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1Q) which were the main causes of great depression?

From the book of history economy I have learnt about the economic situations in America and among them the most devastating was Great Depression. In the year March 1930 when Herbert Hoover was president when the Great Depression started. The main problem was to the farmers who suffered the heavy prices and indebtedness. There was a decline in the economic activity. There was also the crash in stock market, banking crisis also existed and also smooth Hawley tariff came into existence. He proclaimed in that the U.S. Had "passed the most noticeably awful" and contended that the economy would get itself straightened out. The most noticeably bad had started and it endured till the flare-up of World War II in 1939.There are a few reasons for the Great Depression which are generally bantered about. There was no single reason, however a few things conflicted with to get it going. Few noteworthy reasons were a feeble saving money framework because of Federal Reserve Monetary Policy, over creation of merchandise in industry and agribusiness, over spending and blasting credit gurgled, unequal circulation of riches, high duties and war obligations. Political changes 1928 Presidential decisions, Stock Market accident and money related frenzy.

It was noted that The Wall Street Crashed in 1929 was the most devastating crash in the history of the United States. On October 1929 is called “Black Tuesday.” the stock market lost $14 billion, making the loss for that week an astounding $30 billion. It took 23 years for the stock market to hit the high it was at before the crash. It was also published in New York times about the new of stock market crashing.The news of stock market crash spread like a wild fire cause panic, customers rushed to banks for withdrawing money causing disastrous “bank runs”. Many wealth people lost their total wealth and committed suicide. Many companies were shut down and lot of people lost their jobs. It was noted at the peak of depression 1 out of every 4 people were jobless. Between 1930 and 1935 nearly 750,000 farms were lost through bankruptcy or sheriff sales.

People who lost their homes often lived in what were called “Hoovervilles” or shanty towns that were named after President Herbert Hoover. There was also “Hoover Stew” which was the name for food handed out to the poor at soup kitchens. “Hoover Blankets” were the newspapers that were being used to cover people like a blanket. “Hoover Hogs” were jack rabbits that were used for food, and “Hoover Wagons” were broken down cars that were pulled by mules. People who became homeless would ride on railroad cars, because they didn’t had money to travel. It is believed that more than 50,000 people were injured or killed while jumping trains. They traveled together and were called “Hobos”.

The living conditions at that time in United States of America were miserable there was not enough food, shelter or medical care. Many suffered from diseases. In 1930’s thousands of schools were operating on reduced hours or were closed down entirely. Nearly 3 million children left schools, and at least 200,000 took to riding the rails either with their parents or as orphans.

Discrimination hit was hardest hit on Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans and women were bitterly victims during the Great Depression. They were looked as groups that could take jobs from the white men. Many couples delayed getting married, and divorce rates and birth rates dropped. People abandoned their families. In 1940 pool revealed that 1.5 million married women were abandoned by their husbands.

Nature played its role in making things worst severe drought and dust storms made the Great Depression even worse, because it dried out farmlands and forced families to leave their farms. On May 9, 1934, a dust storm carried about 350 million tons of dirt 2,000 miles eastward and dumped four million tons of prairie dirt in Chicago. Tens of thousands of animals and people were killed in the drought and dust.

The board game Monopoly which first became available in 1935, became popular as people taught it was the easy way to make money. The “Three Little Pigs” was the symbol of the Great Depression with the wolf representing and the three little pigs representing average citizens who eventually succeeded by working together. Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) became president in March 1933, he promised a “New Deal for the American people”.

Industry Monetary Policy Stock Market crash and financial panic historians disagree as to the cause of Great Depression. Most scholars would include “Unequal distribution of wealth over production high tariffs and war debts causes of the Great Depression Agriculture”.

2Q) why did the great depression last so long?

In 1920’s was known as a prosperous time, but not for everyone, installment buying, using credit and paying back in small amounts was introduced which allowed people to buy cars, radios, houses and other products on the 1920’s. Farmers were in a depression throughout the whole decade. The rural poverty continued in 1920’s in-spite of the nation wealth grew by billions it was not distributed evenly. Unequal distribution of wealth disposable income is money remaining after the necessities of life are paid.

The top 1% received a 75% increase in their disposable income while the other 99% saw an average 9% increase in their disposable income. 80% of American had no savings at all. The economy grew by billions throughout the 1920’s. Total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929. High tariffs and war debts at the end of World War I, European nations owed over $10 billion ($115 billion in 2002 dollars) to their former ally, the USA. Their economies had be devastated by war and they had no way of paying the money back. The USA insisted their former allies to pay the money. This forced the allies to demand Germany pay the reparations imposed on her as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. This all later led to financial crises when Europe could not purchase goods from the USA. This debt contributed to the Great Depression.

In 1922, the USA passed the Fordney-Mc Cumber Act, which instituted high tariffs on industrial products. A tariff is a tax on imports. Other nations soon retaliated and world trade declined helping bring on the great depression. The production at factories increased but the wages for workers were not sufficient to meet their requirements. Few workers could afford to buy factory output. The surplus products could not be sold overseas due to high tariffs and lack of money in Europe. Demand and supply was not balanced due to over production in industry. Due to surpluses and overproduction, farm incomes dropped throughout the 1920’s. The price of farm land fell from $69 per acre in 1920 to $ 31 in 1930. Depression in agriculture began in 1920’s it lasted until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In 1929 the average annual income for an American family as $750, but for farm families it was only $273. The problem in the agricultural sector had a large impact as 30% of Americans still lived on farms.

In the year 1928 presidential elections, Democratic New York Governor Al Smith ran against Republican Secretary the Republican secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. People were suspicious of Smith who was Catholic, while Hoover was popular for feeding starving Europeans after WWI. Al Smith. Hoover’s winning platform was based on continues prosperity. “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poor house is vanishing from among us.”

“I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual sufferings. The lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the Government the Government should not support the people”. President Hoover’s 1930 belief in self-reliance would later affect his ideas about how to best solve the upcoming depression. The farm crises were address by the President Hoover on first priority as it was the urgent economic problem is agriculture. Farmers suffering continues during 1920’s as wholesale food prices collapsed, which led to a lack of money for purchasing new equipment, not pay mortgages and they lost farms in depths. He Head the Food Administration during WW1. Conducted relief efforts in Europe during and after WWI. Earned a stellar reputation for efficiency and diplomacy. It was very well explained in the book of American history about the depression in the America.

Works cited

"The Permanent Frontier: No. 1: History of the American Economy." Challenge 6.1 (1957): 38-42. Web.

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.