The Great Depression is by far one of the largest financial disasters the world has seen. Hundreds of people lost their homes, their businesses, their savings, their hopes and dreams. Families had to learn to adapt to these desperate times, and a large quantity of people turned to welfare. For ten years governments struggled with a crisis of unheard-of proportions. Understanding the reasons behind the Great Depression, in particular regards to how the Stock Market Crash greatly affected and commenced it, is vital to preventing any future economic depressions. This research paper will explain how the Stock Market crash contributed to the Great Depression, by causing bank failures, limiting consumerism, leaving Canadians drowning in debt and
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This was due to a fear of losing money during future economic issues. This recession in the economy resulted in a decrease of items produced by companies, thus reducing employment. "As a result, Canada's gross domestic product per capita dropped to thirty-four per cent." ("The Great Depression hit Canada") Lack of consumer purchases reduced the profit of many factories, companies, and industries. In order to increase profits, companies needed to spend less money. So, they laid off employees, limited wages, and cut back working hours. "The automobile industry declined from one hundred two thousand in 1929 to thirteen thousand vehicles in 1931. Manufacturing, as a whole, had begun to collapse, as it decreased more than fifty per cent in just two years."(“The Great Depression hit Canada”) Sometimes these preventive measures were not enough, and companies went out of business. Subsequently, even more people were left unemployed. With the social classes being divided among the rich and the poor, there was an imbalance. With no middle class, much of the population was too poor to afford common luxuries. "Many suggest that, 'We were poor, but so was everyone else. We were all in the same boat.' Similarly, Stanley Jensen remembers it as, 'I don't think we felt like we were any worse off as a family than other people in the community. 'Despite the fact that when 'we went to the store, but we didn't buy things. We traded.' " (Ganzel, "You Couldn't Even Buy a Job) "Yet, due to the failure of companies and decrease in consumerism, not just in Canada, but internationally, countries began to limit their involvement in world trade. Canada's economy only further suffered, as a third of the gross national income came from exports." (Struthers, "Great
This was due to a fear of losing money during future economic issues. This recession in the economy resulted in a decrease of items produced by companies, thus reducing employment. "As a result, Canada's gross domestic product per capita dropped to thirty-four per cent." ("The Great Depression hit Canada") Lack of consumer purchases reduced the profit of many factories, companies, and industries. In order to increase profits, companies needed to spend less money. So, they laid off employees, limited wages, and cut back working hours. "The automobile industry declined from one hundred two thousand in 1929 to thirteen thousand vehicles in 1931. Manufacturing, as a whole, had begun to collapse, as it decreased more than fifty per cent in just two years."(“The Great Depression hit Canada”) Sometimes these preventive measures were not enough, and companies went out of business. Subsequently, even more people were left unemployed. With the social classes being divided among the rich and the poor, there was an imbalance. With no middle class, much of the population was too poor to afford common luxuries. "Many suggest that, 'We were poor, but so was everyone else. We were all in the same boat.' Similarly, Stanley Jensen remembers it as, 'I don't think we felt like we were any worse off as a family than other people in the community. 'Despite the fact that when 'we went to the store, but we didn't buy things. We traded.' " (Ganzel, "You Couldn't Even Buy a Job) "Yet, due to the failure of companies and decrease in consumerism, not just in Canada, but internationally, countries began to limit their involvement in world trade. Canada's economy only further suffered, as a third of the gross national income came from exports." (Struthers, "Great