USA --> Wall street crash

Question 1

What were some of the key causes of the Wall Street Crash?

Answer 1

a. Actions of Speculators: Speculators selling stocks created panic, leading to the collapse of the market.
b. Exports: Limited opportunities for U.S. exports, with European customers facing financial strains after World War I.
c. Uneven Distribution of Income: 50-60% of Americans too poor to participate in the consumer boom, with a significant wealth gap.
d. Overproduction: Excessive production of consumer goods, saturating the market by 1929.
e. Signs of Economic Slow-Down: Declining car sales, fewer new houses built, and signs of an economic downturn before October 1929.

Question 2

What were the strengths and weaknesses of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 election?

Answer 2

• Hoover’s Weaknesses:
  
  • Elected as the 1920s boom was ending, associated with economic troubles.
  • Initial reaction to the depression considered too late and too little.
  • Against federal welfare support, seen as unsympathetic.
  • Projected as grim-faced and conservative in the 1932 campaign.
  • Roosevelt’s Strengths:
    
    • Democrat with no responsibility for pre-Depression policies.
    • Reputation for helping the elderly and unemployed as Governor of New York.
    • Upbeat personality, charm, and optimism.
    • Admired for overcoming polio.

Question 3

What were some of Hoover’s actions to combat the economic depression?

Answer 3

• 1930: Cut taxes by $30 million to boost purchasing power.
  
  • Hawley-Smoot Act (1930): Introduced tariffs to protect American goods.
  • Funding for building programs like the Hoover Dam.
  • Voluntary agreements between employers and employees to maintain wages.
  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932): Provided loans to struggling businesses.
  • Federal Farm Board: Bought surplus produce to stabilize prices.

Question 4

What were some consequences of the Great Depression in the early 1930s?

Answer 4

• Directly led to bank and business failures, rising unemployment.
  
  • 1933: One in four of the workforce unemployed.
  • No welfare benefits, leading to evictions and homelessness.
  • Emergence of “Hoovervilles”: Shanty towns with makeshift shelters.
  • Public relief schemes strained as more than 100 authorities had no money left by 1932.

Question 5

What was the “Bonus Army” protest during the Great Depression?

Answer 5

• 25,000 army veterans sought the war service bonus promised for 1945 to be given in 1932.
  
  • Peaceful protest opposite the White House after Congress refused the Bonus Bill.
  • Hoover ordered the army to clear the site, leading to the destruction of the camp with force.
  • Two veterans killed, thousands injured, highlighting the severity of the economic crisis.