In history, there have been many times where the United States was in prosperity. The economy flourishes, and many people have the time of their lives. Peaks in the economy happened after wars and just sometimes because things were going well. Merger prosperity and Bull market boom were two points that happened before the Great Depression (Document 1). The Bull market boom is what caused the 1920’s to be called the roaring 20’s. Everything was going great. People were able to use credit to purchase things, and it did not look bad if a person had a lot of debt. They could buy whatever they wanted, which led them to live the 20’s lifestyle. This time of prosperity was short lived. In less than 10 years after it flourished, the economy started
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People were using credit to buy everything they needed. They did not care how far their debt went, the more the merrier. William E. Leuchtenburg stated, “With debt no longer regarded as shameful, people bought on installment” (Document 6). It was an attribute to the lifestyle, anyone who wanted to fit in purchased using credit. It was much easier to just buy on installment and pay it back later. Many people thought it would be much later after they struck it rich. Once the economy crashed, the stock market did as well. In a New York Times headline, it stated that, “Stock prices slump $14,000,000,000 in nation-wide stampede to unload” (Document 3). Billions of dollars were lost. This was all over the United states, it was not just in a few states. With this being a nationwide phenom, it was harder for other states to help each other. This resulted in almost every state trying to help their own citizens and then help the nation. In regards to stocks, Harry J. Carman and Harold C. Syrelt, authors of A History of the American People, stated, “As more investors put their money into securities (stocks) in the hope of making a quick profit on a speculative rise in stocks,... the exchange became a betting ring” (Document 5). Stocks were used to make a quick profit, but once the economy crashed, it helped lead to the spiral to the Great Depression. People needed to try and sell their stocks, before the company went bankrupt and the owner of the stock went into greater debt. People could no longer play with their money to buy things, since they had no extra money, especially with all the debt that they had achieved. They had to get rid of the stocks, since the common man could not pay them off. John T. Raskob, former executive of General Motors said, “If he invests in good common stocks and allows the dividends… to accumulate, he will at the end of
People were using credit to buy everything they needed. They did not care how far their debt went, the more the merrier. William E. Leuchtenburg stated, “With debt no longer regarded as shameful, people bought on installment” (Document 6). It was an attribute to the lifestyle, anyone who wanted to fit in purchased using credit. It was much easier to just buy on installment and pay it back later. Many people thought it would be much later after they struck it rich. Once the economy crashed, the stock market did as well. In a New York Times headline, it stated that, “Stock prices slump $14,000,000,000 in nation-wide stampede to unload” (Document 3). Billions of dollars were lost. This was all over the United states, it was not just in a few states. With this being a nationwide phenom, it was harder for other states to help each other. This resulted in almost every state trying to help their own citizens and then help the nation. In regards to stocks, Harry J. Carman and Harold C. Syrelt, authors of A History of the American People, stated, “As more investors put their money into securities (stocks) in the hope of making a quick profit on a speculative rise in stocks,... the exchange became a betting ring” (Document 5). Stocks were used to make a quick profit, but once the economy crashed, it helped lead to the spiral to the Great Depression. People needed to try and sell their stocks, before the company went bankrupt and the owner of the stock went into greater debt. People could no longer play with their money to buy things, since they had no extra money, especially with all the debt that they had achieved. They had to get rid of the stocks, since the common man could not pay them off. John T. Raskob, former executive of General Motors said, “If he invests in good common stocks and allows the dividends… to accumulate, he will at the end of