The Great Depression
When the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 1929, the world economy was plunged into the Great Depression. By the winter of 1932, America was in the depths of the greatest economic depression in its history.
The number of unemployed people reached upwards of 13 million. Many people lived in primitive conditions close to famine. More than 1,000 people lived in shacks made from scrap metal and boxes. There were many similar Hoovervilles all over America. Between 1 and 2 million people travelled the country desperately looking for work.
Effects of the Depression
Unemployment - 13 million people were out of work.
Industrial production dropped by 45 per cent between 1929 and 1932.
House-building fell by 80 per cent between 1929 and 1932.
The entire American banking system reached the brink of collapse.
From 1929 to 1932, 5,000 banks went out of business.
The number of recorded deaths from starvation during the Depression was 110. Many other illnesses and deaths were probably related to a lack of nutrition.
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Although its causes are still uncertain and controversial, the net effect was a sudden and general loss of confidence in the economic future. The usual explanations include numerous factors, especially high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted overoptimistic loans by banks and investors, the lack of high-growth new industries, and growing wealth inequality, all interacting to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending, falling confidence, and lowered production.
THE DUST BOWL
The Dust Bowl, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American lands from 1930 to 1936. The phenomenon
The number of unemployed people reached upwards of 13 million. Many people lived in primitive conditions close to famine. More than 1,000 people lived in shacks made from scrap metal and boxes. There were many similar Hoovervilles all over America. Between 1 and 2 million people travelled the country desperately looking for work.
Effects of the Depression
Unemployment - 13 million people were out of work.
Industrial production dropped by 45 per cent between 1929 and 1932.
House-building fell by 80 per cent between 1929 and 1932.
The entire American banking system reached the brink of collapse.
From 1929 to 1932, 5,000 banks went out of business.
The number of recorded deaths from starvation during the Depression was 110. Many other illnesses and deaths were probably related to a lack of nutrition.
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Although its causes are still uncertain and controversial, the net effect was a sudden and general loss of confidence in the economic future. The usual explanations include numerous factors, especially high consumer debt, ill-regulated markets that permitted overoptimistic loans by banks and investors, the lack of high-growth new industries, and growing wealth inequality, all interacting to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending, falling confidence, and lowered production.
THE DUST BOWL
The Dust Bowl, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American lands from 1930 to 1936. The phenomenon