THE GREAT DEPRESSION BEGINS Photos by photographer Dorothea Lange By the late 1920s many Americans were used to year after year of economic expansion. It was easy to believe that the prosperity of the 1920s would last forever. The crash at the end of the decade shocked many Americans.

LONG TERM CAUSES: THE NATION’S SICK ECONOMY Agriculture Railroads Textiles Steel Mining Lumber Automobiles Housing Consumer goods As the 1920s advanced, serious problems threatened the economy while Important industries struggled, including:

FARMERS STRUGGLE No industry suffered as much as agriculture During World War I European demand for American crops soared After the war demand plummeted Farmers increased production, sending prices further downward Photo by Dorothea Lange

CONSUMER SPENDING DOWN By the late 1920s, American consumers were buying less Rising prices, stagnant wages and overbuying on credit were to blame Most people did not have the money to buy the flood of goods factories produced

GAP BETWEEN RICH & POOR The gap between rich and poor widened The wealthiest 1% saw their income rise 75% The rest of the population saw an increase of only 9% More than 70% of American families earned less than $2500 per year Photo by Dorothea Lange

THE STOCK MARKET By 1929, many Americans were invested in the Stock Market The Stock Market had become the most visible symbol of a prosperous American economy The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the barometer of the Stock Market’s worth The Dow is a measure based on the price of 30 large firms

STOCK PRICES RISE THROUGH THE 1920s Through most of the 1920s, stock prices rose steadily The Dow reached a high in 1929 of 381 points (300 points higher than 1924) By 1929, 4 million Americans owned stocks New York Stock Exchange

The stock market: the public invests in cos. by purchasing stocks; in return for this they expect a profit b/c of booming 1920's economy, $ were plentiful, so banks were quick to make loans to investors also investors only had to pay for 10% of the stock's actual value at time of purchase –this was known as BUYING ON MARGIN, and the balance was paid at a later date

this encouraged STOCK SPECULATION - people would buy and sell stocks quickly to make a quick buck b/c of all this buying & selling, stock value increased (Ex: G.E stock $130  $396/share) this quick turnover didn't aid cos.  they needed long term investments so they could pay bills (stock value was like an illusion) unscrupulous traders would buy and sell shares intentionally to inflate a given co.'s stock value all of this gave a false sense of security/confidence in the American market

PROBLEMS WITH THE RISING STOCK MARKET By the late 1920s, problems with the economy emerged Speculation: Too many Americans were engaged in speculation – buying stocks & bonds hoping for a quick profit Margin: Americans were buying “on margin” – paying a small percentage of a stock’s price as a down payment and borrowing the rest

THE 1929 CRASH Stocks peaked in summer, 1929 Prices started to drop as frightened investors who bought stocks on margin rushed to sell their stocks in order to pay off their loans Tuesday, October 29 th – Black Tuesday – stock market crashed because so many people wanted to sell and so few wanted to buy People who had bought on margin (credit) were stuck with huge debts

By mid-November, investors had lost about $30 billion

a 2nd major problem: uneven dist. of wealth 0.1% at top owned as much as bottom 42% of American families (42% below poverty line) of the 58% above the poverty line, most fell into the middle class category - they were not wealthy; they had jobs b/c of the industrialization & consumerization of the American market place this middle class depended on their salaries and when productivity declined they lost their jobs and b/c of low savings, they had to cut back on their purchases this decline in consumption among the middle class ruined the whole country

Pres. Hoover’s responses… he didn't believe that the gov't should play an active role in the economy he persuaded bankers/business to follow his policy of VOLUNTARY NON - COERCIVE COOPERATION where he gave tax breaks in return for private sector economic investment Hoover also organized some private relief agencies for the unemployed he worked out a system with European powers that owed U.S. money as a result of WWI debts = HOOVER MORATORIUM - put a temporary stop to war debt & reparations payments Euro. countries were to purchase American goods instead to stimulate American economy

in early 1931 these measures appeared successful, but then......the TARIFF WARS Democrats in Congress passed a high tariff (SMOOT HAWLEY) to protect U.S. industry (hoped to stimulate purchasing of U.S. goods) this turned out to be a fatal error... Congress did not understand that the world had become a GLOBAL ECONOMY in retaliation other countries passed high tariffs and no foreign markets purchased American goods, so U.S. productivity decreased again

THE GREAT DEPRESSION The Stock Market crash signaled the beginning of the Great Depression The Great Depression is generally defined as the period from 1929 – 1940 in which the economy plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed Alabama family, 1938 Photo by Walter Evans

FINANCIAL COLLAPSE After the crash, many Americans panicked and withdrew their money from banks Banks had invested in the Stock Market and lost money In banks failed By 1933 – 11,000 of the 25,000 banks nationwide had collapsed Bank run 1929, Los Angeles