Free Essays on The Great Depression

Before going into the subject of The Great Depression I would like to talk bit about money, the term money basically has two different types of meaning. We often speak of someone â€Å"making money,† when we really mean that he or she is receiving an income. Money is a term referring to a flow of income or receipts per week. Often times we also speak of someone having money in either his or her pocket, safe-deposit box or on a savings account. Under these conditions, money refers to an asset, as well as an item on a profit and loss statement. (Money Mischief, pg 8) The late 1920’s were a decade of economic boom. New houses and apartments were created, and the nation’s capital expanded. At the beginning of 1929, the unemployment rate was at a low 3.2 percent. But as that eventful year unfolded, increasing signs of economic weakness began to appear. Unemployment went up to 25 percent and the Real Gross Development Product (GDP) declined at 29 percent. (Macroeconomics, pg 376) Prior to the stock market crash, the nation was relishing in a state of jubilation. Confidence levels were elevated and the stock market was up. Everybody seemed to be making a fortune by speculating in the stock market. Between August and September 1929, almost 1.1 billion transactions were made (NEEDS CITATION). But in actuality, most people in the country did not have the extra money to invest in the market. Those few that did invest increased their buying power by borrowing money (The Great Depression pg 31). However, as banks and businesses reacted to cut costs or declared bankruptcy, unemployment rose at an alarming rate. Relief organizations were quickly overwhelmed and unemployment offices were swamped with applicants. Meridel Le Sueur was a young writer who wrote an article about what it was like for women seeking work in an employment office. She describes the frustration and humiliation of proud people waiting all day for jobs t... Free Essays on The Great Depression Free Essays on The Great Depression The soaring stock market became a symbol of prosperity, seeming to signify the capacity of the American economy for production of wealth. Though limited by today’s standards, the number of Americans drawn into the stock market grew quickly and was far greater by the late 1920’s than ever before. Because of this, when the crash came, it had a stunning impact on the confidence of consumers and investors. This worsened the economic downturn, which became more visible in the months after the collapse of the market. Contemporaries in fact tended to blame the depression mainly on the market crash, but here they exaggerated. (Himmelberg, 7) The stock market crash signaled the end to an era. It emptied out the savings and confidence of many Americans, but it alone did not explain the failure of the American economy. The economy actually peaked during the second quarter of 1929, well before the crash, and the reasons why the economy turned down so disastrously for many y ears in a row once the decline began go well beyond the markets influence. (Himmelberg, 7) The downturn of 1929 becoming a severe depression, let alone the beginning of a decade-long period of economic decline and stagnation, was not immediately apparent or even imagined by the direst Cassandras of 1929. (Himmelberg, 8) The most recent depression, after World War I, had been deep but short lived. The thinking from 1929 through much of 1930 was that this depression too would be brief, and to be grateful that the downward trend of the economy was so much more moderate than it had been during the previous episode of depression. (Himmelberg, 8) There also had developed a deeply engrained belief, especially in business circles, that the modern economy, with its immense production and consumption of so great a variety and volume of consumer goods, had become virtually depression-proof. (Himmelberg, 8) Unemployment rose steadily throughout 1930; consumer spending and p... Free Essays on The Great Depression The great depression, the most disastrouseconomic event in United States History, occurred in 1929 after a decade oflavish and carefree living in America. Its remedy became a series of federalprograms instituted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the New Deal. Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government did to end the Depression. In the 1920's, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this, they couldn't afford manufactured goods. While the factories were still manufacturing goods, Americans weren't able to afford them and the factories made no money. Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren't doing to well because they were producing more crops and farm products than could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small profit. This insufficient profit wouldn't allow the farmers to purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn't produce goods quick enough. A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was established because many Americans didn't have enough money to buy goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon found out that they couldn't afford to make the ... Free Essays on The Great Depression Before going into the subject of The Great Depression I would like to talk bit about money, the term money basically has two different types of meaning. We often speak of someone â€Å"making money,† when we really mean that he or she is receiving an income. Money is a term referring to a flow of income or receipts per week. Often times we also speak of someone having money in either his or her pocket, safe-deposit box or on a savings account. Under these conditions, money refers to an asset, as well as an item on a profit and loss statement. (Money Mischief, pg 8) The late 1920’s were a decade of economic boom. New houses and apartments were created, and the nation’s capital expanded. At the beginning of 1929, the unemployment rate was at a low 3.2 percent. But as that eventful year unfolded, increasing signs of economic weakness began to appear. Unemployment went up to 25 percent and the Real