ipl-logo

False Hope Great Depression

794 Words4 Pages

"In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope—nothing of man" (qtd. in “False Hope: Famous Quotes during the Great Depression”). The Great Depression was the worst and longest economic downturn of the United States. It left 13 to 15 million Americans out of work, hundreds of thousands of businesses to close down, and almost half of the country’s banks to fail (Sennholz). Although many think the Great Depression was caused by the stock market crash of 1929, it was only a symptom of a slowing economy that had gone unnoticed, and the most significant cause of the Great Depression was the overproduction …show more content…

Prices for farm products dangerously fell because of such large United States crop surpluses. Farm expenses had also risen much faster than the prices that farmers received and they did not reduce production, so prices for farm products stayed low and farmers’ income fell (McNeil, R. Hanes, and M. Hanes). President Coolidge had not taken much interest in the situation and said that farmers never made money (West and Stoff). Efforts from Congress that failed to protect United States farmers from foreign competition caused most United States farmers to take loans for their land and homes that they could not repay, which weakened their local banks and left them in debt (West and Stoff). On average, over six hundred banks failed every year between 1921 and 1929 (West and …show more content…

Although the Republican administration of Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover followed the laissez-faire approach of the government playing as small a role as possible in the economy, they could have analyzed statistics to see if there were problems and found ways for them to be solved without the government intervening (McNeil, R. Hanes, and M. Hanes). For example if overproduction would have been noticed by the government earlier through statistics or a specialized agency, they could have notified the farmers to lower the amounts of production, which would have benefitted the farmers and the American economy as a whole. Keeping statistics or an agency to monitor agricultural overproduction would have prevented not only the debt of the farmers, but the problems in other industries due to the domino effect could have been

Show More
Related

  • How Did Herbert Hoover Do During The Great Depression

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929 was the start of the deepest and darkest time for the United States Stock Market and the people of the United States. The Market crash, the loss of American jobs and homes, lead to one of the hardest downfalls in American history. Along with billions of dollars lost due to bad stock trading, over extending on personal credit and the spending of money that had yet to be produced. The American people never stood a chance and in a matter of 10 days the lives of almost everyone changed. In 1928 Herbert Hoover was elected as president.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq

    634 Words  | 3 Pages

    Following the end of the First World War, the United States was initially prosperous. In 1929, that prosperous age about-faced into a downward spiral that enveloped the entire country. What was eventually called the Great Depression was essentially caused by four major events. At the start, the stock market was strong and thriving and the population was willing to invest in it. Americans were so confident in the market, in fact, that it was common for them to take out loans to fund their investments.

    Read More

  • Stock Market Crisis Dbq

    647 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before the people had viewed that the economy and the government should be completely separate, but Roosevelt believed that it was the federal government’s responsibility to ensure the American economy is running smoothly. He brought upon the New Deal Legislation, in which was a program that enacted the three R’s, Relief, Recover and Reform. It also increased the size and power of the federal government. The Relief measures were short term strategies to help the hold stability until the economy recovered. During the Great Depression, thousands of banks started failing due to people removing their funds because they didn’t trust the banks.

    Read More

  • Why Was The American Economy Dbq

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the many years of the Great Depression, the American economy plummeted greatly because of ongoing issues throughout the United States. The American market, and essentially continuously buying, are what keeps an economy in any country moving. The points at issue which allowed the economy to go down consist of three major factors. All three of these aspects took a great amount of citizens down along with all of their profits. Families, businesses, and employees struggled to stay standing during this time period.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roderick Karami History 118 Professor Bowerman November 16, 2015 Mid Term / Essay Number Two . The Great Depression in the United states started October 29, 1929 also known as “Black Tuesday” which was when the American stock market which was doing very well ended up crashing, causing the country into its biggest economic fall to this day. President Franklin Roosevelt took over office in 1933, he acted immediately to stabilize the economy and provide jobs to those that were in need. Upon the next eight years the government experienced programs relatively known as the New Deal that aimed to restore the economy.

