Great Depression Dbq

The Great Depression which had its reign in the 1930’s on the American economy. It was an era in time of extreme financial hardships that not only impacted the American government, but also its civilians. Since this period of time intersected with the tragedy of World War II, the Great Depression did not last as long as it could have. With the plethora of impacts that World War II made towards ending the Great Depression, this economic recession did not last as long as it would have without the war.

New legislatures passed during World War II helped end the Great Depression. David Emory Shi explains how the Economy Act, “allowed the president to cut government workers’ salaries, reduce payments to military veterans for non-service-connected

This was an attempt to balance the economy and restore it from the recession. Not to forget, the Agricultural Act of 1933 made, “The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 created the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which sought to raise prices for crops and herds by paying farmers to cut production” (Emory Shi 1152). This Act helped farmers that suffered from the Great Depression by paying them their worth for their time and labor. “The Wagner Act guaranteed workers the right to organize unions and bargain directly with management about wages and other issues. It also created a National Labor Relations Board to oversee union activities and ensure that management bargained with them in good faith” (Emory Shi 1169). This law made it possible for people to demand for higher pay. The significance of this was that people could get paid more, make more money, and spend it more. If this happened, then the economy would somewhat go back to how it should

“Several weeks later, the United States expanded its trade embargo to include iron ore, copper, and brass, deliberately leaving oil as the remaining bargaining chip in the ongoing tension between the two nations, for it was the commodity Japan most needed to sustain its war against China” (Emory Shi 1203). After cutting Japan off from resources that were necessary for their success, protection during WWII, and industrialization, the U.S. realized that Japan got most of its materials from the U.S. These resources were significant to them since they were an island involved in World War 2; getting these materials was difficult, even impossible without trade. This prompted the U.S. to trade again knowing that Japan would come running back to America with money. Traded for natural resources was money which slightly helped resolve issues that came as a result of the Great