The Great Depression 7

A detailed Summary of The Great Depression 7

The Great Depression in the United States was one of the worst and longest economic collapses in the history of the modern industrial world. The depression lasted from the end of 1929 until the early 1940s. Although its' origin was the United States, the depression spread to most of the world's industrial countries. This was a disaster considering that in the early 20th century, these countries had become economically dependent on each other. The Great Depression saw dramatic declines in the production and sale of goods and a sudden, severe rise in unemployment. Businesses and banks closed their doors, people lost their jobs, homes, and savings, and many depended on charity alone to survive. In 1933, at the worst point in the depression, more than 15 million Americans were unemployed. What were the causes of such a disaster? The Great Depression was caused by increased post-war individualism, unevenly distributed income, and the stock market crash of 1929.

Americans in the 1920s began turning inward after World War I. They began to turn away from international issues and social concerns and toward greater individualism. The emphasis in America at that time was getting rich and enjoying new fads, new inventions, and new ide

On October 24, 1929, the stock market simply crashed. Stocks were plunging two to ten points between transactions. Panic was spreading, and soon the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was filled with frantic, screaming men, filled with fear. The plunge of the stocks caused a widespread panic and everyone began to sell their stocks at a remarkable rate. In two days, hundreds of thousands of Americans turned from comfortable investors to beggars and debtors. Wealthy tourists who were in Paris vacationing, were now stranded without the money to return home. Their fourtunes were lost in the crash, they lacked the money for the steamship fare to return home.

This was simply an attractive name for consumer debt. People were allowed to buy now and pay later. But this "wonderful" innovation just put off the day when consumers accumulated so much debt that they could not keep buying up all the products coming off the assembly lines. That day came in 1929.

By the end of 1929, the entire American economy had followed the stock market into ruin. Consumer buying declined sharply. People had their hours cut, and then their wages followed. They dared not to buy new clothing, rather they just patched what they had. People stopped buying radios and suits, washing machines, and cars. As a result, due to the decreased demand, car and radio manufacturers were forced to lay off thousands of Americans. To make things worse, in 1929, America had no unemployment insurance or no Social Security. Either your relatives or friends helped out, or you turned to local charities. Local charities were drained by the magnitude of this disaster, thus people had nowhere to go.

Unemployment soared from 3.2 percent to 24.9 percent, leaving more than 15 million Americans out of work. Many banks had made loans to businesses and people who could not repay them, and some banks had also lost money by investing in the stock market. When the banks customers hit by the depression needed to withdraw their savings, the banks often did not have the money t

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Approximate Word count = 1371
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History