Download Chapter 29 The Great Depression Outline By Daniel Agudelo

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The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other
industrialized areas of the world that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. 1
Millions of people lost their jobs, and many farmers and businesses were bankrupted.
At the same time there was a major banking crisis, including the "Wall Street Crash" in
October 1929. 5
When the American economy fell into depression, US banks recalled their loans, causing
the German banking system to collapse.
Countries that were dependent on the export of primary products, such as those in Latin
America, were already suffering a depression in the late l920s
There was a prosperity in Europe from 1924 to 1929 that was built from the loans of the
Americans. 4
The First World War had led to such political mistrust that international action to halt the
Depression was impossible to achieve In 1931 banks in the United States started to
withdraw funds from Europe, leading to the selling of European currencies and the
collapse of many European banks.
The Depression had profound political implications.
In countries such as Germany and Japan, reaction to the Depression brought about the
rise to power of militarist governments who adopted the regressive foreign policies that
led to the Second World War.
In the United States Roosevelt became President in 1933 and promised a "New Deal"
under which the government would intervene to reduce unemployment by work-creation
schemes such as street cleaning and the painting of post offices.
In the United States, President Herbert Hoover held office when the Great Depression
began. 2
It hit hardest in Germany and the USA. 3
In 1932 Americans voted for Franklin Roosevelt to become new president.
It led to a sharp decrease in world trade as each country tried to protect their own
industries and products by raising tariffs on imported goods.
Women were often able to secure low-paying jobs such as maids, and servants while
men remained unemployed.
Military officers seized power in several Latin American countries because of the
dissatisfaction of liberal politics
In Germany, poor economic conditions led to the rise to power of the dictator Adolf Hitler.
The Japanese invaded China, developing industries and mines in Manchuria.
Shortly after President Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1933, drought and erosion
combined to cause the Dust Bowl, shifting hundreds of thousands of displaced persons
off their farms in the midwest.
In June 1930 Congress approved the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act which raised tariffs on
thousands of imported items.
The effects on the industrial areas of Britain were immediate and devastating, as demand
for British products collapsed.
Harshly impacted by both the global economic downturn and the Dust Bowl, Canadian
industrial production had fallen to only 58% of the 1929 level by 1932, the second lowest
level in the world after the United States
The Depression was eventually to cause a complete turn-around in economic theory and
government policy.
High unemployment rates among young males led them to join gangs.
Works Cited
•
Nelson, Cary. "About the Great Depression." Welcome to English «
Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 27 Mar.
2009
<http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm>.
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Lamb, Annette, and Larry Johnson. "The Great Depression."
42explore2 Temporary Index Page. Jan. 1999. 27 Mar. 2009
<http://www.42explore2.com/depresn.htm>.
•
Armstrong, Monty, David Daniel, Alexandra Freer, and Abby Kanarek.
Cracking the AP World History Exam. 2006-2007 Edition. New York:
Random House, Inc., 2006.
•
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 5th ed. Vol.
Comprehension. Wadsworth, 2003.
•
Bulliet, Richard W. Croosley, Pamela Kyle. Headrick, Daniel R. Hirsh,
Steven W. Johnson, Lyman L. Northrup, David. The Earth and its
Peoples: A Global History Third Edition. Boston, New York:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.