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How Did The Great Depression Affect The Economy

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The Great Depression was the largest economic downturn in the history of the United States. It lasted for about ten years and changed economic policies in the U.S. greatly. While it may have originated in the U.S., it spread to many other countries causing unemployment and deflation in these places too. This period of economic turmoil affected the social and cultural aspects of American’s lives and its cause is still debated today. The American Stock Market suffered a crippling crash right before the beginning of the Great Depression. While this could have been an influence on the depression, it was not the cause. Many economists believe that the weak banks were to blame for the Great Depression. During this period of history, banks were still …show more content…

Some Americans received welfare aid during this time, but they did so reluctantly. They believed that they needed to work hard for what they got instead of receiving free aid. They feared being called freeloaders and being criticized for the help they were given. Because of this, they would “hide their problems, acting as if they were doing well” so that their neighbors would be oblivious (Psychological Impact of the Great Depression). Family life also changed for the worse during this time. Many couples wanted to get divorced but could not afford it. Children had to grow up significantly faster and abandon their educations so that they could work. Tensions were always high in the home because of arguments that often occurred over things like food, finances, and lack of basic necessities. Because everyone in the households were fairly high-strung, domestic violence and child abuse increased greatly during this time. Also, before the Great Depression, someones worth had begun to be associated with their material possessions. This meant that people of all classes struggled with their self-worth during this time and saw themselves as worthless. Suicide rates increased and reached an all-time …show more content…

Roosevelt was elected president, he had a lot of work to do. He needed to help find a way to rebuild the economy and also find a way to instill confidence in the Americans. In his first inaugural address, he stated that there is “nothing to fear but fear itself”. He hoped this would help to calm the economic fear of Americans. He went straight to work developing policies to bring America out of the depression. They later became known as the New Deal. These New Deals focused on “relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform” (FDR's Fireside Chat on the Recovery Program). They put many new acts into place that helped to stabilize the economy and prevent future downturns. In combination with his New Deals, he would talk on the radio to calm people’s fears. This was very effective as almost every family had a radio at this point. His radio talks became known as “Fireside Chats” because they were very informal and relaxed making the listeners feel like they were sitting around a fire with the

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Joshua Youngworth Mr. Wall Period 4A 1-13-23 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression Prior to the Great Depression stocks started to be purchased much more commonly as people assumed they could only gain profit from them. After the stock market crashed in 1929, the Great Depression soon began and the United States fell into a state of financial struggles. The Great Depression was a time where these struggles were common for tons of people all over the country and unemployment rates skyrocketed. The stock market crash caused the Great Depression because families couldn’t pay for anything, businesses started to fail, and banks closed.

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Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression and helped restore confidence to the American people. Franklin himself asserted in his inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He gave hope to the American people by promoting a domestic New Deal policy in response to a crisis in American history. In his book New Deal Thomas Riggs maintains that “The New Deal began immediately after Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933 and set out to relieve the suffering of the unemployed and impoverished, restore the economy to a healthy level, and reform the financial system in order to prevent future fiscal catastrophes.” His plan sought to control agricultural production, stabilize wages and prices, and create a large public works program for the

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Roosevelt was seen as the “New Deal” and he brought on swift reforms with his presidency. He made the Emergency Banking Relief Act. This act allowed the U.S. Treasury to oversee the banks and to only allow the secure banks to reopen. This also allowed loans to banks. A huge part of Roosevelt’s help to fix the depression was his “fireside chats”.

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in November of 1932. On March 4, President Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural speech. In this speech we hear one of his famous quotes about fear. He said, “let me first assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. This was the turning point for America’s current predicament.

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The Great Depression was one of the most devastating economic crises in the history of the United States. It began in 1929 after the stock market crashed, setting off an economic spiral. Lasting for a decade it caused widespread unemployment, poverty, and social unrest. The economic collapse had devastating effects that had impacted everyday American life, including individual families, to the national economy, and even the government. During this period of time the American people faced a range of challenges including, unemployment, homelessness, starvation, and social inequality.

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Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal was seen as a plan to help get the American citizens out of the deep, dark Great Depression. There are many plans he had in action within this New Deal to help them achieve this. Some of the plans he had in action with the new deal to make a change was due to making changes in economy, creates jobs, and social security. All of these plans were a success in helping the Americans to get out of the Great Depression. Economy was one of the hardest aspects to get a hold on during the Great Depression.

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The Great Depression The Great Depression was by far one of the worst times of America’s history, and the world’s history. The Depression affected everyone except for the politicians and the wealthy. During the depression a lot of people lost their jobs which caused the unemployment rate to sky rocket to 14% of America’s population was unemployed, and the number would stay their till World War 2, and the depression started in the 1920’s. Middle class workers were hit the hardest in the depression. Most of the middle class citizens lost their jobs.

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The economic crisis disrupted the lives of Americans in a variety of ways, causing hardship for many families. For example, unemployment was quickly spreading, leading to a decrease in family income. This meant that families had to make difficult decisions about managing their finances and resources. Additionally, the depression put a strain on the traditional family structure, as many fathers were unable to provide for their families. Furthermore, the depression caused an increase in the number of homeless families.

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In 1929, the U.S. was hit with the worst economic crisis in the history of the country, the Great Depression. The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and cost millions their life's savings. The Depression lasted for ten long years for the American people. Since the Great Depression ended, people have studied it, trying to figure out what happened that started it all. The problem was, in fact, the poor economic habits of the people at the time, such as speculation, income maldistribution, and overproduction.

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