Great Depression Notes
- Causes of the Stock Market Crash 1929
- Overspeculation during the 1920’s
- Overproduction of goods
- Buying on margin
- Uneven distribution of wealth
- Too much borrowing from banks
- Stock prices were grossly inflated, did not have real value
- Federal Reserve increased interest rates
- Lack of government regulation
- Effects of the Stock Market Crash
- Investors and businesses lose millions
- Thousands of banks fail-savings are wiped out
- Business cut production lay off worker
- Unemployment rises-people quit spending money
- Great Depression sets in
- Depression spreads to Europe and other parts of the world
- Effects of the Great Depression
- New Deal programs start-makes up the US government much larger
- Deficit spending starts
- The New Deal creates many organizations that are still around today-social security
- Fascist, military and communist dictators come to power throughout the world
- The Vicious Cycle of the Great Depression
- Companies lose $$ so they lay people off
- Unemployment rate goes up and less people buy goods as income has dropped
- Companies profits fall so they have to lay more people off or close
- Cycle repeats itself
- McNary-Haugen Bill
- In early 1924 Senator Charles l McNary of Oregon and Representative Gilbert N Haugen of Iowa introduced a bill calling for the following:” A federal farm board was to be created to purchase surplus farm production at pre-World War I prices; the surpluses were to be stored until domestic conditions improved or until a decision was made to offer them on world markets”
- Hoover’s Ironic Speech
- “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of this land…We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this land.”
- Herbert Hoover in his acceptance speech June, 1928
- Dow Jones
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is one of the several stock market indicators created by Charles Dow.
- Dow complied the index as a way to gauge the performance of America’s stock market
- Today, the average consists of 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the US
- Hoover Dam
- Located 34 miles from Vegas, is one of the engineering marvels of the world
- Is 726 feet high and 660 feet thick at its base
- Cost $165 million to build
- Relief, Reform and Recovery
- Relief for the needy
- Economic recovery
- Financial reform
- FDR’s Brain Trust
- Harry Hopkins-most important
- Henry Morgenthau
- Louis Lowe
- Cordell Hull
- Frances Perkins
- Sam Rosenman
- Raymond Moley
- Rexford Tugwell
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