buy goods, store owners had to reduce their orders from the factories. Due to this, factories had to fire workers and decrease...
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... the effects of the Recession. Many people still believe that we are in a recession today. They are still feeling the effects because they are in upside down home loans, unemployed, and depend on the government to get by in life.
In conclusion, the Great Depression and Great Recession were very similar to each other. Their causes both included unequal distribution of wealth and less consumer spending. They were very similar to each other because they were both worldwide depressions. Banks failed all around the world. Their aftermaths were also similar because they both had to make higher taxes, and unemployment rates increased. In both events, the high unemployment rates were the main results that affected the American people. Future politicians shall study their history. Knowing our history is important. We need to learn from it so we do not repeat our mistakes.
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...
2007-2008-2009 global financial crisis - many people compared to the experience to another large scale depression - now coined “great recession”
In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing great ruin to our country. The result, the Great Depression, was a time of hardship for everyone around the world. The economy in the US was lower than ever and people were suffering immensely. During these trying times, two presidents served- Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (F.D.R.) Both had different views on how the depression should be handled, with Hoover believing that the people could solve the issue themselves with no government involvement, and with F.D.R. believing that the government should work for their people in such difficult times.
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
The Great Depression and the Great Recession of the early 21st Century have many things in common. The Great Depression and the Great Recession both experienced good economic times before they crashed. Prior to the Great Depression, (1921-1929) the annual real economic growth was at 4.4 percent. Though less, the annual real economic growth prior to the Great Recession was at 3.2 percent. The banks before both times moved into new business lines. In the 1920s banks increased real estate lending and also increased investment banking. Prior to the Great Recession, (1990s-2000s) banks increased real estate lending and the securitization of mortgages. In both times, they were preceded by the innovations in consumer finances of their times. Prior to the Great Depression, (1920s) installment in consumer credit became more popular this included monthly payments. In the 2000’s prior to the recession, banks increased real estate lending and the securitization of mortgages. Pre Great Depression and the Great Recession they were asset bubbles in both real estate and tech-stock market. During the 1920s there was a surge in the Florida real estate as well as the stock market. The time during the 1990s and 2000s were a little different because of the fact that the tech stock market also took off and that the residential real estate grew.
Since being founded, America became a capitalist society. Being a capitalist society obtains luxurious benefits and rather harsh consequences if gone bad. In a capitalist society people must buy products and spend money to keep the economy balanced, but once those people stop spending money, the economy goes off balance and the nation enters a recession. Once a recession drastically takes a downturn, the nation enters what is known as a depression. In 2008 America entered a recession and its consequences were severe enough for some people, such as President Barack Obama, to compare the recent crisis to the world’s darkest economic depression in history, the Great Depression. Although the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2008 hold similarities and differences between the stock market and government spending, political issues, lifestyle changes, and wealth distribution, the Great Depression proved far more detrimental consequences than the Recession.
During The Great Depression, people had to find ways to save money on even the bare necessities. One example of this was the widespread use of vacant lots, and land provided bythe cities to grow food. Americans now had to live in the manner of their ancestors, making their own clothing, growing their own food, and agai...
The Great Depression did not happen over night but for some it must have felt that way. However when the stock market crashed in October 24, 1929, it may have felt for most that they say was falling rather quickly and rather unpredictably. In truth though the events leading up to the Great Depression may have clued into down fall of the economy. This was not America first Great Depression; in fact there was another in 1819. Under the leadership of President Van Buren, the government chose to take a laissez-faire stance on the subject, only helping land debtors in matter of money, this set a precedent to do so every time there was an economic dip in America. However in 1929, President Hoover chose to take a different approach, which was coined, by Anderson at the “Hoover’s New Deal” or simple “New Deal”. This called for heavy government intrusion, with increased wages prices and rates. This “New Deal” was ultimately a failure.
The Great Depression was the worst economic collapse in the history of the industrialized world that affected everyone from children to elders. The social values of consumerism and isolationism that impacted the way that average Americans behaved was a huge part of what caused the collapse of the global economy. The stock market crash of 1929 set off the Great Depression. Economists also blame the overproduction and underconsumption of consumer goods and food. The doubtful state of the foreign balance and the world’s economy played a role in provoking the collapse as well. The Great Depression was launched due to a chain reaction of social causes, over speculation in the stock market,
Between the late 1890’s, after the panic of 1893, and the late 1920’s, the American people led good lives in which most prospered. In the 1920’s the problems that led to the Great Depression were dispersed over a time of maldistribution of wealth, and what was called a bull market. A bull market is a stock market that is based on speculation. Speculation was a system of borrowing money to buy stocks and selling for a profit. Speculation only worked if the stock market was on the rise though. To this day people who have not been properly educated about the Great Depression believe that President Hoover was the cause. The idea that President Herbert Hoover caused the Depression could have arisen from the fact that he was the President at the time the Depression began. However, the people who do not believe that President Hoover was the cause deem the crash of the stock market in 1929 as the real culprit. The truth behind the stock market crash is that it was the event that caused the already unstable economy to go over the limit.
The Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression.
The 1930s brought the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn of the Western industrial world (http://www.history.com). This economic downturn was known as ‘The Great Depression’ (http://www.history.com). The Great Depression in the United States soon began after the stock market crash of October 1929 (http://www.history.com). Consumer spending and investment dropped which caused a decline in industrial output and led to rising levels of unemployment (http://www.history.com). During this time period money was scarce. People did what they had to do in order to make their lives happy (http://wwwappskc.lonestar.edu). The Great Depression was hard on the economy which in turn affected how people lived their lives and spent their money.
During the twenties the economy had a definite impact on the society. It benefited some, but hurt others. The people that benefited were the prairie farmers and the oil companies. The people who didn’t benefit were American soldiers returning from WW1. Around the middle of the twenties, a wheat farmer was the person to be. Business was booming for all the wheat farmers, places like Europe, which were in war, were hungry for American’s wheat and contributed tremendous business to the American wheat industries. Farmers began making more money than ever before, and they started buying farm machinery to take place of their cattle and horses. Prices of wheat were at an all time high, which gave America’s wheat industry an even bigger advantage and a bigger form of money making in our economy. American soldiers on the other hand who had returned from war were expecting to be employed when they returned, but not even after fighting for their country could they get a job. It was very hard to get a job because women and immigrants had taken them all during the war. American soldiers were surprised at how difficult it was to...
middle of paper ... ... It is evident that although we may be entering into a recession on different terms than the one before, the United States is still in danger of once again becoming a victim of another Great Depression. The Great Depression is a time in the history of the United States that people have learned and gained knowledge from. Its harsh times and conflicts have been written about in books, seen in movies, talked about on radios, and told to families throughout the generations.
Something that may come to everyone’s mind now days and the number one thing that is looked at after a presidential election and every New Year is stock. Stocks determine the health of the economy, the money people are willing to invest, take risks on and win back or lose, but because of the crash, it discouraged people from investing in stocks and instead a huge amount of withdrawals happened leading to the economic collapse that occurred. The U.S government began to worry it would run out of gold because everyone began to turn the couple dollars they still had into gold so the Federal Reserve decided to increase the value of the dollar. Banks began to fail and lose savings; people had to withdrawal the money they had left, leaving banks no other choice but to shut down.