Download The Great Depression

1929 - 1932
Standards
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SSUSH17 The student will analyze the
causes and consequences of the Great
Depression.
a. Describe the causes, including
overproduction, underconsumption, and stock
market speculation that led to the stock market
crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.
b. Explain factors (include over-farming and
climate) that led to the Dust Bowl and the
resulting movement and migration west.
c. Explain the social and political impact of
widespread unemployment that resulted in
developments such as Hoovervilles.
#31 President Herbert Hoover
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Herbert Hoover
 Elected 1928
 Republican from Iowa
 Promised a
continuation of
Republican politics of
the “Roaring 20s”
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Few could have
forecasted the
coming of disaster
that was about to
happen
The Crisis Begins
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In response to high
demand for food
during WWI, farmers
borrowed money
(credit) to afford
more capital (land,
machinery, labor).
After the war, the
high demand for food
fell drastically;
farmers soon found
themselves unable to
repay their loans.
The Crisis Begins
Due to an increased demand
for goods many industries
saw a dramatic increase in
profit
 Unlike farmers, industrial
workers experienced huge
raises in salary (remember
the “Roaring Twenties”)
 Many Americans now had
disposable incomes
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 With this extra income
Americans bought cars, radios,
and other luxuries.
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Many bought into the stock
market, buying on margin, in
hopes of becoming wealthy.
 “Buying on margin” – putting
up a little bit of money to buy a
lot of stock (similar to buying
on credit)
The Crisis Begins
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In the 1920’s, economic
and income disparity
grew
More and more products
were being produced, but
after a time, too many
people could not afford to
buy them.
This led to a problem of
over-production and
under-consumption
 Overproduction – too
much being made
 Underconsumption – too
little being bought
The Stock Market Crashes
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Stock – investment in a
company with a partial claim on
that company’s profit
Stock Market – the sale or trade
of investments in a company
Speculation – process of taking
high risks investments in hopes
of quick profits
Black Tuesday – October 29,
1929 – Stock Market crashes
Investors pull out millions of
dollars in hopes of salvaging
what money they had left
Marked the “beginning” of the
Great Depression
The Stock Market Crashes
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Banks fail, businesses
close, unemployment
reaches 25%
Families lose their homes
and farms; lines for soup
kitchens become common
sights
Hoovervilles – makeshift
shantytowns of tents and
shacks built on public or
vacant lots
 Named after President
Hoover; who many blamed
his policies for causing the
Market to crash.
The Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl – term
used for the Great
Plains during the
1930s when the
region suffered from
drought and dust
storms.
 Three major causes:
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 Over-production of
crops (loss of topsoil)
 Drought
 Severe wind storms
IMAGES FROM
THE DUST BOWL
THE DUST BOWL
Families devastated by
the Dust Bowl relocated
to the West Coast or
large cities in hopes of
finding work.
 Okies – nickname given
to Oklahoma resident
moving to West Coast
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 Steinbeck's The Grapes of
Wrath;
○ The fictional story of the
Joad family driven out by
the Dust Bowl and moving
to California
ELECTION OF 1932
Democrat (blue): Franklin D. Roosevelt
Republican (red): Herbert Hoover
The US Rallies Behind FDR
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
 Democrat from New York
 Distant nephew of Teddy Roosevelt
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Elected President in 1932 after he
defeated Hoover
 Many blamed Hoover for making the
Great Depression worse.
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Roosevelt would consolidate
executive power and use it to
lessen the pinch of the Depression
 This process was known as the New
Deal
T.O.D.
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Imagine that you were a wealthy stock market
investor in the Roaring Twenties that has now
been dramatically effected by the Great
Depression. Write a letter (at least 3
paragraphs) to a friend or family member
talking about your experiences with TWO of
the following:
 Black Tuesday (you lost almost all your money)
 President Hoover’s policies (that you believe made
the Depression worse)
 The Dust Bowl (you were a farming investor and the
Dust Bowl was virtually wiped out your investments)
 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Presidential Campaign (you
are a strong supporter of FDR and believe he can
help with the Depression)
FDR and HOOVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJzpG8a2ZI