    Read More

  • What Caused The New Deal Dbq

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Depression was a financial and industrial recession that began in 1929. Two long-term causes of the Depression were the overproduction of crops by farmers, which exhausted the land and spurred a huge decrease in crops’ value, and a large number of people buying on margin in the stock market, forcing banks to lose more money than they could afford. President Herbert Hoover, elected in 1928, believed in rugged individualism, which meant there would be no government handouts, voluntary cooperation, where people help themselves and the government only mediates, and that the economy has cycles and therefore the Depression should not be considered dangerous. These beliefs prolonged the Depression because Hoover did not give aid to citizens nor did he attempt to change the economy. When President Franklin

    Read More

  • Roosevelt And Hoover's Impact On The Great Depression

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Two presidents and the great depression it says, “The FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) was created to funnel money to the states so they could rapidly create jobs for the unemployed.” Roosevelt put together this program in order too help create more jobs, and get money trafficked through states again. Not only this, but according to Two presidents and the great depression, “The AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) addressed farm problems by paying farmers to hold part of their land out of production and having the government buy the surplus at a fair price. This law saved millions of farmers from bankruptcy.” This act helped too raise more crops and it helps so that farmers didnt go bankrupt due to the busnisses they sell too are

    Read More

  • Edwin Gay And The Great Depression

    653 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The article by Edwin Gay and pictures compiled by Cary Nelson are both descriptions of how the Great Depression was and the several impacts that it had on the American economy. The range of the great depression is unprecedentedly wide according to Edwin Gay. The great depression was believed to have started from the collapse of the US stock market in 1929. This was shown in a picture as compiled by Cary Nelson

    Read More

  • New Deal Dbq Essay

    564 Words  | 3 Pages

    The wealth during the 1920s left Americans unprepared for the economic depression they would face in the 1930s. The Great Depression occurred because of overproduction by farmers and factories, consumption of goods decreased, uneven distribution of wealth, and overexpansion of credit. Hoover was president when the depression first began, and he maintained the government’s laissez-faire attitude in the economy. However, after the election of FDR in 1932, his many alphabet soup programs in his first one hundred days in office addressed the nation’s need for change.

    Read More

  • What Caused The Great Depression Dbq Essay

    726 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1929, the U.S. was hit with the worst economic crisis in the history of the country, the Great Depression. The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and cost millions their life's savings. The Depression lasted for ten long years for the American people. Since the Great Depression ended, people have studied it, trying to figure out what happened that started it all. The problem was, in fact, the poor economic habits of the people at the time, such as speculation, income maldistribution, and overproduction.

    Read More

  • What Are The Underlying Causes Of The Great Depression

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    America had experienced other depressions or “panics,” but none were like the Great Depression. The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, with the stock market crashing. Most people believe that the cause of the Great Depression was the stock market crashing. Although that is what triggered the Great Depression there were many underlying causes that lead up to the stock market crashing. Some of the underlying causes include under-consumption/over-production, uneven distribution of wealth, loose banking and corporate regulations, tariffs policies, and the stock market.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq

    692 Words  | 3 Pages

    This swept throughout the U.S and by early 1933 thousands of banks closed. In Document ten and eleven Americans were getting caught up with financial problems and could not manage it all and they only brought what they could afford only (Elmer Davis, “If Hoover Fails,” Harpers Monthly, March

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Hoover And The Great Depression

    1119 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Great Crash and the eventual Great Depression marred not only the American economy but sent ripples across global markets into ruin. As the stock market disastrously fell into pieces, two presidents were responsible for lifting the United States of America and its economy success. These two presidents, Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, constructed government policies and agencies to combat the rising unemployment and overall slump of the economy. Hoover’s lack of government funding along with poor reactions to public criticism and Roosevelt’s aggressive New Deal were solutions to an economy in desperate need of an answer.

    Read More

  • Thesis Statement: The Great Depression

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great DepressionTopic: the great depressionQuestion: How did the great depression affect americans?Thesis statement:The great depression affected americans because it destroyed their economy. Millions of families lost theirs savings as many banks collapsed in the 1930’s. The Great Depression was the worst economic drop of all times in the industrial world1. The Great Depression began because of a stock market crash in 1929 and came to end ten years later in 1939, around 15 million americans were unemployed and about half of the American banks failed. It was one of the darkest era in the United States.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Great Depression Essay

    750 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nishat kazi (Muniya) 11th grade The Great Depression was one of the worst downturn of economy in the history that took place during the 1930s. It had a catastrophic effect in countries on both rich and poor. Though there are a lot of causes behind the Great Depression,the main three causes were-1.Bank failure 2.Stock market crash 3.laissez faire.

    Read More

More about False Hope Great Depression

Open Document