fcs USA homework Flashcards
Unemployment in the Great Depression
Unemployment was as low as 3.2% in 1929. Although employment rates had fluctuated throughout the 1920s.
Unemployment in the US were 25.2% by 1933 of the labour force. Other report 17 million.
National wage bill in 1932 was 60% less than 1929
Gross Domestic Product
GDP in 1920 was $73 billion, in 1929 was $104 billion.
GDP in 1933, this was half of what it was in 1929 (around $54 billion)
The Great Depression’s effect on automobile industry
In 1929, car sales were 4,455,178. There were 27 million cars on the road. 75% purchased on credit.
In 1933, car sales were 1,103,557. Credit was virtually unavailable.
Bank Closures in the Great Depression
During the 1920s there were almost 30,000 banks. 5,000 had closed during this time.
From 1929-1933 there were 10,000 bank closures.
The Great Depression’s effect on modern industries
Not all industries suffered, aviation did well.
There was an increase in airline passengers from 474,000 in 1932, to 1,178,858 by 1938
The Great Depression’s effect on traditional industries
Coal: workforce fell by 300,000 between 1929 and 1932
Iron and steel: production fell by 59% between 1929 - 32
The Great Depression’s effect on construction
The number of newly built residential units fell by 82% 1929 - 32
The Great Depression’s effect on families
Strain on families led to fall in marriages, from 1.23 million in 1929 to 982,000 by 1932
In 1931, there were 3.8 million one parent families headed by women and only 19,280 in receipt of any aid
Suicide rates rose by 30% between 1929 - 1932
Rural poverty and agricultural suffering in the Great Depression
Already suffering during the 1920s, more farms were foreclosed, more wheat and produce went to waste on the fields, and more sharecroppers lost their jobs.
The dustbowl was a natural disaster when high winds whipped up the dry ground due to lack of rain. The dust storms ravaged through farmland and towns throughout the 1930s
Ethnic minorities in the Great Depression
African Americans were 4 - 6 times more likely to be fired
400,000 hispanic Americans were deported even if they’d lived in the USA their whole lives
Native Americans had lived in poverty for decades, the Depression made this worse
Women in the Great Depression
26 / 48 states had laws banning married women from working
Those who remained married were back to being financially dependant on their husbands
Workers and hoboes
Around 1 million itinerant / migrant workers without fixed employment by 1932
Unemployed became homeless and made shanty towns on outskirts of urban area, became known as Hoovervilles. Hoovervilles in Washington, D.C., and New York City, boasted thousands of inhabitants
Gangsterism in the Great Depression
Huge rise in crime, especially outlaws in South West with a Robin Hood mindset (robbing banks that were blamed for evicting farmers)
Bonnie and Clyde were a violent duo responsible for armed robbies and murder. They were ambushed and killed by the FBI in 1934
The extent of relief in the Great Depression
No state had any form of unemployment insurance, charities and churches were expected to help the poor
