Great Depression 1-3 Flashcards
Introduction facts
-Economic depression
-Stock market lost 80% value
- worst economic disaster
- 25%-30% lost their jobs
- lasted ten years(1929-1940)
-1/3 of goods weren’t produced
- affected everyone
-11,000 banks failed
-businesses, farming, banks and stock market
-Started in U.S, then spread worldwide
-involved all regions
-2nd most serious crisis
-25% had their hours reduced
Recession
Slowdown in economic activity for 2 or more consecutive quarters(6 months), people become nervous and cautious
Depression
Severe decline in economic activity with widespread unemployment; lasts longer than a recession and has a longer decline in business activity (lasting 3 or more years), people react with fear and panic
Factors of Recession/Depression
- Employment
- Industrial production
- Income
- Sales
Healthy Stock Market
Prosperity in 1920s
- High GNP(Gross National Product)
- Explosive growth in American manufacturing
- Low Unemployment (3%)
- Stock prices rises
Business was good
Stock
A share of ownership in a company
Invest
Buy a stock
Bull Market
Period of time of increased stock prices, investor confidence
Bear Market
Period of time of decreased stock prices, lack of investor confidence
Visible symbol of American economy
Stock Market
DOW Jones Industrial Average
The barometer of the stocks worth. How the top 30 largest companies are doing.
Election of 1928
Republican Herbert Hoover
Democrat Alfred E. Smith
Hoover Campaign
- U.S had prosperous under republican administration
- Hoover favored prohibition
- Hoover was protestants’
Speculation
Wild buying of risky stocks betting the market would continue to climb hoping for a quick profit
Causes of the Great Depression
- Availability of easy credit- Excessive lending by banks
- Buying on margin- Getting loan for a stock
- Speculation- wild buying
- Overproduction of farm crops- war years over, crops didn’t need to be produced
- Mistakes by the federal reserve- raising interest rate, took 1/3 of the money
- 1929 stock market crashed- Black Tuesday
- bank failures/hoarding money-panicking, bank runs, 11,000 banks collapsed
- Overproduction in industry- consumers stopped spending, businesses struggles so they cut workers
- Hawley-Smoot Tariff- Largest tariff in history, trade war started, world trade fell 40
October 29, 1929
Stock market completely crashed, The stock market kept going up and down, 16.4 million shares were sold
The dust bowl causes
- A severe drought (1931)
- Overproduction of crops- stripped soil
- Harsh winds that created dust storms
- Top soil blew away
- No crop rotation
The dust bowl effects
- Loss of crops/food; loss of livelihood
- Worsened great depression
- “Okies” migrated to other regions
- Farmers couldn’t pay debts and lost farms to foreclosure
Dust Bowl States
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado