Chapter 4 Flashcards
what was the unemployment rate in 1929
4.2 %
what is buying “on margin”
buying shares with only a 10% down payment
how did the value of stock decline dramatically
some cautious investers started selling their stocks in order to cash in on high profits other investors rushed to follow their lead
what day did the NYE collapse? followed by which stock markets?
oct. 29 1929,
montreal and toronto stock exchange
depression
a period of severe economic and social harship, massive unemployment and terrible suffering
what contributed to the severity of the depression
the collapse of the stock exchange
what was one sign that the north american economy was in danger in 1927
- what was a issue happening in multiple industry sectors
what did it lead to?
when the price of wheat on the world market began to fall
- more wheat being produced than sold
- as sales decreased farmers incomes dropped
- same issue of overproduction was happening in many dif industry sectors
- lead to layoffs in factories = less income for workers
what did the US imposed on foreign goods entering the US?
tariffs to protect the US domestic market by making foreign goods more expensive
- caused a slowndown in world trade opportuniteis
what was another factor relation to the wars that contributed to the depression
germany’s inability to meet its financial reperations
- owed france and britain a lot for war damages and debts
what majour weakness did the depression illustrate in Canada’s econmy?
our dependancy on the export of primary resources
pogey
goverment relief payments given to those with no alternative source of income
what did the jobless, homeless men do during the day?
they drifted from one place to another looking for work
they travelled across the country by hopping fright trains
by the winter of 1933 what % of canada’s workplace was unemployed
more than 1/4
Drought on the praries
- collapse of wheat market = families struggling to survive
- hit by a dusastrous drought that lasted 8yrs
- constant dust storms
- then came a plauge of grasshoppers that got EVERYWHERE
- in 1935 fed gov passed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration Act which helped farmers build reservoirs and irrigation systems
- drought and poverty had forced many families to leave their farms and move
The disadvantaged - Women
- few jobs other than domestic work (paid only a few dollars a week)
- ## some people believed that working woman actually contributed to the depression
the disadvantaged - aboriginals
- families on relief only got $5/ month
- expected to live off the land (coulnd’t actually because of poor reserve conditions)