The Great Depression 8
When you mention the Great Depression, many people think of the poor farmers in the Oklahoma Panhandle whose livie hoods were blown into the sky by years of drought and dust storms. The Great Depression had a devastating impact on the nation, spreading across the countryside and bringing hardship to big cities and small towns. No social, racial, or economic class was excluded. At the depth of the depression, in 1933, one American worker in every four was out of a job. The Great Depression affected the world economy from October 1929 to 1934, after the American Wall Street Stock Market crash. The crash caused a drop in worldwide production and prices and caused a massive unemployment rate in free market economies throughout the western world. On Oct. 24, 1929, the complete collapse of the stock market began; about 13 million shares of stock were sold. Tuesday, October 29--known since as Black Tuesday-worsened the damage; more than 16 million shares were sold in one day. This caused the value of most shares to fall sharply, leaving financial ruin and panic in its wake. There had been financial panics before, and there have been some since, but never did a collapse in the market have such a devastating and long-term effect on t
he Nation. Like a snowball rolling downhill, it got larger and larger and swept away the whole economy. Businesses closed, putting millions out of work; Banks failed by the hundreds. When the banks failed people panicked because one bank would have bad luck and close down, so they would go withdraw all their money from their bank, and then that would force that bank to close down-it was a chain reaction. With the banks and businesses failing there wasn't any money to pay workers, so wages for those still fortunate enough to have work fell quickly. The value of money decreased as the demand for goods declined. The Government itself was pressed for income as tax revenues fell, and the government at that time was much more limited in its ability to respond to economic crises than it is today. The international structure of world trade collapsed, and each nation sought to protect its own industrial base by putting high tariffs on imported goods. This only made matters worse. By the fall of 1931 the international gold standard had collapsed, further damaging any hope for the recovery of trade. This started a series of currency devaluations in several countries, because these nations realized that a de-valued currency posed a temporary advantage in the struggle to find markets for their goods. 1932 had cut the United States industrial output in half. One fourth of the labor force-about 15 million people-was out of work, and unemployment insurance was unheard of. Hourly wages had dropped by about 50 percent. Prices for agricultural products dropped to their lowest level since the Civil War. More than 90,000 businesses failed completely. Statistics, however, cannot tell the story of the extraordinary hardships the masses of people endured. For nearly every unemployed person, there was a family that needed to be fed and housed. Such massive poverty and hunger had never been known in the United States before. Former millionaires stood on street corners trying to sell apples at 5 cents apiece. Hundreds of pitiful shantytowns-called "Hoovervilles" in honor of the unfortunate Republican president who presided over the disaster-sprang up all over the country to shelter the homeless. People slept under "Hoover blankets"-old newspapers-in the outdoors. People waited in bread lines in every city, hoping for something to eat. In 1931 alone, more than 20,000 Americans committed suicide. In 1996 the death rate was 2,314,690 for all races, sexes, and all causes of death. The theme song of the period became 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' For anyone with a few dimes, the Depression was a shopper's dream. A new home could be bought for less than $3,000. A man's suit cost about $10, a shirt less than 50 cents, and a pair of shoes about $4. Milk was 10 cents a quart, a pound of steak only 29 cents and a loaf of bread a nickel. For a dime one could go to the movies, buy a nickel bag of popcorn, and even win prizes given away by the th
Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Tuesday-worsened, President Hoover, Smoot-Hawley Act, Wall Street, United Former, Spare Dime', Herbert Hoover, Philip Murray, Fireside Chats, Oklahoma Panhandle, 1929 1932, stock market, president hoover, banks failed, stock market crash, world trade, herbert hoover, federal government, wall street, market crash,
Approximate Word count = 1979
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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