Causes of the Great Depression 1.Overproduction, too much stuff (Factories and Farms) a. Factory Workers begin to get layed-off b. Farmers Can’t Survive -low prices (can’t pay loans / make a living) 2. Bank Failures a. Banks close and loose $$$ b. People default on loans (Can’t pay Back) c. Banks cannot cover their deposits, because it was lent out to bad creditors **5,000 banks close between ** d. People loose entire LIFE SAVINGS

= + People Default on Loans Banks have no money to give people Banks Close People Loose savings

Causes of the Great Depression 3. Stock Market Crash, Black Thur. Oct. 29, 1929 a. Summer 1929, Investors begin to sell stocks b. Supply & Demand Again – Massive Sell-Off and prices begin to drop c. Buying on Margin (Borrowing $$) - Buy stock by just paying a small portion of what the stock is worth

Causes of the Great Depresion 4.Credit System a. Prices slowly rise, but spending habits don’t change…people begin spending money they don’t have b. People go into debt to maintain a high standard of living 5.World War I a. The U.S. was the major creditor for other countries who needed help rebuilding after the war b. Many of these nations could not pay the U.S. back

Herbert Hoover was president at the start Philosophy: We’ll make it! What He Did: Nothing The poor were looking for help and no ideas on how to correct or help were coming

Jobless / Homeless – Jobless goes from 4 to 12 million -Houses are lost, people become homeless -Hooverville- Shanty towns -Hoovermobile- cars pulled by mules Hatred for President Hoover -Say’s it is NOT Government’s job to fix the poor -HOBOS traveled the rails looking for jobs -Hoover blankets – newspapers used as blankets by the homeless Says churches and other groups should help PROBLEM: People too poor to help churches -so churches can’t help as much!!! -People name Poor Places after Hoover

“Hooverville” Some families were forced to live in shanty towns – A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of help during the depression.

Farmers were already feeling the effects – Prices of crops went down – Many farms foreclosed People could not afford luxuries – Factories shut down – Businesses went out Banks could not pay out money People could not pay their taxes – Schools shut down due to lack of funds Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties

Many waited in unemployment lines hoping for a job.

People in cities would wait in line for bread to bring to their family.

Some families were forced to relocate because they had no money.

OBJ #2- Affects of the Great Depression Bonus Army WWI veterans were promised a $ bonus in 1945… …But the veterans want it NOW (1932) Veterans go to Washington and “camp out” Hoover sends in Army (Eisenhower, MacArthur), used tear gas, machine guns, and burned the camp down