The Great Depression
Chapters 22 and 23
A Nation in Trouble
Many industries struggle after WWI Boom– Lumber, mining, steel
Farms Struggle– Price-Supports – a plan where the government
will buy any left over crops
Struggling Americans live on credit – buy now pay later
Stock Market Crash
Stock Market – buying and selling shares/pieces of a company
Buying on speculation – buying stocks with a hope of a quick profit
Buying on margin – buying stocks on borrowed money
– HUGE RISK!!!!
Black Tuesday – bottom falls out, stocks crash
Bank Failure
After the stock market crashed people wanted their money– Went to banks to close accounts
Banks ran out of money Almost ½ of all banks in the US failed
Life During the Depression
Unemployment was 25% Shantytowns – small towns of shacks
– “Hoovervilles” – after President Hoover
Breadlines, Soup Kitchens Dust Bowl – massive drought and dust
storms ruin the farming industry on the Great Plains
Hoover Struggles
President Hoover tried and failed to help the nation– Bailouts
Hoover Dam was a success
NEW DEAL
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) elected president in 1932
100 Days – the first 100 days of his presidency many New Deal Laws passed– Regulate and Restore Banks– Public Works– Help Farmers– Food Clothing and Shelter– Fair Practices in Business– Fireside Chats
See table on Pg 706 for specifics
Critics of New Deal
Deficit Spending – the government spending more money than it has
2nd New Deal – More of the same Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
Did the New Deal Work
Yes – it helped many people due to its programs
No- it cost to much money and created to much regulation on business
Not until WWII would America be able to recover from the Great Depression