PAGE 1 The Great Depression
The Great DepressionThe Great Depression in the United States was a long-term unpleasant recollection in the history of the American economy. The Great Depression was the most terrible and longest economical collapse of the industrial world, continuing from the end of 1929 until early 1939. Numerous banks and industries were shut down, products were unable to be sold and thousands of people lost their jobs and had to live by begging and resorting to charity.The causes for the Great Depression go back to the decade after World War I. The United States had a rapid economic growth right after the war. "The economic system was growing outrageously without having the proper control of the government. The big industries were booming and approximately 31% of the wealth of the United States was in the hands of o ...view middle of the document...
Sixty-percent of American families were living on the border line of poverty. There was no one to sell all the products that were being produced. While no products were being sold, loans the industries had taken out still needed to be paid but there was no way to pay the loans. Also due to no money being made caused for a wide spread of unemployment.The American people had great confidence in the new rich economy. However with the stock market crash of 1929 the people soon lost their confidence. The wealthy stopped spending money on the luxury items they really didn't need. The middle-class and poor just about stopped buying altogether due to the fact they were scared of losing their jobs. With the stop to purchasing the results were lost jobs which lead to defaults on payments which then lead to items purchased on credit having to be returned. Therefore the warehouses started piling up with inventory.High tariffs were put in to place to try and make up for some of the money that was being lost. But with the high tariffs the foreign countries stopped buying American products. At this point there were more stores and factories closing, and banks were going under. "By 1930 there were five million American citizens without jobs and by 1932 the number had risen to thirteen million." (Gusmorino, 1996)The Great Depression was started by the fundamental problems of the American economy due to the lack of control and guidance from the government. This along with the stock market crash made living in this era almost unbearable. During the Great Depression things only seemed to get worse as each chain of events occurred.ReferencesGusmorino, Paul A. III. (1996). Main Causes of the Great Depression. Retrieved on July 30,2008 from: http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/greatdepression/index.htmlSocyberty. (2007). The Causes of the Great Depression. Retrieved on July 30, 2008from: http://www.socyberty.com/History/The-Causes-of-the-Great-Depression.44271
