October 24th, 1929 the stock market crashed and the American world changed. This event is known as “Black Thursday". On Black Thursday, the banking system collapsed, and 25% of the labor force, around 12.8 million people at the time, became unemployed. “...prices and productivity levels had fallen 1/3 of their level in 1929.” With Americans having trouble finding work and the banking system struggling, people weren’t spending and saving money. This led to an economic decline and a never-ending cycle of decline in the United States. President Hoover was in office during this time, and not many were happy. Americans were looking for help from the government and not receiving anything. Americans felt as though Hoover wasn’t trying to help their situations. “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American …show more content…
Americans believed in family unity and traditional values. Families would spend time together by listening to the radio and playing games. Families would work together to help each other out as much as possible. Money was tight, and this put pressure on many families. Due to the increased daily pressures and struggles, families broke apart under the stress of the Great Depression.
During the Depression, men were the primary provider for their families. Men had difficulty dealing with unemployment; they would be looking for jobs daily, weekly, and monthly. The pressure of not finding a job to provide for their families caused men to leave their homes. They would wander the country by hitchhiking rides. Those men were called hobos.
The weekly wage that was given to families by New York City at the time was $2.39 per family. This was still not enough money to feed a family for a week. Many people would go through garbage daily to find food. Soup kitchens and other charitable organizations would provide food for needy people. People would stand in line for hours to just get one loaf of
The Great Depression affected millions of American financially. After the stock market crash in 1929 and particularly after the banking crisis of late 1930, many Americans lost their jobs and were living in poverty. Herbert Hoover was the president of the United States at the beginning of this Great Depression. During the beginning of Hoover’s presidency most Americans supported a laissez-faire system as did Hoover . In a laissez-faire system the market dictates the economic prosperity of the country.
A record 12.9 million shares were traded that day, known as “Black Thursday.” Five days later, on October 29 or “Black Tuesday,” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (with borrowed money) were wiped out completely. As consumer confidence vanished in the wake of the stock market crash, the downturn in spending and investment led factories and other businesses to slow down production and begin firing their workers.
Times were hard and not many people had a lot of money to pay them so jobs were few and far between. People could no longer do things impulsively. Before the depression struck people could just go see a film or go do something fun, but now they could not. People were forced to
There was a stock market crash on October 19th 1932. Everybody who had invested in stock had lost all of their money, and savings. Many people were rushing to the banks to get their money out. Stores and factories went out of business and 13 million people were jobless.(source B) People who worked in factories made less than $.10 an hour. There were bread lines all across America.
On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. That day has since been infamously nicknamed “Black Tuesday” and it is now recognized as having marked the beginning of the Great Depression. During the time that followed this unfortunate event, much in the economy began to fall apart. The Great Depression brought worldwide calamity. Businesses and banks failed, unemployment rates rose to excruciating levels, and confidence, along with drive, took a nosedive amongst the general population.
Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, proved to play a pivotal role in the emergence of the Great
October of 1929, the month that sent all of Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors across the United States. Steep declines in employment rates lead to failing companies and more than half of the country's banks, destroyed. The initial start of the great depression. Over the next 10 years, repossessions and foreclosure climbed, leaving many sleeping on the streets and struggling to collect food. The Great Depression found a grew the cracks of democracy in the United States triggering challenges to a great extent.
During the Great Depression, millions of people lost jobs, and families struggled to find financial footholds. It lasted for ten years, leaving very strong memories of dramatically dark times. Throughout those years, people found new ways to cope with the struggles, and interestingly enough, new emotions and belief in the ideals of America. Everybody learned the importance of being resourceful, while also keeping hope for the future and growing more unified and patriotic as a country.
The widespread suffering and economic hardship of the depression era led to a rejection of the capitalist values of the 1920s and a greater acceptance of government intervention from the economy. People began to be more conservative with their money and lived their lives less lavishly. It also led to a greater focus on social and economic equality, as well as a renewed interest in labor rights and collective bargaining. As America went deeper into the depression unemployment rose and wages fell, workers began to organize and demand better working conditions and higher pay. This led to an increase in strikes, labor disputes and the formation of new unions.
Unfortunately, in the ghettos there was not any stores or shacks to buy things, so the prisoners had to attempt to steal the food. The prisoners would trade anything and everything in order to get food. The amount of food in the ghettos that was allowed varied from day to day depending on how the prisoners acted towards their sergeants. There were some times, when no food was available to any of the
The Great Depression was a challenging time for the American economy, society, and its citizens. In the early 1930s, the stock market crashed, leading to mass unemployment, poverty, and hardship. During this time, women faced particular challenges in the workforce, as they were often seen as secondary earners and excluded from many of the better-paying jobs. As a result of the economic crisis, many women were forced to find work outside of the home to help support their families.
The majority of people made under 2,000 dollars a year (Document 9) which was considered the bare minimum to live off of, the buy all of the basic essentials. These people didn’t have any money to spend on luxury items and couldn’t buy on credit. During this time, some companies priced their goods at a higher price than the majority of people made in a year, like boats that were priced anywhere from 10,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars (Document 8). With nobody to buy from them, these businesses were left without a profit and began going bankrupt. An average family before the depression with two people working full time jobs only made around twenty dollars a week (Document 7).
The Hard Times which took place in the United States not only affected the stock market itself and the banking system but it also left its mark on the day to day lives of Americans. During the Great Depression, middle-class Americans were drastically affected in several ways. Families from different ethnic, religious, regional backgrounds reacted to the depression in various manners. In 1933, the average household income dropped to $1500 which is 40 percent less than that in 1929 family income of $2300.
There were very small amounts of food and most people had to search the streets for any little food they
In what ways did the Great Depression affect the American people? After a decade of economic prosperity, what seemed like an era that defined the concept of the American dream, quickly came to an end when the stock market on Wall Street collapsed in 1929. The aftermath of the events that occurred on Wall Street would put its heavy mark on the years to follow among the citizens of the United States. Banks closed down, unemployment rose and homelessness increased. It was a widespread national catastrophe that had its impacts on both poor and rich.