Sinking Deeper and Deeper:1929-1933
Shania Wendland
Stock Market Crash
A.) Stock Market Crash occurred on October 29, 1929
- This was unexpected by all Americans
- Over 4 million Americans had money invested on Wall Street
- 90% of American households owned zero shares of stock
B.) President Herbert Hoover addressed the nation with soothing words to lessen the fear of Americans for the possible chain events in the future
- Many Americans did not believe in his words, for they knew words could not fix the nation as the national economic system was headed for a downturn.
C.) Statistics on investment in Stock Market
- 87 Billion invested in the New York Stock Exchange in 1929
- 15 Billion invested in the New York Stock Exchange in 1933
Short-Term Consequences
A.) Banks that lent money to future traders to buy stock, found themselves with unpaid loans leading to a sweep of Bank failures.
B.) Consumers that invested their money into bank savings lost their money as Bank Failure was occurring.
- Businesses began to lay off workers as they could not afford to pay them
- Businesses ran into obstacles of overproduction of their inventories
- 1.5 Million in 1929
- 12 Million in 1933
Americans Forced into Waiting
As the economic system was headed for turmoil; Americans were forced into a changed way of life.
- Incomes began to shrink as Businesses could not keep up.
- Soup Kitchen and Charity Lines could not support the growing number of famished people.
- Americans were forced to take on odd jobs such as; taking in laundry or selling apples on the streets as a source of income.
- Professors were forced to drive taxi's as a means of transportation.
- People would set forest fires, so they may extinguish them as a way of earnings.
- Backyard Gardens were started to offset famine, but also to receive an income in selling extra items.
- Americans waited at Landfills for a hope of table scraps among the trash that was being brought in.
Ethnicity
A.) African Americans were forced into a higher unemployment than whites, as any open jobs were given to the whites.
B.) Mexican Population offered free one-way trips to Mexico to decrease the competition for Jobs.
C.) The Latino population decreased.
D.) Ethnic Violence has broken out.
As the Great Depression extended for years, Americans began to organize themselves in dealing with the hardships they faced everyday.
Works Cited
"American History." [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/us>.
"Google Images." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013. <https://www.google.com/search?safe=active>.