Prelude to The Great Deppression
NYC before the Great Deppression
Before the Great Depression hit, the US was
a place of great optimism and prosperity. The stock
market was doing great and the average prices of stocks
rose 40 percent. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between
1920 and 1929. This was huge and had never happened before.
The 20’s had now become a time of Jazz, spending, Prohibition and newfound
freedom. With the country doing so well, and the stock market in particular,
many people put their trust and money in the stock market. However, when it
crashed they were left with nothing.
Black ThursdayThe stock market was for a while a great place to invest your money, but once October 1929 hit, things went downhill from there. There was a variety of minor events leading to gradual price declines, which made investors lose their confidence in the market. As October continued things only got worse and finally the market crashed on, Thursday October 24, 1929. This was also known as Black Friday. This was and is probably known as the most significant economic crash to ever have taken place in all of U.S. history, and this catastrophic event single-handedly triggered The Great Depression. All the people who lost their money we frightened and did not know what to do. The ideas of how they would feed their families, or themselves, or merely survive the winter to come without heat or possibly shelter circled their heads and taunted them and they sat in pure fear of what tomorrow would bring.
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FDR and The New DealThis idea of his got him enough credibility to become elected as the next president of the U.S. Electing him was probably the smartest thing that anyone could do, Hoover was no longer the man for the job, and FDR was their savior. Roosevelt took quick action to fight the depression. He had congress pass the emergency bank relief act to stabilize the banking system, which was smart to do, because with out it, it would've been much harder to mend the country. The New Deal created many labor unions for all people, even blacks and minorities as well as giving financial relief to those who were desperate for it.
Review Activity:1. Pretend you are FDR and come of with a list of policies and laws you would create to better your country in the Depression.
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The Depression BeginsThis depression did not only effect in the U.S., but it spread throughout the world. It lasted over such a long span of time, which of course was filled with poverty, death, jobless citizens and a struggling economy along with its people. It started in 1929 and lasted until 1940. With banks failing and people very quickly becoming more or less completely broke, chaos broke out. More than 15 million Americans (one quarter of the working people at the time) became unemployed. The president at the time, Herbert Hoover, underestimated the reality of how serious this crisis really was. He called it,“A passing incident in our national lives,” and told Americans that everything would be fine in a few months. That was easy for him to say though, because yes this affected the nation as a whole, but it didn't directly affect him. Hoover was a big believer in individualism, the idea that one should be independent or self-reliant, so he did not nor did he let the government get involved and help the poverty-stricken population. This angered many people because here they were, trying to get a job, or feed their families while he isn’t being affected by this crisis and could help, but won’t. With many people not liking him, and he not treating others the way he should've been or how they thought he should be, he was easily blamed for the cause of The Great Depression. His name was also used in poor scenarios and developed a bad connotation. For example, an empty pocket turned inside out was called a "Hoover flag", also in any slum-like areas, people re-named them and referred to them as "Hoovervilles". With all this bad publicity for Herbert Hoover, and the upcoming election ahead things weren't looking too great for him. Especially when the wealthy governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt came into the picture. He was willing to invest money and offer the americans a brilliant and new idea, The New Deal.
Franklin Delano RooseveltBorn on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921. He became president in 1933 and was the only one to ever be elected four times. He lead the U.S. bravely through The Great Depression and WW2. He greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal. In 1928 he was elected governor of New York and sought an opportunity in 1930 when Republicans were being blamed for the Great Depression. As a Republican he felt he could change peoples opinions about people like himself, and motivated, he did. He began to run for president, and got peoples attention by promising relief, recovery and reform. He came into the depressing world and with his up-beat attitude and positive approach as well as the well being of the people in mind, won and defeated Hoover in the election. When he took office there were 13 million people out of work. He probably faced the greatest crisis in American history since the Civil War under his presidency. He helped organize the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) to support farm prices, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) to employ young men, and the NRA (National Recovery Administration), which regulated wages and prices. Besides just helping the U.S., he also helped and influenced the world. In 1933 Roosevelt decided to step away from the principle of the Monroe Doctrine and created The Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. This represented an attempt to distance the United States from earlier interventionist policies, it was a new and fresh start for them.
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