Great Depression

Section: American History

Great Depression began in the early 1930's, and lasted about a decade. The main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's and extensive stock market speculation that took place during the later part that same decade. The Great Depression was a time in America where jobs were scarce and economic safety was not present. The main cause of The Great Depression was the October stock market crash. From the end of World War I in 1919 the stock market prices kept rising. On October 24, 1929 the stock market crashed. Stock prices plummeted. On that one day, the value of stocks fell fourteen billion dollars. Business started to lay off people. Small stores closed their doors. The lower the money got the more people got laid off. From business, manufacturing, automobile, construction, industries everyone was involved and everyone got hurt. Though people believe now that construction and automobile manufacturing were contracting, about 600 banks were failing each year, and half the American people lived at or below the minimum subsistence level even before the stock market crash. Unemployment approaches 25 percent in 1933. Almost 15,000 banks fail between 1929 and 1933. Millions of people lost all of their savings. Many people ended up sleeping in a shelter ash. Seasons had a lot to do with what some people ate during the depression. They lived on farms and when the crops did not grow their menus changed a lot.

 

 

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