THE GREAT DEPRESSION BEGINS

Stock Market

Overproduction

Bank Failures

CAUSES OF THE CRASH

“Bull market” led to rising stock prices

Wealth was generated on paper Investors bought on margin / credit!

Black Tuesday – October 29,1929 The day the bubble popped

STOCK MARKET CRASH

Crisis in the farm sector! Markets that were open during

WWI, now closed! Farmers produced more than they

were able to sell (trying to pay off their debt)

Prices of products dropped

Demand of manufactured goods fell off . Americans spending less! No one buying things don’t need

to produce as much don’t need a lot of workers

OVERPRODUCTION/CONSUMER DEBT

After the crash – American panic and try to withdraw money from banks! Too many people, not enough

money!

Banks shut down 659 (1929) 6,000 (1933)

Wiped out 9 million individual savings accounts

http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock-market-crash/videos#1929-stock-market-crash

BANK FAILURES

1. 3% to 25%2. 13 million 3. 1,800/year to 1,050 per year4. 1 in 45. 85,0006. 1

NUMBERS – WHAT DO THEY REPRESENT?

Towns made of shacks Shacks built from scrap

material.

These towns were known as Hoovervilles (after president Hoover).

“Here were al l these people l iving in old, rusted-out car bodies…There were people l iving in shacks made of orange crates. One family with a whole lot of kids were l iving in a piano box…People l iving in whatever they could junk together”

SHANTYTOWNS

Many Americans scrounged for food Digging in garbage cans

Begging on street corners

Soup Kitchens

Bread Lines

SOUP KITCHENS & BREAD LINES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQbcNhcCyn8

Unemployment rates were higher & jobs had very low pay

Racial violence increased against African Americans Americans demanded Latinos be deported

AFRICAN AMERICANS & LATINOS

Take a moment…put yourself in someone else’s shoes….

Answer these questions on you sheet How might they be feeling? What would be the worst part?

GREAT DEPRESSION

Generally, Americans believed in traditional values and the importance of a family staying together!

However, making ends meet caused stress and sometimes would break apart families

EFFECTS ON THE FAMILY

Walk the streets

Some stopped trying

Some abandoned their families

Wandered the country

MEN OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Women Women canned food and

sewed clothing Carefully managed the budget Sometimes worked outside the

home

Children Health problems:

Malnutrition/diet related diseases

Child-welfare programs were cut

Some schools closed or shortened the year

Many worked – sweatshops

WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The Dust Bowl!! Rocked the great plains! Devastated farmers and people of

that area. “Black Blizzards” Ruined farms, many people had to leave Farmers lost their farms Killed animals and many times, people!

FARMERS

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/

People felt demoralized

People admitted to mental hospitals

Sacrifi ces made:

No doctor/dentist No college No family/marriage

Families helped other families

Habits of saving/thriftiness This shaped the generation

OTHER EFFECTS

Tried to reassure American’s that the nation’s economy was OKAY “Any lack of confidence in the economic future…is foolish”

Hoover didn’t do much – didn’t want government to have too much power or do too much.

“Rugged individualism” – People should succeed through their own eff orts. Don’t depend on gov. to bail you out!

Refused to support direct relief programs

PRESIDENT HOOVER & THE DEPRESSION

Boulder Dam To add jobs and jumpstart economy. Part of his public-works programs

Federal Farm Board Raise crop prices/help farm cooperatives buy crops

Federal Home Loan Bank Act Lowered mortgage rates for homeowners Farmers can refinance their farm loans to avoid foreclosure

Reconstruction Finance Corporation Provides emergency financing to banks, life insurance companies,

railroads, etc. “Trickle-down” approach.

All of these things helped a little but it was just too little, too late.

PRESIDENT HOOVER

http://www.history.com/topics/great-depressionMight not need to show this due to America the story

of US

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GD