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¶ … Great Depression or What Reagan Doesn't Know about the 1920s" analyzes the economic and social conditions of the 1920s from a "Marxist underconsumptionist" stance and criticizes the foundations of a capitalist, free market economy. The prevailing view of the causes of the Great Depression centers on monetarism and thus oversimplifies the actual and complex causes of the Depression Monetarism focuses on the role of government fiscal controls such as the Federal Reserve and posits that the presence of key masterminds could have helped avert the crisis. However, Stricker finds that monetarism fails to address the entire gamut of social and economic conditions that led to the Depression.
Rather, a number of interrelated social, economic, and political issues, all of which hinge on a capitalist state, directly impacted the Great Depression. Moreover, the causes of the Great Depression cannot be viewed without considering the general economic conditions of the 1920s. The industrial infrastructure of the United...
In particular, the automobile and construction industry boomed, as did production of electronic appliances. However, other sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, were weakening and in spite of the huge rise in productivity, consumption rates fell during the 1920s. Consumption rates fell naturally as the majority of citizens comprising the working class could not afford the very products they were being paid to produce. Mega-manufacturers preferred to funnel excess profits back into the corporate sector, rather than to lower consumer prices or raise wages, both of which would have reduced profit margins.
Furthermore, the federal government supported this business boom by merging politics with big business and blatantly supporting the wishes and desires of the corporate culture through legislation. Unemployment became a persistent problem and the power of unions to secure reasonable wages and job security for workers weakened…
Works Cited
Striker, Frank. "Causes of the Great Depression, or What Reagan Doesn't Know About the 1920s."
Great Depression Angela Thomas The Great Depression was a pivotal time in the history of the United States and as a result, American business, banking, agriculture and society were drastically altered. It is commonly believed that the crash of the New York stock market at the end of October 1929 caused the Great Depression, but in reality this turbulent period of American history was brought on by a number of factors. And
There was little support for an Equal Rights Amendment, largely due to the belief that there were other problems to solve first, but the mindset of women was well set for what would be their need in the workforce during World War II. However, while large numbers of women worked during the Depression, scholars often see their status slightly decreasing because the American Federation of Labor, for one, did
Great Depression Dorothea Lange's iconic picture of the Great Depression in America is titled simply, "Migrant Mother." The title depersonalizes the image of Florence Thompson, who Jennifer Keene claims is "angry and bitter" that the photographer never asked her name, nor used the photograph to help the poor. According to Keene, Thompson believes that Lange profited from the photo without fulfilling the original promise to inspire government aide for the poor.
In fact, from 1923-1929 corporate profits rose 62% and dividends rose 65%." (McElvaine R.S. p. 39) This is further evidence not only of the inequality of general wealth distribution, but also of the severe imbalance that was to create havoc in the economy. This dilemma was also further exacerbated by the fact that the Federal Government encouraged this situation. For example, President Coolidge signed the Revenue Act of 1926, which
Thus, when stricter regulations should have been implemented, they were not, and the avoidable became utterly unavoidable. The president Hoover's initial reaction was to allow the market to fix itself, thus going alongside his lassiez-faire beliefs. Yet, he was forced by Congress to act, but did so minimally (Wilkison 1). Thus, it was not long before the nation was in demand of a more hands on president who was
Great Depression refers to the serious economic decline that started in the United States towards the end of 1929 and spread to most industrial countries of the world, lasting until the early 1940s. The period saw sharp declines in the production and sale of goods and a sudden, severe rise in unemployment. Numerous businesses and banks closed down or went bankrupt, people lost their jobs, homes, and savings, and large