The Great Depression
By: Chase Klement
How it started
The stock market crash of 1929, usually cited as the beginning of the Great Depression, was preceded by the Roaring '20s, a period when the American public discovered the stock market and dove in head first. The crash wiped out many people's investments and the public was understandably shaken. When bank failures erased the savings of those who weren't even invested in the stock market, people were shattered. Although the market crash was unavoidable, the bank failures could have been prevented with better regulation.
Event Information
The bank failures
The first bank failures occured in the south and midwest of the US and were followed by New York banks failing and having a bunch of run ons
When?
Sunday, Oct 20, 1929, 12:00 PM
Where?
South and midwest
Facts
Fact 1 - Definition: The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decades preceding World War II from 1929 - 1945.
Fact 2 - The Great Depression originated in the United States, under President Herbert Hoover starting with the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929 and resulted in the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday).
Fact 3 - The Great Depression spread to nearly every country in the world, although this article focuses on the United States of America.
Fact 4 - On “Black Tuesday” the stock market lost $14 billion, making the loss for that week 30 billion dollars.
Fact 5 - After the initial stock market crash there were a wave of suicides.
Fact 6 - During the worst years of the Depression (1933-1934) the overall jobless rate was 25%.
Fact 7 - 25% of people took wage cuts or worked part-time.
Fact 8 - The gross national product fell by almost 50%.
Fact 9 - During the Great Depression 50% of children did not have adequate food, shelter, or medical care.
Fact 10 - Nearly 750,000 farms were lost through bankruptcy.
Recovery
the main recovery of the great depression was WWII and FDRS new deal. The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II. Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery. It did help in reducing unemployment.