Causes Of The Great Depression Dbq

During the 20s, which became known at the Roaring 20s, American society was at an all time high and people were prospering as the nation’s wealth almost doubled and American was sent into the modern, consumer age. However following almost directly after the Roaring 20s, America entered a period of economic failure, also known as the Great Depression. During this period, the U.S faced economic, social, and political turmoil. The government and various individuals quickly sought after solutions to address the problems facing America during this time. Herbert Hoover, who was President at the start of the Depression, and his many reforms intended to revitalize the economy and create more jobs but would fail and his belief in rugged individualism

Many of Hoover’s policies favored big businesses and he believed that the growth of the economy depended on increasing capital given to big businesses would combat the depression, which is also known as the Trickle Down economics. If the government aided big businesses then their investments and success would “trickle-down” to the working class, this improving and expanding the economy (Doc 5). Many people criticized Hoover and his policies for not helping the needy. He refused to provide federal relief programs to help unemployed since he thought people would not be motivated to work if the government aided them (OI).As conditions worsened, makeshift homes popped up all over America and were nicknamed “Hoovervilles”, after Herbert Hoover. Hoover believed that that individual initiative and big businesses would solve the problems of the depression and that the economy would recover on its own (OI). This ultimately made him inactive, making no effort to help the needy during the depression making him a widely unpopular

Roosevelt leads America through the depression and helped the American people recover. Roosevelt becomes President after Hoover, easily beating Hoover who was blamed by many for the depression. In his first "hundred days" of office, Roosevelt started a program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to unemployed and to the people in danger of losing their homes. Despite his efforts, America was still suffering and Roosevelt looked to a more aggressive federal program. This include the creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which provided jobs for the unemployed. His actions were named the 1st and 2nd New Deal, in which his most immediate goal was to provide unemployed Americans with jobs to stimulate the economy with the help of government involvement. The Supreme Court of the U.S called the New Deal unconstitutional since it overexerted the power of the government. Roosevelt responded by proposing legislation to increase the size of the court to favor New Deal laws, also known as court packing (OI). This was seen as a threat to the system of checks and balances however was deemed necessary by many for the welfare of the country. Roosevelt was a much more active President than Hoover, he placed watches on banks to stop bad investments and a physical rehabilitation of the country to provide a better use of land all to prevent and stop a depression (Doc 5). Roosevelt and his involvement greatly improved industry and the economy and would