The United States once lost 14 billion dollars in a single day. This instantaneous drop capped a decade of prosperity. After World War I, the United States economy was booming and rapidly increasing. This period was known as “The Roaring Twenties” because the unemployment rate was low, businesses were profiting, and homes were selling for about $6,500 or $111,120 in today’s United States dollar. Then on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, called “Black Tuesday”, the stock market crashed and the United States economy rapidly declined. The United States then “exported” the depression to the rest of the world. the Great Depression was a significant turning point in history because it helped the United States' westward migration, caused many families …show more content…
In the United States alone, 78 percent of people were considered to be in poverty in 1932 compared to 66 percent in 1914. Even though prices dropped by 25 percent during the depression, the unemployment rate around the world jumped from 3 to 23 percent in three years. In 1931, industrial production declined by more than 45 percent in The United States; 40 percent in Germany; 29 percent in France; and 14 percent in Britain from 1929. For an average American family from 1929 to 1932, household income dropped from $2,300 to $1,500 and the average weekly earning for a factory worker went from $25 to $17. (“Gross Hours and Earnings of Production Workers in Manufacturing - Page 38 | Toc | FRASER | St. Louis Fed”) and (“Great Depression …show more content…
Germany was especially hit hard. Many banks in Europe were failing to stay afloat and ended up failing completely. In mid-June 1931 German banks closed and Germany announced they could no longer pay off their WWI debts. Since many countries relied on Germany paying their debt to run their governments, this closure lead to several other governments cutting most of their budgets. The Nazis were a rising political party in Germany as well which was another threat to other countries. Austria and France were other largely affected countries. Austria’s largest bank collapsed just before Germany’s did and France had skyrocketing unemployment rates and problems with the neighboring Nazis. In 1933, 60 nations met in London at the World Economic Conference to discuss solutions, but they failed, leaving each country to recover on its own. Many countries placed “their” economic need above the rest of the world and that was how Adolf Hitler rose to power in