The American Identity: The Roaring 1920's

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When it comes to the topic of the roaring 1920’s, most of us agree that it was an economic highpoint and staple of United States history. But the agreement usually ends when we reach the question of the Great Depression and its effects on the country. While some believe that the Roaring 1920’s was the biggest impact on the American Identity, others feel that the Great Depression was a much more tragic blow to the to the American Identity because of the vast economic difficulties and complications. Such events were things like the stock market crash in 1929, the closing of nearly half of the country’s banks, and the millions of people that became unemployed. In the Early 20th century, the first world war was coming to an end, and the

At the same time, stock prices continued to rise, by fall of that year they had reached prices so high that future companies could not reach the high-end prices. On October 24, 1929, the stock market bubble finally burst, as investors began dumping shares in mass quantities. (“The Great Depression” 2) A record of 12.9 million shares were traded on that day, known as “Black Thursday.” Five days later, on “Black Tuesday” around 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 with borrowed money were wiped out

population at the time, unemployed, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory in the presidential election. (The Great Depression” 4) By Inauguration Day, every U.S. state had ordered all remaining banks to close, and the U.S. Treasury didn’t have enough cash to pay all government workers. Nonetheless, FDR projected a calm energy and optimism, famously declaring that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (“The Great Depression” 5) Roosevelt took action to address the country’s economic issues, first announcing a four-day “bank holiday” in which all banks would close so that Congress could pass reform legislation and the reopen them. He also began addressing the public directly over the radio in a series of talks called fireside chats to try and restore public confidence. In addition, Roosevelt sought to reform the financial system, creating the FDIC to protect depositors’ accounts and the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate the stock market, and to prevent future problems and