1) The causes of the Great Depression.
The main cause of the Great Depression was the Stock Market Crash, but it was not the only one. Many banks failed through out the U.S that was also a leading factor into the Great Depression. Overall, 9,000 banks failed, meaning many families lost all their savings that they had gone uninsured into that bank. The banks that did survive though were concerned with their own survival that they did not lend out any loans. Another factor of the Great Depression was people having the fear of more economical failures. This caused people to stop purchasing items, causing the reduction of items being produced. This caused a reduction in the workforce. The unemployment rate raised over 25%. One last factor that lead to the Great Depression was that the government passed the Smoot-Hawley Tarriff that helped protect American companies. This placed a large tax on imports, leading to less trade between the Americas and other foreign countries.
2) The causes of the Stock Market Crash.
The era that led to the Crash of 1929 was known as the "Roaring Twenties." An era full of wealth and excess. Investment in the 20's was based on the unstable basis of buying on margin. Investors would buy borrowed money from their brokers, which would turn to a bank for that money. The stocks' prices fell causing panic for the U.S. People tried selling their stocks, but no one was buying. Once the stocks failed, the people lost the money permenantly. Another factor of the Stock Market Crash was the slowing economy. People began to be satisfied with what they had meaning the desires for expensive refigerators, automobiles and radios began to decrease. This then affected the companies and workers that produced the items.
3) The Presidential Election of 1928.
The candidates for the presidential election of 1928 consisted of Republican Herbert Hoovert and Democrat Al Smith. The Democratic party's platform stood for the aid to farmers and workers, collective bargaining, banning of labor junctions and stricter regulations on power companies. The Republican party's platform stood for two very major issues throughout the election, the vigorous enforcement of the Prohibition and the promise of continued prosperity. The two most energizing topics of the election were the ideas of the Prohibition and Religion. Al Smith was very open about his religion in Catholicism, and people began proclaiming that if Smith became president, Catholicism would become the national religion. Al Smith also called for the repealing of the Prohibition or in other words, ran against the idea of the Prohibition. The Prohibition was the banning of alcohol. Many people became angry and started using the nickname, "AL-coholic." Al Smith was a very well known speaker, though Hoover was very good at his radio speeches, which was a very technological hit in the 1920's. Herbert Hoover won the election of 1928 with an outstanding 21,391,99 votes to only 15,016,169 by Al Smith. Al Smiths' belief in Catholicism and also his beliefs in the Prohibition hurt him a lot, but they say the only reason Herbert Hoover won the election was because he ran as the candidate that promised prosperity and economic growth.
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Good job but be sure to add personal thoughts.