After doing some research on the Great Depression, I was able to learn a great deal on the causes that created this event and the policies implemented to try and end the depression. The Great Depression took place from 1929 and continued until the late 1930’s. It began in the United States, but quickly spread throughout much of the world over time. During this period, much of society were out of work, hungry, and homeless. In the heart of the city, people would stand in long lines at soup kitchens to get a bite to eat. In the country, farmers struggled in the Midwest where a great drought turned the soil into dust causing huge dust storms. The Great Depression began with the crash of the stock market in October of 1929. Historians and economists
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In the first few years of the Great Depression, over 10,000 banks failed. Many people lost their life savings. Some people went from being rich to having nothing. The U.S. government did little at the time to help the banks survive. The entire world economy was struggling at the time of the Great Depression. The U.S. had loaned billions of dollars to its allies recovering from World War I. As these countries struggled, they could not pay back the U.S. A new law called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed in 1930. It placed high tariffs (taxes) on imports. This hampered trade with other countries and helped to slow down the …show more content…
Perhaps the most important new law was the Social Security Act. This act (through a payroll tax) provided retirement for the elderly, assistance to the disabled, and unemployment insurance. It is still a major part of the government today. Other New Deal programs that impact our lives today include banking reform (like FDIC insurance which keeps your money at the bank safe), stock market regulations (to keep companies from lying about their profits), farm programs, housing programs, and laws protecting and regulating unions. In Roosevelt’s first 100 days of being president, he signed 14 new bills into law. This time became known as Roosevelt's Hundred Days (Hill and Wang,
In the first few years of the Great Depression, over 10,000 banks failed. Many people lost their life savings. Some people went from being rich to having nothing. The U.S. government did little at the time to help the banks survive. The entire world economy was struggling at the time of the Great Depression. The U.S. had loaned billions of dollars to its allies recovering from World War I. As these countries struggled, they could not pay back the U.S. A new law called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed in 1930. It placed high tariffs (taxes) on imports. This hampered trade with other countries and helped to slow down the …show more content…
Perhaps the most important new law was the Social Security Act. This act (through a payroll tax) provided retirement for the elderly, assistance to the disabled, and unemployment insurance. It is still a major part of the government today. Other New Deal programs that impact our lives today include banking reform (like FDIC insurance which keeps your money at the bank safe), stock market regulations (to keep companies from lying about their profits), farm programs, housing programs, and laws protecting and regulating unions. In Roosevelt’s first 100 days of being president, he signed 14 new bills into law. This time became known as Roosevelt's Hundred Days (Hill and Wang,