The Great Depression and World War III
The Great Depression (1929-41) was the deepest and longest-lasting downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. In the US, the Great Depression began soon before the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors (including banks) due to stocks declining by 50% in trading which was unparalleled. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. Over the course of 25 years (1920-1945), there was a 40% increase in unemployment. To elaborate, approximately 1.6 million Americans were unemployed and increased drastically to 12.8 million (about half were non-farmers). Americans were unemployed, many companies went under and nearly half the country’s banks had failed. To combat the economic crisis strict trading and banking regulations were put in place, as well as financial protections, enforced by the newly formed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The depression brought a rapid rise in the crime rate as many unemployed workers resorted to petty theft to put food on the table. Alcoholism increased with Americans seeking outlets to escape, compounded by the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Rural New England and upstate New York lost many citizens seeking opportunity elsewhere. Many of the migrants were adolescents seeking an opportunity away from the family that had younger mouths to feed. Overall, Americans felt for the first time the government was not there to protect them and shifted away from the conservative laissez-faire i...
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...00 vets marched on Washington, to state that they could not wait until1945 for their bonus they needed it now. However, Hoover summoned the Army to “remove them from DC”. In this event four people died, two kids died because of the tear gas the army used and two vets were stabbed by bayonets.
During these trials the US was divided in some aspects yet still united to overcome the Great Depression and WWII. Between 1929 and 1945 the Great Depression and World War II utterly redefined the role of government in American society and catapulted the US from an isolated, peripheral state into the world’s hegemonic superpower. Despite facing maladies began to appear faintly, then with mounting urgency once the Great Depression began. Yet curiously, as many observers noted, most Americans remained inexplicably docile, even passive, in the face of this unprecedented calamity.
Kennedy, D. (1999). Freedom from Fear The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford History of the United States: Oxford University Press
Listening to the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he once said that “In our seeking for economic and political progress, we all go up - or else we all go down,” indicating the need of a unified country in order to solve the crisis. The Great Depression, and the many hardships that accompanied it, greatly altered American society in the 1930s in many ways such as the questioning of the capability of government, the economic effects on the nation, and the perception of society, its morals, and its values.
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 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 years berween 1929 and 1933 were trying years for people throughout the world. Inflation was often so high money became nearly worthless. America had lost the prosperity it had known during the 1920's. America was caught in a trap of a complete meltdown of economy, workers had no jobs simply because it cost too much to ship the abundance of goods being produced. This cycle was unbreakable, and produced what is nearly universally recognized as the greatest economic collapse of all times. These would be trying years for all, but not every American faced the same challenges and hardships. (Sliding 3)
The 20th century brought about many changes, with several events molding society in the way we know of it today. With the Great Depression, World War 2 , and the Cold War, America faced many internal and external threats, that endangered the American way of life and forced the country to reshape it’s views to move past events that seemed, at the time, to be the lowest points.
In response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt was ready for action unlike the previous President, Hubert Hoover. Hoover allowed the country to fall into a complete state of depression with his small concern of the major economic problems occurring. FDR began to show major and immediate improvements, with his outstanding actions during the First Hundred Days. He declared the bank holiday as well as setting up the New Deal policy. Hoover on the other hand; allowed the U.S. to slide right into the depression, giving Americans the power to blame him. Although he tried his best to improve the economy’s status during the depression and ‘pump the well’ for the economy, he eventually accepted that the Great Depression was inevitable.
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.
The Great Depression was the longest lasting economic downturn; lasting from 1929-1939. Not long after the stock market crash of October 1929 the Great Depression followed, this sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Consumer spending and investment dropped dramatically over the next few years. This caused steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers. By March 1930, more than 3.2 million people are unemployed. By November 1930 New York City streets were crowded with unemployed people trying to make money by selling apples for five cents a piece, called Apple-Sellers. According to American Experience, the inequality of the rich vs. the poor, merged with the non-stop production of goods and the rising personal debt of many citizens, things could no longer be supported. President at the time, Herbert Hoover, underestimated how serious the situation actually was and called it, “a passing incident in our national lives.” and was certain that this would pass within the next 6...
The Great Depression was a heavy economic depression in the decade before World War II. An economic depression is defined as a substantial and sustained shortfall of the ability to purchase goods relative to the amount that could be produced using current resources and technology.[1] The Great Depression affected most national economies in the world throughout the 1930s.
In 1929, A Yale University Economist Irving Fisher stated. " The nation is marching along a permanently high plateau of prosperity".(5) 5 days later the stock market crashed and the worst economic downturn in American history called the "Great Depression" began. The Depression started in 1929 and would last for a decade until we entered War World II. The Great Depression affected every part of economy and no job was safe. In 1929 unemployment was at 1.5 million and by 1933 unemployment reached over 13 million which meant 1 out of 4 were out of work (3). Some who were successful businessmen before the stock market crash and now selling pencils or apples on the street corners after the crash .Many business closed their doors, factories shut down and banks failed causing homelessness, poverty and general despair on many Americans. Huge numbers of Americans had their lives upset by the Depression. Tens of thousands of migrant farm workers traveled the nation looking for employment. Farming income fell some 50 percent and people went hungry because so much food was produced that production became unprofitable. Many Americans watched their homes and life savings be lost because of the stock market. Confidence in the market was lost and without that confidence investors pulled out and the market collapsed.(4)
The Great Depression not only affected the United States but the world in general. In my estimation some the reasons for the depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920’s and the debts not paid back from WWI.
"My father found work by being part of the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. He would stay on the site while our mother took care of the children back in Oakesdale. He would send the money back to support the family."
The Great Depression of the 1930s is a period of time that was highly influenced by social memory, in that the social status you had, your gender, occupation, etc meant that you experienced the Depression differently from the next person, your account was influenced by your social groups/status. It is generally acknowledged that the Great Depression was a period of immense suffering for most. Hence the name given to the period. However, for some, the Great Depression is seen as a time in history where many prospered, and some even see a boom in the economy. The three accounts "Age of Extremes ch3", "The Dawn of Affluence, Reading 13" and "Coping: Middle- and Upper-Class Women. Reading 14" all illustrate different points of view on the Great Depression.