American Society in the Depression Flashcards
When was the Wall Street Crash?
October 1929
What were the long-term causes of the crash?
- Overproduction
- Protectionism (Tariffs)
- Laissez-Faire
What percentage of the US population lived below the poverty line in the 1920s?
60%
Farmers suffered badly from the Depression and what else?
The Dust Bowl
Who was president during the 1929 Wall Street Crash?
Herbert Hoover
Which term refers to the shanty towns for homeless people in the cities during the depression?
Hoovervilles
Hoover was a Republican believing people should help themselves but what did he introduce to help people during the depression?
Tax cuts by £130 million
Hoover also passed the Hawley Smoot tariff. What did this do?
Made foreign goods more expensive so more people would buy American goods
What happened on Black Thursday?
- 24th October 1929
- 13 million shares sold
- 8 billion lost
What happened on Black Tuesday?
- 29th October 1929
- 16 million shares bought by Banks at a fraction of their price in attempt to stabilise the economy
So many shares sold, that the ticket machines had broke.
In 1920 4 million people owned shares. What process allowed 5x that amount to get
involved by 1929?
Buying on the margin (you would put down just 10% of the share price and loan the rest
from the bank)
What happened to those who bought on the margin during the WSC?
They had lost all their life savings.
How many banks closed in 1929?
659
How many banks closed in 1931?
2294
People believe storing their money in _______ was safer than storing their money in banks.
Matresses
By what percent did suicide rates increase?
50%
What figures did unemployment reach in 1929?
25% increase, 14 million unemployed.
What were employment rates in Denora, Pennsylvania in 1932?
Only less than 2% were employed
How many people were employed in the coal industry in Illinois?
0
Why did people deliberately get arrested?
It meant food and a bed for the night.
How many people became hobos?
2 million became hobos. 1 million were Okies and Arkies (migrants from Arkansas and Oklahoma due to the dust bowl).
How did Hoover help improve the situation caused by the Depression?
- Hawley-Smoot Tariff
- Introduced RFC in 1932
- 130 million tax cuts
How much did the RFC loan to businesses?
Loaned $1.5 billion to businesses.
By 1932, how many banks had been closed down?
5000
How many men in 1930 were trying to make a survive through selling apples?
6000
Which gangster helped through providing money for soup kitchens?
Al Capone
When was the Bonus Army March?
1932
How much of their war bonus did they want early?
1000 dollars
How did Hoover retaliate to the bonus marchers?
Accused them of being communist and used military force.
How many bonus marchers were there?
15 thousand
How many babies died through the use of tear gas in the Bonus March?
2
How many people couldn’t pay mortgage?
250,000
How many people went to cinema a week?
60 million
