The Great Depression

The 1930s was one of the most challenging times in US history, where the Great Depression caused millions of Americans to suffer through hardships because of the economy. Many people were out of work and unemployed, and the government at the time, believed that the best option was to stay out of its affairs, leaving the struggling people hung out to dry. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt was elected president, that the state of the country began to change. And that was due to the creation of the New Deal; a plan to alleviate the state of the country, providing help through increased government spending and programs, that led to its eventual recovery after the second World War.

The Great Depression affected many lives of americans and many others outside of the United States. The Great Depression first affected the people who were in the city. Then the depression reached the outsides of the cities and then the rural parts of the country. The wheat prices drop extremely. Then because of the poor farm practices from the many different plows used the Dust Bowl started. The Dust Bowl made it harder for farmers to survive in the Great Depression.

The Great Depression was a devastating time for many Americans. From 1929 to 1932, the US experienced an economic downturn that was calamitous to the lives of many people. Millions upon millions of Americans lost everything when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. After exiting an era that left people living a life of luxury, the stock market crash came as a surprise. As a result of the stock market crash, many became unemployed and many families were being forced to close their businesses. Although there were many factors that contributed to the cause of the Great Depression, the three main causes were The Stock Market Crash of 1929, high unemployment, a decrease in consumer purchases due to being “stuffed with stuff” during the roaring twenties.

Through my search process I came across all the answers to my questions simply because the information concerning the Great Depression is plentiful due to its huge impact on our country. During it all I came first upon the answer to my question how the farmers that lived in the 1930's era. I found out that actually farmers had it quite hard if not harder then the citizens who lived in the city. This is because of the fact that when the Depression happened was also the timing of the Dust Bowl unbeknownst to me. Due to the Dust Bowl and one of the longest droughts in American history lasting from 1930 to 1934 while also covering almost 80 percent of the United States farmers had almost an impossible time attempting to grow crops. This was due to the drought. Also as a side affect of the massive drought was that the more farmers tried to plow and till their fields the weaker they made the sod. So as a result this led to the massive Dust Bowl ending in thousands upon thousands of crops getting destroyed.

The Great Depression was the perfect breeding ground for fear and chaos. The United States was drastically impacted, and no one could escape its wrath! The Great Depression not only affected the nation’s economy and way of life, but it also had a huge impression on people’s beliefs and attitudes. Life was a daily struggle, and Americans had to adapt and cope during hard times. People feared the unknown and had to be very resourceful. A landmark trial made headlines because “riding the rails” became a popular means of transportation.

Unemployment was one of the biggest impacts on the depression. Millions of people lost jobs. Forty percent of factory workers, and sixty-seven percent of construction workers were unemployed in Ohio alone (Stock Market Crash of 1929). In the country, unemployment went up twenty-five percent, wages went down forty-two percent, economic growth went down fifty percent, and world trade went down sixty-five percent. In the cities, factories and businesses got rid of a large number of employees or closed down altogether. Cities were not the only ones who felt the impact of the depression. Farmers faced low prices for their products, and many people still could not afford the farmer’s products, resulting in farm foreclosures across the United States.

The Great Depression was one of the lowest times in American history. Although this depression brought great poverty to some areas, most were not even phased by it. For some it brought extreme poverty for others who had little money invested in banks or into the stock market, nothing really changed. It even seemed that those who were impacted the least, their changes would not occur until after the Depression was over. In fact some never even knew that there was a depression going on until it filtered down through the tabloids. This economic tragedy was forever changed by the Election of 1932 which eventually brought on the New Deal of legislative programs which would forever change America.

In one word, it took 25 years to recover stock markets. All these facts sound horrible and terrify you. However, it is not always true that the Great Depression degenerated the country and ruined people’s life. The Great Depression helped America to step forward into a more stable and developed country just like rainstorm washing away all the dirts on the land and making it into a more productive land.

If you were one of the wealthy or middle-class, chances are the depression was the least of your concerns. For most in the lower-class, this was not the case. It started with those working within the wheat and newspaper industry that lost their jobs due to the low demand of these products. Without a job you wouldn’t be able to afford radios, cars, and telephones and without these consumers those working

When the great depression hit America, the country was left in devastation. Due to the

Imagine having no money or stocks, and prices were going up, and there were no open jobs. The Great depression was hard for everyone, they had to deal with market crashes, Herbert Hoover, starvation and other things. Rich or Poor you were affected by the Great depression.

During the Great Depression many Americans were affected by the harsh side effects that came about because of the Great Depression. During this era the economy of America tanked and many people were left nearly penniless if not completely left with nothing. One major cause of the Depression was that the American stock market crashed in the year of 1929 and many people did not know what to do when this happened. Also there was nothing in place to keep the Depression from happening, America just did not foresee the Great Depression hitting them as hard as it did and they were not even close to being prepared for what was going to hit them in 1929.

The Great Depression (1929-1939) is the worst economic downturn that the modern world has ever seen before. Beginning with the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929, the situation grew worse in the United States, in part, due to the tremendous wealth disparity between the higher class and the lower class. Wages did not grow nearly as quickly as production did during this era, so many people were unable to purchase certain goods. As a result, there was an excess in supply, which prompted layoffs in several industries. In fact, the national unemployment rate jumped from just four percent to twenty five percent during the onset of the Depression. However, farmers arguably suffered the most during this time as the value of their crops

Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, age 32, a mother of seven children, in Nipomo, California, March 1936.

Before the start of the great depression the United States was a country of great economic wealth, with new technology being invented and a boom in industry.