Gross Development Product (GDP) declined at 29 percent. (Macroeconomics, pg 376) Prior to the stock market crash, the nation was relishing in a state of jubilation. Confidence levels were elevated and the stock market was up. Everybody seemed to be making a fortune by speculating in the stock market. Between August and September 1929, almost 1.1 billion transactions were made (NEEDS CITATION). But in actuality, most people in the country did not have the extra money to invest in the market. Those few that did invest increased their buying power by borrowing money (The Great Depression pg 31). However, as banks and businesses reacted to cut costs or declared bankruptcy, unemployment rose at an alarming rate. Relief organizations were quickly overwhelmed and unemployment offices were swamped with applicants. Meridel Le Sueur was a young writer who wrote an article about what it was like for women seeking work in an employment office. She describes the frustration and humiliation of proud people waiting all day for jobs t... Free Essays on The Great Depression The Great Depression Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government did to end the Depression. In the 1920's, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this, they couldn't afford manufactured goods. While the factories were still manufacturing goods, Americans weren't able to afford them and the factories made no money (Drewry and O'connor 559). Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren't doing to well because they were producing more crops and farm products than could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small profit. This insufficient profit wouldn't allow the farmers to purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn't produce goods quick enough (Drewry and O'connor 559). A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was established because many Americans didn't have enough money to buy goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon found out that they couldn't afford to make the monthly payment(Drewry and O'connor 559). In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Americans purchased stocks b... Free Essays on The Great Depression The economic depression that be-fell the United States and other countries in the 1930s was unique in its strength and its consequences. At the depth of the depression, in 1933, one American worker in every four was out of a job. In other countries unemployment ranged between 15 percent and 25 percent of the labor force. The great industrial slump continued throughout the 1930s, shaking the foundations of Western capitalism and the society based upon it. Aspects of the economy President Calvin Coolidge had mentioned during the long prosperity of the 1920s. He said "The business of America is business." Despite the seeming business prosperity of the 1920s, however, there were serious economic weak spots, a major one being a depression in the agricultural sector. Others facing depression and problems were such industries as coal mining, railroads, and textiles. Throughout the 1920s, U. S. banks had failedan average of 600 per yearas had thousands of other business firms. By 1928 the construction boom was over. The spectacular rise in prices on the Stock Market from 1924 to 1929 shared little relation to actual economic conditions. In fact, the boom in the stock market and in real estate, along with the expansion in credit (created, in part, by low-paid workers buying on credit) and high profits for a few industries, concealed basic problems. Thus the U. S. stock market crash that occurred in October 1929, with huge losses, was not the actual cause of the Great Depression, although the crash began the most traumatic economic period of modern times. By 1930, the depression was most apparent, but few people expected it to continue. Previous financial panics and depressions had reversed in a year or two and thus most people thought that this was just part of the ups and downs of the business cycle. The usual forces of economic expansion had van ished, however. Technology had eliminated more industrial jobs than it had created; the ... Free Essays on The Great Depression The United States struggled through the depression but got through it by many different ways. I was the press secretary in 1932. At the start of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency the U.S. was in the greatest depths of the depression. In his first Inaugural Address in 1933 he stated that â€Å"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. †1 FDR’s main goal was trying to restore confidence to the people. He was also letting them know that as a Nation we can get out of the depression, and the only thing that is keeping us in it is ourselves. During the depression Roosevelt tried one thing after another such as, heavy spending, public works, direct relief, NRA codes, regulation of industry and restrictions on spending. FDR also stated that, â€Å"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. †2 FDR thought that the government needed to be in charge by building and creating new jobs. As soon as people went back to work they would have an income and could afford to start buying things and paying for things which in the end would give the economy a boost. FDR started lots of work programs and helped stabilize the economy. In addition, â€Å"†¦there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments†¦.† 3 FDR closed all banks two days after he was inaugurated. This day is known as a Bank Holiday. They inspected all banks to see if they could re-open. They re-organized the banks and put 1 billion dollars back into the banks after they re-opened. He also passed a act known as the Emergency Banking Act. The purpose was to protect the larger banks from the smaller banks. It also enlarged federal authority over private banks and government loans to private banks. â€Å"We must act and act quickly. †4 In FDR’s first one hundred days he pushed for many acts through congress that were designed to beat the depression in lots of different aspects. His programs focused primarily on reviving both the agri...