Jr Smith
JR SMITH
Great Depression
The Great depression probably the hardest time, financially, for most Americans. The GD went on for a while but the hardest time would be from 1929-1939. It was so bad the eventually other countries were affected by it. During the Great Depression there were many life stories, major events, government reaction, and a comparison to modern day America. With so many things going on, families being financially distraught, war, strikes, and a bad economy, it set the U.S. back for years.
The life stories of people back then should give a good insight as to what things were like back then. “The stock market crash triggered a banking crisis. Frightened depositors rushed to withdraw their money which drained banks of their funds.” (US history book) For the banks that had invested in company stocks saw their investments crumble in value.” Banks had also made loans to stockbrokers, who in turn had made loans to investors who had lost their money, also lost some banks money. When investors failed to cover their margins, banks had taken losses too and with those failures many banks were driven out of business. The crisis that hit America soon hit the industrialized world. Fragile European economies were thrown backward in funds. American banks that has lent heavily to European businesses and government now called in those loans, but in many cases, businesses and governments alike didn’t have the money to pay back the loans. With buying power in the US, foreign businesses were less able to export their products there; their response was to lay-off workers like America did. Those lay-offs also lowered the income of families.
Major events are a good way in seeing what occurred during the depression. Around 1931 most of the Great Plains entered a long dry spell lasting for several years. The land which was once covered in grass now lay there without any vegetation. When wind storms came, they blew away the topsoil miles away, as far as the
Great Depression
The Great depression probably the hardest time, financially, for most Americans. The GD went on for a while but the hardest time would be from 1929-1939. It was so bad the eventually other countries were affected by it. During the Great Depression there were many life stories, major events, government reaction, and a comparison to modern day America. With so many things going on, families being financially distraught, war, strikes, and a bad economy, it set the U.S. back for years.
The life stories of people back then should give a good insight as to what things were like back then. “The stock market crash triggered a banking crisis. Frightened depositors rushed to withdraw their money which drained banks of their funds.” (US history book) For the banks that had invested in company stocks saw their investments crumble in value.” Banks had also made loans to stockbrokers, who in turn had made loans to investors who had lost their money, also lost some banks money. When investors failed to cover their margins, banks had taken losses too and with those failures many banks were driven out of business. The crisis that hit America soon hit the industrialized world. Fragile European economies were thrown backward in funds. American banks that has lent heavily to European businesses and government now called in those loans, but in many cases, businesses and governments alike didn’t have the money to pay back the loans. With buying power in the US, foreign businesses were less able to export their products there; their response was to lay-off workers like America did. Those lay-offs also lowered the income of families.
Major events are a good way in seeing what occurred during the depression. Around 1931 most of the Great Plains entered a long dry spell lasting for several years. The land which was once covered in grass now lay there without any vegetation. When wind storms came, they blew away the topsoil miles away, as far as the