Causes of the Stock Market Crash:
In 1928 the stock market was booming! Everyone was investing and felt as if their
were no risk at all in investing a lot of money in something that could fall just as easily as it could rise. Sometimes the people didn't even have all the money to buy stocks, when this was the case the people payed a small portion of the stock and then got a loan from a broker. This method is called buying on margin and could get very nasty if the stock fell. When the stock falls while you payed for it with a loan the broker would normally make you pay all the money back right away. Many believe that it was the large amount of people investing that caused the stock market to crash, they say they couldn't keep up. Some banks even invested customers money without their knowledge. This caused a sudden loss of faith in the banks. Another cause was speculation, investing unwise amounts on failing stock. Buying and selling stock was no longer a long-term thing, people now sold the stock when they were pleased with the amount they would make. On Black Tuesday the prices were plummeting so people were selling their stocks, but nobody was buying or holding on to theirs.This is the biggest cause of the crash of 1929.
Causes of the Great Depression:
The main thing people claimed caused the Great Depression was the stock market crash of 1929. Stockholders lost $40 billion. In trying to raise money congress proposed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. This tariff charged a lot more for imported goods. In doing this they failed to see their flaws, other countries stopped trading with America. Bank deposits back then were not insured, so when banks failed, people lost all their money! Along with failing banks, the lasting banks were scared to approve loans, therefore they didn't. This caused a lack of buying things of worth. People all over stopped buying goods. With no people buying the goods there was no reason to have as many workers producing the goods, thus the rise of unemployment to 25%. The Dust Bowl caused many problems in the Great Depression.
Women Struggle to Survive:
The women of this era had to protect their families and what was left go their budget. They sewed clothes for the whole family, and gardened as much as possible in order to can the vegetables so they lasted longer. Women did everything possible to save any money possible! Women were able to work places other than home but when they did they were payed a lot less than the men were. Everybody had problems with the fact that married women were working when there were men out there that had no job. Women were too embarrassed to beg on streets and sidewalks and in breadlines. Because of their lack of doing this people believe that women had it easier during the depression! It's CRAZY! Because of the shame many women starved to death!
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