On October 24 of 1929, otherwise known as Black Thursday, a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Investment companies went into scramble as they tried to balance the market. However, the next week, on “Black Tuesday”, the stock market had officially collapsed. By then, around 16,410,030 shares were traded in the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost and many citizens jobs were affected from the collapse.
The American Great depression has been a predominant discussion point in the field of Economic History and is still considered the longest most unembellished depression ever experienced by the industrialised western world. It sent Wall Street into trepidation and whipped out the majority of American investors. The Great Depression was seen as cataclysmic period for America where there were declines in consumer demand and misguidance within governance which transmuted to an increase in financial anxieties around the state. The Great Depression left a plethora of unemployed people in the US, an approximate of 13-15 million citizens which was just more than 20% of the American population at the time. Economists had realised the paramount importance
International trade plunged by half to two-thirds, as did personal income, tax revenue, prices and profits. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by roughly 60 percent. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as farming, mining and logging suffered the most.
Everybody lived life like they were supposed to. Not a lot when down, until on October 29, 1929 the Stock Market crashed causing the Great Depression. It caused a panis all around the world. This cause almost 200,000 people in America to lose their jobs. The years out of the initial crash there was 30 million citizens out of jobs or income.
Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920 's and 30 's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the 1930 's. These were not only the factors of the great depression, structural weaknesses and the fact that most of the other countries were affected just kept the depression going were also played a part. The resulting period ranked as the longest and worst period of high unemployment and low business activity in modern times. The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one that spread to the entire industrialized world. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless, homeless, and penniless.
The years of the 1930s were impactful for The United States forever. The Great Depression was the primary culprit of the change. During this time the economy hit an all time low and people were left with no, food, money, or hope. The decade impacted society in a negative way by leaving everybody poor. It both harmed and helped society when president Franklin Delano Roosevelt came into presidency.
In what ways did the Great Depression affect the American people? After a decade of economic prosperity, what seemed like an era that defined the concept of the American dream, quickly came to an end when the stock market on Wall Street collapsed in 1929. The aftermath of the events that occurred on Wall Street would put its heavy mark on the years to follow among the citizens of the United States. Banks closed down, unemployment rose and homelessness increased. It was a widespread national catastrophe that had its impacts on both poor and rich.
Not only did the banks lose everyone’s deposits but natural disasters such as droughts and dust storms hit the plain states in America as well (The 1930s). Between 1929 and 1932 the National Income was cut in half, which in turn led to the working class to have to lay off all of their employees. Companies all across america laid off nearly one-fourth of their employees. Most of the families that lived off of the steel, agricultural, and unions all suffered (The 1930s: Lifestyles and social trends: Overview). After the
The United States faced an economic crisis that led to the loss of billions of money in the stock market. American life turned down to the extent that banks fell and investors could no longer invest in the country. Many companies closed, and millions of citizens lost their job. Crime became a way of life for many during the Great Depression as it was almost impossible to find work. The industrial production in the United States declined 47% and gross domestic product (GDP) fell 30% (Ohanian, 2017).
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.