Great Depression Dbq Analysis

The Great Depression was a period of time between 1929 and the late 30’s in which unemployment rates skyrocketed and America’s economy was hanging on by a thread due to multiple triggers one of which was the stock market crash. The two long-term causes of the Depression were the decline in industry growth and the overproduction of crops. Industry decline was one of the main factors that contributed to the Depression because former consumers no longer had the means to pay for goods or services which caused people to be laid off and businesses to fail. Overproduction of crops also played a part in triggering the Depression because after WW1 farms were still producing copious amounts of crops which in turn caused : food prices to go down, loss …show more content…
First of all the New Deal was a failure because FDR was spending way more money than revenue coming in to fund relief programs with money the U.S did not have making government debt shoot through the roof.(Doc.3) When FDR was elected and the New Deal was in place federal spending increased by 6% and total government debt more than doubled since 1929. The government was so focused on relieving its citizens of their hardship that they ignored limiting government spending which would put the U.S right where they began countering all advances made. Secondly the New Deal was a failure because it caused an imbalance in government powers and did nothing to help pull America out of the Depression(Doc.4). The political cartoon Document 4 illustrates how Congress carries out any of the FDR’s biddings and how the New Deal programs were ineffective towards America’s depression. All of FDR’s attempts to cure America of its depression were unsuccessful and in order to rebuild the economy a new approach had to be thought of or else America would collapse or become a monarchy. Lastly The New Deal was a failure because it only benefited the majority of the population while it drove the minority further into poverty(Doc.7). Most New Deal programs discriminated African Americans by allowing segregation, lowering pay scales and establishing white supremacy. This violates the Declaration of Independence(all …show more content…
First of all, the government were paying people to help increase food prices and allowing several people to starve(AAA). The Agricultural Adjustment Admin burned crops and killed livestock in order to stop overproduction which led to people not being able to afford food and basically starved most of the nation. This is important because it reveals that FDR’s unyielding approach was damaging not only the people but America as a whole. Second of all, the Social Security Admin, a welfare program was taken advantage of and further inflated government deficit(SSA). The SSA greatly reduced the number of people on the workforce, lessened consumer spending because of a fixed income, and not to mention, one of the most expensive “relief” programs out there. This program contributed to people becoming reliant on government handouts rather than taking up jobs and supporting the economy which put more pressure on government finances. Lastly, the Federal Emergency Relief Admin proved that the New Deal was a failure because people were collecting money from the government for doing nothing and provided loans fully knowing they wouldn’t be able to get that money back(FERA). Since so many houses were being built prices went down and real estates companies lost profits. Also this New Deal programs discriminated African Americans and greatly favored whites just because they “deserved” it and were