Great Depression Arkansas Research Paper

Depressed during the Depression In the early twentieth century, the United States experienced an economic tragedy known as the Great Depression. For several other states, the Depression period lasted throughout the 1930’s; however, in Arkansas, the Great Depression began in 1923 and lasted almost doubly as long as it did in other areas. With overproduction and over speculation occurring in Arkansas during this time, the government’s efforts to provide aid to the state of Arkansas were ineffective at best, and the severity of the Great Depression in Arkansas came to be one of the worst in the country. The reasons for the lasting period of depression in Arkansas range widely. As it always had been, Arkansas was an overwhelmingly rural and agricultural

Before the Depression, Americans wanted modern conveniences, such as radios, vacuum cleaners, and automobiles. At this time, these items could be purchased with credit; paying for something by financing it and establishing payment plans. In the 1930’s, the stock market crashed and the rest of the United States entered into the Great Depression. The stock market crash caused banks to collapse and lose all the money within them, and two hundred and five banks collapsed in Arkansas. When money ran out, companies began to fire employees so as to reduce the amount of money they used to pay employees. This caused the unemployment percentages to skyrocket across the country, and those who had put payment plans into motion could not afford to make the payments. These same citizens also could not afford food, clothing, and items essential to survival. This caused food to become scarce, and in an article from this time, people began to riot for food. What little amounts of food had were then forced to be rationed out to those in the riots. While the economy was in a horrific state, Arkansas experienced a bout of natural disasters as well. In 1927, an event known as The Great Flood occurred in Arkansas and areas along the Mississippi River. A little over one-fifth of the state was under water, and many individuals had to evacuate to other regions such as the Ouachita and Ozarks Mountain areas. Three years later, the worst drought in Arkansas history occurred and destroyed many crops and vegetation across the state. Although these were not economic issues, the state was pushed even further into economic struggles. Diseases like hookworm began to spread as well, and malnutrition was a common sight. Overall, Arkansas was hit with financial, economical, disease, natural disasters, and supply shortage issues during the Great Depression, making Arkansas suffer longer during the Great Depression