The Great Depression 1929-1932

Causes of the Depression 1. Overproduction 2. Under-consumption 3 Causes of the Depression 1. Overproduction 2. Under-consumption 3. Stock Market Speculation

Economy in the Late 1920’s Herbert Hoover was elected President American economy showed signs of serious problems – Laissez-Faire Huge corporations were ran by rich families who held most of America’s wealth Most Americans had no savings Many Americans took part in speculation – high risk investments in hopes of getting rich

The Stock Market Crash Stock market prices began to drop Americans panicked; rushed to get their $ out of banks & sell stocks October 29, 1929 – The Stock Market crashed, billions were lost – BLACK TUESDAY Factories closed, small businesses closed, families lost farms & life savings Causes – Americans borrowed too much $, industries produced too much product, government made mistakes in economic policies

The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange just after the crash of 1929. In a single day, sixteen million shares were traded--a record--and thirty billion dollars vanished into thin air. The "Era of Get Rich Quick" was over. Cynical NY hotel clerks asked guests, "You want a room for sleeping or jumping?"

Industry Key industries barely made money Over production Loss of business due to foreign competition and new technology Declining demand after the WWI Declining demand for coal because of new energy sources Housing development declines

Agriculture Money declines after the war Could not pay debt, lost farms Rural banks fail Federal price supports were passed, but President vetoed them

Consumer Spending Easy credit = Large consumer debt Increase in money Stagnant wages High levels of debt Consumers decreased their buying Under consumption

Distribution of Wealth ½ of US families earned less than the minimum amount needed for a decent standard of living Rich got richer Unequal distribution of wealth A few rich with lots of money; lots of poor with little money

Stock Market Speculation Buying on margin Generated wealth on paper Many investors lost life savings when the market crashed

The Great Depression

Global economy suffers Unequal distribution of wealth Stock market speculation and crash Problems in industry and farming Easy credit and rising consumer debt Overproduction slows industrial growth Under consumption The Great Depression Bank failures Loss of savings and high unemployment Mass homelessness Increased poverty leads to health and social problems Global economy suffers

Unemployed men vying for jobs at the American Legion Employment Bureau.

Life During the Depression

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

period of drought lasted much of 1930s Children suffered the Many men feel a sense of failure Increase in the number of homeless Farmers lose their crops & move out west Urban families crowd into small apartments THE GREAT DEPRESSION Competition for work causes more racial tensions Hoovervilles – shelters set up for the homeless Dust Bowl – period of drought lasted much of 1930s Children suffered the effects of a poor diet

Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother," destitute in a pea picker's camp, because of the failure of the early pea crop. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food.

Escaping the Depression Movies Art Literature Radio

Escaping the Depression MOVIES: Walt Disney produced the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Other films, like The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Gone with the Wind, contained stories of triumph over adversity and visions of a better life. RADIO: Families gathered around the radio daily to hear news or listen to shows like the Lone Ranger. Melodramas, called soap operas, became very popular with housewives. Soap operas received their name because makers of laundry soaps often sponsored them.

The Depression in Art ART: depicted homeless and unemployed Americans; showed the realities of the Depression LITERATURE: John Steinbeck:1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, story of an Oklahoma family fleeing the Dust Bowl

American Gothic- by Grant Wood

In an Angry Mood Violence: discontentment led to looting, rallies, and hunger marches Farmers: between 1930 and 1934 creditors foreclosed on almost a million farms. Some farmers destroyed their crops, hoping the reduction in supply would cause the prices to go up.

Bonus Army Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Bonus Army Who? WWI veterans What? March on the Capitol When? 1932 Where? Washington, D.C.; lived in Hoovervilles and abandoned buildings Why? Wanted the war bonus promised to them in 1945 now, when they really needed it When bonus was denied, most marchers left; others were driven out with tear gas

World War I veterans seeking early payment of a bonus scheduled for 1945 assembled in Washington to pressure Congress and the White House. Hoover resisted the demand for an early bonus. It swelled to 60,000 men.