The stock market crash of 1929 is believed to be the main reason of the depression. Many blame the on Herbert Hoover, the only president from the state of Iowa. Life was good in the early 1920's, people were using credit, no worries, the war was over. People were investing largely into stocks with confidence that stocks were an easy way to get rich quick. People were buying on margin which was were they would only have to pay 10 to 20% down payment and a broker would pay the rest. Stocks were booming more and more people were buying in, along with buisnesses investing. The stock market peaked on September 3, 1929, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 381.17 that was the highest point it's ever been.
On the morning of Thursday, October 24, 1929, otherwise known as black thursday, stock markets fell substantially and people began to panic and sell. Which in turn lowers stocks even more. The only thing that saved the stocks on this day were a large group of bankers that bought stocks trying to reassure people and it worked for a few days. Then four days later stocks fell again and this time there were no saves. On Tuesday stocks lowered even more and even more people sold out a record sell out. The drop continued over the next 2 years and it reached its low point on July 8, 1932 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41.22.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ultimately led to the Great Depression. People became afraid to buy stocks, and that only fueled the downfall of the market. The aftermath of the crash caused over 9,000 banks to close. Because bank deposits were uninsured, when banks failed, people lost all of their savings and had no way to recover it. Businesses were closing down all over the country and unemployment went through the roof, reaching almost 25% nationally. The nickname the Dust Bowl was given to the drought in the Mississippi Valley, wasn't a direct cause of the Great Depression, but made times even worse. Farmers had to sell their farms for little or no money to bring in whatever they could for their family. As a result, they couldn't pay their taxes and other debts and many farmers slipped into extreme poverty.
Nobody had spending money and most people were in debt. This was a mayjor time of crisis in the US. People weren't buying material things like they usually do. the government created the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930 to help protect American companies. This charged a high tax for imports thereby leading to less trade with foreign coutries. Which is where i think that hurt us because we were already going through a drought and less trade for goods hurt us.
Through the Great Depression many men were unemployed and took to living in the streets. As many as 300,000 men considered hoboes were thought too of been roaming the streets hitch hiking and sleeping under bridges. These times were tough and it's not like this thing lasted a few days or months, this lasted for years. A lot of these men often ended up in big cities in homeless shelters. They left their wives and kids abandonded them and often never came back. They resorted on living alone and surviving that way.
Comments
Good job overall but be sure to include personal thoughts.