The Great Depression

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The Great Depression

• 1929 - 1941

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Great Depression

• Economic disaster that hit the United States
  following the stock market crash of 1929
• It involved widespread business failure and
  massive unemployment

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Causes of the Great Depression
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Cause 1

• Over speculation on stocks
• Stocks bought on margin part cash/part credit
• Loans could not be repaid after Stock Market
  Crash
• Peoples homes repossessed

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Cause 2

• 2. Black Tuesday October 29,1929
• Stock Market crashed
• 16 million shares traded (daily average 4
  million)
• Many businesses instantly went bankrupt

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Cause 3

• 3. Failure of Federal Reserve
• Failed to supply banks with enough money to
  prevent the banking system from collapsing
• Caused Americans to lose their savings

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Cause 4

• 4. Hawley-Smoot Act
• Put high tariffs (taxes) on imported goods
• Other countries placed retaliatory tariffs on
  American products
• Stopped world trade and caused businesses to fail

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Impact of the Great Depression
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Unemployment Homelessness

• 25 of Americans unemployed
• Hoovervilles neighborhoods of homeless people
  named after President Herbert Hoover

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Businesses Failed

• Surviving businesses had to cut wages and fire
  most employees
• Labor unions became militant

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Businesses Failed

• Demanded companies rehire workers

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Collapse of Financial System

• Banks did not have any money for people to borrow
• Federal Reserve did not have money to loan banks
  so they could stay open

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Farm Foreclosures and Migration

• Dust Bowl farm area of U.S. which experienced a
  drought in 1920s and 1930s
• Farmers went bankrupt and couldnt pay bank loans
  

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Farm Foreclosures and Migration

• Farmers moved west to California to work on fruit
  farms

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Political Unrest

• Bonus Army 20,000 WWI veterans marched on
  Capital demanding pension payments

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Political Unrest

• People demanded government do something to create
  jobs and generate money