 Farmers had suffered throughout the 1920s and were the first group to plunge into depression  Businesses increased profits while holding down material costs and wages, thus suppressing consumer spending power  Global economic problems created by World War I were the main factors

World wide business slump of the 1930s Worst long period of high unemployment and low business activity and modern times President Hoover held office when the great depression began The depression affect all most very nation Lasting effects on the U.S. governments and on many Americans

Many cause contributed to making the Great Depression as severe as it was Farm Depression of the 1920s Prices of farm products felled about 40% in and they remained low through the 1920s As results some farmers lost so much money they couldn’t pay the mortgage on their farm They either had to rent the land or move Uneven Distribution of Income Industrial productions increased about 50% but the wages of the industrial workers rose far more slowly As results these workers couldn’t buy goods so fast as industry produced them The Stock Market Crash Stock values dropped rapidly on Oct. 24,1929; now known as Black Thursday The next Monday stock prices fell again On Tuesday stock holders panicked and sold a record ,030 shares of stocks Thousands people lost huge sums of money as stock values fell far blow the prices paid for

Became a reality for millions of Americans as the depression continued Many died of disease resulting from malnutrition Thousands lost their homes because the couldn’t pay the mortgage Thousands of farm families where wiped out during the Dust Bowl

The relatively impoverished conditions of Americans farmer’s who averaged 40% of urban laborers’ income which meant they couldn’t afford to buy consumer products For the mining industry yearly earnings felled from 1, 700 to 1,481 dollars The top 5% of income earners in America held 33.5% of the nations total wealth

During the 1920s schools where closed Teachers salaries were cut Schools programs were eliminated The financing of school districts which have been variable in the 1920s was reformed and made efficient by the Depression In New York state 97 out of 110 school districts with populations higher then 5 thousand had no vocational education

President Hoover believed that business if left alone to operate without government supervision would correct the economic conditions Congress approved Hoover’s most successful antidepression measure Reconstruction Finance Corporation This government agency provided some relief by lending money to banks, railroads, and other large institution whose failure would have made depression even worse

 President Hoover took aggressive action to stem the depression by using the power of the federal government  He created a wide variety of agencies and boards that contained the best minds in American business to suggest solutions  He also sponsored a tax cut hoping to stimulate the economy

Smoot-Hawley Tariff : 1% tax cut for one year : $400 million in public work expenditures : Huge increase in taxes : Reconstruction Finance Corporation

 Hoover’s unpopularity denied him his second term and ushered Franklin Roosevelt into the White House  Roosevelt promised a “New Deal” for Americans and relief from the depression  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

 Many American banks had closed immediately after the stock market crash and the public no longer trusted them  Roosevelt tabled an emergency Banking Relief Act that gave the executive broad powers of financial reform  Additional legislation followed strengthening the Federal Reserve and establishing the FDIC to insure deposits

 The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)  The Civil Works Administration (CWA)  The Public Works Administration (PWA)  The Agricultural Adjustment Act: stabilized prices on farm produce through paying farmers to reduce their acreage under cultivation

 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRC)  The National Recovery Administration (NRA)  National Labor Board

 The Works Progress Administration (WPA)  The National Youth Administration (NYA)  The Social Security Act of 1935

 As the first act of his second term, Roosevelt announced a plan to reform the judicial system  Angry with the Supreme Court for foiling several New Deal measures, the president was determined to create a more willing court  His scheme was complex and produced a public outcry of dictatorship; Roosevelt quickly pulled back his plan  Ironically, the Court began passing practically every new initiative after this event

The Great Depression caused many changes in the U.S. New Government Policies It increased federal control over banks and stock markets Gave the government more power to provided money from the needy Also change the basic philosophy of the U.S. government in spending money New Public Attitudes Change the attitudes of many Americans towards business and federal government as well as their basic attitudes toward life because of the suffering they experienced

Causes of the Great Depression Stock Market CrashStock Market Crash Lack Of Bank LoansLack Of Bank Loans Farm ForeclosuresFarm Foreclosures Factories ShutdownFactories Shutdown