Firstly, the stock market crash in the late 1920s was one of the main factors that contributed to the onset of the Great Depression. The common goal of many Canadians in the roaring twenties was to put behind the horrors and doubts of World War I, and focus on what was to come in the near future. However, on October 29, 1929, the Stock Market in New York City experienced one of its worst days of all time. The catastrophic impact that the stock market crash had was enough to shift the world in the direction of an economic downfall . The rapid expansion of the 1920 stock market caused the market to hit an all-time high. Prices of shares skyrocketed and surpassed their once realistic value . It was now possible for individuals who could not afford
The drought in this region caused many forest fires that ultimately destroyed wildlife surrounding the crops. This created favourable conditions for insects to migrate and live in. Some of the insects, such as locusts, had intruded upon the once lush, and prosperous harvest spaces, and left only dried straw and grass behind . It was assumed that by mid 1930’s, the Prairies’ agricultural practices would change drastically. Consequently, the poor harvesting conditions resulted in farmers moving their families and practices elsewhere. Many farmers moved to the northern regions of Canada, either picking up where they left off in the agricultural industry or shifting careers completely and moving into the bush clearing business. Those who were not able to obtain a job or adapt to the conditions were left unemployed. Within the time span of one decade, it was evident that a massive economic shift had occurred in the Prairie Provinces. Almost 200,000 individuals relocated themselves from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which greatly impacted the net population, the economy, and the lives of many Canadians . These severe impacts that were caused by the “dust bowl” in the Prairies left the Grain industry of Canada in a critical condition. Since the growing conditions of the Prairies proved to be unbearable for crops and humans alike, Canada’s grain
With the newly introduced “assembly line” approach on manufacturing in addition to the high demand in electric appliances, many companies saw this as an opportunity to increase their annual revenue. Many individuals were also enjoying the option to purchase items on credit and paying them back whenever they were able to . By the late 1920s, businesses had realized that they had a surplus of inventory and they halted all purchases from factories. This had resulted in a significant amount of people losing their jobs. As the years passed, approximately one fifth of the Canadian population was dependent on government resources . Additionally, during the boom period of the roaring twenties, many people immigrated to Canada and found work in factories. Since many businesses were forced to close down due to a lack of demand and a surplus in supply, there was an even larger sum of unemployed individuals. This domino effect ultimately resulted in an unfortunate cycle. Due to the significant increase in unemployment rates in factories, many families had less revenue coming into their household. This meant that they were unable to spend their money on goods and services provided by companies. This resulted in additional stores going out of
The stock market crash of 1929 is one of the main causes of the Great Depression. Before the stock market crash many people bought on margin, which caused the stock market to become very unbalanced, which led to the crash. Many people had invested heavily in the stock market during the 1920’s. All of these people who invested in the stock market lost all the money they had, since they relied on the stock market so much. The stock market crash also played a more physiological role in causing the Great depression. More businesses became aware of the difficulties, which caused businesses to not expand and start new projects. This caused job insecurity and uncertainty in incomes for employees. The crash was also used as a symbol of the changing times. The crash lead the American peop...
During the 1930's in Prairie Canada, the Great Depression created harsh conditions and it was a struggle until it ended. The event which triggered the Great Depression was the Stock Market crash of October 24, 1929 in New York. Another important cause was that: Later in the 1930's, the wide adoption of the gold exchange in many countries was widely criticized as a great mistake which greatly contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression. 1 In Canada, wheat, the most important export, was being over-produced around the world, despite the fact that the 1928 supply of wheat was still available in 1929.
It was not until October 29th, 1929 that the Canadian economy but more importantly the world experienced the ‘Great Depression’. Large amounts of money were lost over the period of five days, as investor’s worldwide scrambled to withdraw th...
The Great Depression was a terrible point in Canadian history, and for most of the world. It was a point in time where thousands of people lost their jobs, and even lost their homes because of the depressed economy. Business was booming in the early 1920s, but when companies tried to expand, and therefore issued stocks, the economy was thrown off. Some investors sold their stocks for high prices, and as a result, everyone else followed. With less of a demand, stock prices became fractions of what they used to be, and on October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, followed by the Toronto and Montreal Stock exchanges. This collapse of the stock markets caused a depression like which the world had never seen before. It was important for governments to find methods to deal with the depression, but the Canadian government wasn't very successful in its attempts to deal with the Great Depression.
Unfortunately, the circumstances in the Great Plains all came to a head, resulting in a horrific ten years for citizens of the Great Plains. The Dust Bowl caused government and people to look at farming practices and evaluate their output. These policies resulted in overproduction of crops, causing the prices to fall. The conclusion of World War I and countries that stopped importing foods added to the pain the farmers were already feeling.
At the core of understanding the Dust Bowl is the question of whose fault it was. Was it the result of farmers tilling land beyond what the environment could bear, or is it just a natural fluctuation in the atmosphere? These questions have intrigued historians and started a new evolution of theories. The Dust Bowl grazed across the Midwest of the United States, destroying the ecology and agriculture of the United States and Canadian Prairies"1.
