The Great Depression and the New Deal “The Great Depression was the economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash in October, 1929, and continuing through most of the 1930s.” according to Dictionary.com. One of the causes of the Great Depression is the Stock Market Crash of 1929. In March of 1929 the Dow Jones Industrial average was 309. It went up to 380 in August. On October 29, 1929, more than 16 million shares of stock were sold. The Stock market had lost over 30 billion dollars. This mass sale of stock collapsed and is known as Black Tuesday. In addition, another reason was Bank Failures. Banks had loaned the money to to people to buy stocks. When the market crashed, people could not afford to pay back the bank. The banks ended up with
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Reduction in purchasing across the board was also a reason for The Great Depression. Because of the stock market and the fears of further economic woes, lots of people from different economic classes stopped purchasing items. So that led to a reduction in the number of items produced and thus a reduction in the workforce. As people started to lose their jobs, they could not pay items they had bought through installment plans and their items were repossessed. The unemployment rate rose above 25%. When banks failed and took people’s savings, middle-class families went into poverty. By 1932, at least 12 million were unemployed. A large amount of farmers left their land and moved to cities where jobs were scarce. Life in the cities was equally devastated. Families had to all move in together and they relied on the one or two family members who could find work for food and rent. People were hungry,sick and disease was starting to spread. There were shacks made out boards and boxes, these were called Hoovervilles. America was ready for a
Reduction in purchasing across the board was also a reason for The Great Depression. Because of the stock market and the fears of further economic woes, lots of people from different economic classes stopped purchasing items. So that led to a reduction in the number of items produced and thus a reduction in the workforce. As people started to lose their jobs, they could not pay items they had bought through installment plans and their items were repossessed. The unemployment rate rose above 25%. When banks failed and took people’s savings, middle-class families went into poverty. By 1932, at least 12 million were unemployed. A large amount of farmers left their land and moved to cities where jobs were scarce. Life in the cities was equally devastated. Families had to all move in together and they relied on the one or two family members who could find work for food and rent. People were hungry,sick and disease was starting to spread. There were shacks made out boards and boxes, these were called Hoovervilles. America was ready for a