Causes of the Great Depression- Was a period of economic depression that lasted nearly ten years, roughly from 1929-1939.
There were multiple factors that triggered the Great Depression of the 1930's, but perhaps the major trigger of the OTHER factors was the stock market crash. It took place on October 29th of 1929, and is commonly referred to as BLACK TUESDAY. Stockholders lost approximately $40 billion only two months after the crash. The market reached an all time low on July of 1932 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 89 percent of its value.
The crash of the stock market goes hand-in-hand with another cause: Bank failures. Over 9,000 banks failed throughout the 1930's, causing people to lose their savings, as their deposits were uninsured. The surviving banks were apprehensive of shutting down as well, so they would refuse to issue new loans in fear of never receiving their money back.
All the economic struggles pushed people of all classes to stop purchasing goods. As fewer items were sold, companies had to cut back on budget, so many would end up losing jobs, furthering economic tensions. The unemployment rate reached a peak of 25%, tacking onto the problem as the unemployed cannot purchase goods.
In response to the economic downfall, the US government thought it'd be a genius idea to jack up the prices on imported goods with the creation of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Due to the new tax, America received much less trade with foreign countries, decreasing by 66% worldwide. The act was moreso a symbol of help, or a "beggar-thy-neighbor" policy, which benefits oneself at the expense of another.
Another potential cause of the Great Depression was the extreme drought conditions that took place in the Plains. More money was being lost with every crop that died due to insufficient rainfall and high temperatures. More people lost their jobs as well, as many farmers sold their farms for very little to no money. Conveniently, the topic of the drought conditions in the 1930's tie in to my second topic,
The Dust Bowl -A sensation that's sweeping the nation. RIGHT? GET IT?!?!
Due to the dryness of the fields in the Plains, topsoil would be picked up by high-velocity winds and be carried for up to a hundred miles! The dust storms looked like clouds of dirt, and the feeling was compared to being hit in the face with a shovelful of sand. While the Midwest and the Mountain West regions were the most affected by these 'dust storms'
By 1933, 38 dust storms had been recorded. In 1934, reportedly 100 million acres worth of topsoil had been stolen from the US by the fierce winds.The Dust Bowl, aka southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, was named after Black Sunday in 1935. Citizens all over the US had to put up with dust everywhere they went, even in their houses.
To cope with the aching agricultural productions, Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act, in a campaign led by Hugh Hammond Bennett, one of Frankin D. Roosevelt's advisors.
My Personal Thoughts: While I think the Great Depression and all of its moments was hard on everyone in the US, I think that it was vital for it to happen to shape us as we are today. I feel that we can now prevent any sort of situation as long as we can keep US citizens purchasing goods allowing those in factories to hold jobs, keeping the unemployment rate down while keeping the banks and the stock market intact.
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/tp/greatdepression.htm
http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1921_timeline/smoot_tariff.html
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/a/facts_great_dep.htm
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html
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