The drought caused a lot of unfavorable conditions for farmers in the southwest. In Worster’s book he says “Few of us want to live in the region now. There is too much wind, dirt, flatness, space, barbed wire, drought, uncertainty, hard work…” (Worster 105). The droughts caused many unfavorable condition throughout the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring sections of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Thus, roughly one-third of Texas and Oklahoman farmers left their homes and headed to California in search of migrant work. The droughts during the 1930s are a drastically misrepresented factor of the Dust bowl considering “the 1930s droughts were, in the words of a Weather Bureau scientist, the worst in the climatological history of the country.” (Worster 232) Some of the direct effects of the droughts were that many of the farmers’ crops were damaged by deficient rainfall, high temperatures, and high winds, as well as insect infestations and dust storms that accompanied these conditions. What essentially happened was that the soil lacked the stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds, called “black blizzards.” The constant dry weather caused crops to fail, leaving the plowed fields exposed to wind erosion. The effects of the drought happened so rapidly and progressively over time that
The 1920s were a time of leisure and carelessness. The Great War had ended in 1918 and everyone was eager to return to some semblance of normalcy. The end of the war and the horrors and atrocities that it resulted in now faced millions of people. This caused a backlash against traditional values and morals as people began to denounce the complex for a return to simplicity and minimalism. Easily obtainable credit and rapidly rising stock prices prompted many to invest, resulting in big payoffs and newfound wealth for many. However, overproduction and inflated stock prices increased by corrupt industrialists culminated until the inevitable collapse of the stock market in 1929.
Many Canadians thought the depression was brought about by the wheat crop crash and not the stock market crash because many Canadians and farmers were dependent on the growth of wheat because it made up a majority of their exports, but seeing as the wheat provinces were hit with a severe drought the wheat crops crashed leaving many farmers out of jobs and money, causing a great affect on Canada. The causes of the great depression were due to over-production and over-expansion because Canadian companies expanded their industries of goods so that they could generate more profits. Yet economic activity shrank in the late 20’s and companies were left with a heavier debt and lack of...
Post the era of World War I, of all the countries it was only USA which was in win win situation. Both during and post war times, US economy has seen a boom in their income with massive trade between Europe and Germany. As a result, the 1920’s turned out to be a prosperous decade for Americans and this led to birth of mass investments in stock markets. With increased income after the war, a lot of investors purchased stocks on margins and with US Stock Exchange going manifold from 1921 to 1929, investors earned hefty returns during this time epriod which created a stock market bubble in USA. However, in order to stop increasing prices of Stock, the Federal Reserve raised the interest rate sof loanabel funds which depressed the interest sensitive spending in many industries and as a result a record fall in stocks of these companies were seen and ultimately the stock bubble was finally burst. The fall was so dramatic that stock prices were even below the margins which investors had deposited with their brokers. As a reuslt, not only investor but even the brokerage firms went insolvent. Withing 2 days of 15-16 th October, Dow Jones fell by 33% and the event was referred to Great Crash of 1929. Thus with investors going insolvent, a major shock was seen in American aggregate demand. Consumer Purchase of durable goods and business investment fell sharply after the stock market crash. As a result, businesses experienced stock piling of their inventories and real output fell rapidly in 1929 and throughout 1930 in United States.
During the 1920's America experienced an increase like no other. With the model T car, the assembly line, business skyrocketed. Thus, America's involvement in World War II did not begin with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Starting in October 1929, the Great Depression, the stock market crashed. It awed a country used to the excesses of the 1920's. These are the events that lead up to the crash.
...rnment became active in the lives of businessmen and workers alike. Mothers received a family allowance. War veterans received money also. Unemployment insurance was created and any man out of work could apply for it. By 1936 some parts of Canada began to recover from the Great Depression. In Montreal Public Holding Projects were underway, and the Trans Canada Airway gave jobs to men. For Canada, the real end of the Great Depression was caused by the start of World War II. The Great Depression lasted ten years and was followed by five years of World War. During the war the need for materials was massive. Chemical factories, aluminum works, and lumber processing all began to employ men. People could begin to buy more than they had during the Great Depression; therefore the manufactures could produce more. Prairie Provinces also benefited because the markets for wheat had began to recover.
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
Soldiers returning from the war expected jobs, but were faced with unemployment, inflation and strikes. Inflation had doubled the cost of living where wages had not and those fortunate to be employed still faced immense financial difficulty. Many people joined unions for better pay and working conditions, 1919 saw the most strikes at a staggering three hundred and six, people were angry and discontented. The 1920s were a time of crime, corruption and extreme poverty, yet by mid era difficult conditions began to improve. Foreign investors gained confidence in Canada and as a result new industries were developed, The twenties really did 'roar' and with this boom of change Canada underwent the transformation that was the gateway to the future.
The stock market crash of 1929 was the primary event that led to the collapse of stability in the nation and ultimately paved the road to the Great Depression. The crash was a wide range of causes that varied throughout the prosperous times of the 1920’s. There were consumers buying on margin, too much faith in businesses and government, and most felt there were large expansions in the stock market. Because of all these positive views that the people of the American society possessed, people hardly looked at the crises in front of them.... ...