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Causes
One of the primary proximate causes of the Great Depression was the stock market crash of 1929, but even the market crash was the culmination of years of speculative banking and investments leading to the economic downturn. For example, also during this time, American banks—as well as some foreign ones—actually capitulated, causing many people to lose their savings and many businesses to lose their access to financing as well. Responding to initial fears of a financial crisis, several policy initiatives exacerbated the situation. For example, when banks reduced or curtained entirely the number and value of loans offered to Americans, there was less of an opportunity to re-invest in business or housing infrastructure.
Europe
Another policy problem was protectionist tariffs on foreign goods, which stifled foreign trade, which also contributed to the Great Depression. For instance in 1930, the American government passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which was intended to protect American businesses from competition from foreign firms but this ended up backfiring due to the stifled flow of trade.
The Hoover Administration
Hoover attempted to ameliorate the financial crisis by balancing the budget and encouraging investment into public works projects to stimulate the labor market and the economy. Hoover did not want to indulge the banks, or corporations for that matter, in bailouts or on excessive federal regulations. The Hoover response veered towards the laissez-faire.
The 1932 Election
The Great Depression occurred under Hoover’s watch, but only a few months into his first term as President. Therefore, Hoover did not cause the Depression, and yet many Americans associated his presidency with it. Hoover’s seeming nonchalance towards the economic crisis was designed to reduce alarmism and promote public confidence, but instead it resulted in disillusionment, desperation, and anger. While almost anyone with the right credentials could have promised the nation relief from the Depression, Roosevelt actually did offer a sound, sensible, and pragmatic approach to dealing with the Great Depression.
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
Depression The Great Depression Pre-Depression Economy Summary • Write a journal entry describing a weakness in your chosen character's sector of the economy that would later contribute to the Great Depression. • Write a summary of the weaknesses in the American economy that contributed to the Great Depression. The Great Depression was one events of the twentieth century that defined the entire century. It was the longest lasting and most widespread financial crisis in the