1929-1941

4

The Stock Market Crash• Stocks hit all-time highs in September of 1929• In October, stocks began to fall• Ex. General Electric stocks bought for $400 sold for $283• Black Tuesday—16.4 million shares sold, compared to average of

4 million• This collapse of the stock market is known as the Great Crash

5

6

Unemployment 1925-1933

02468

101214

1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932

Year

Une

mpl

oyed

(in

mill

ions

)

Question 3: How many people were unemployed in 1925? In 1929? In 1932?

7

Wheat Prices 1925-1933

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

Year

Pri

ce p

er B

ushe

l (in

dolla

rs)

Question 4: How much did a bushel of wheat cost in 1925?1932?

8

Stock Prices 1925-1933

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933

Year

Aver

age

Mon

tly V

alue

$

Great Crash

Question 5: What was the average stock value in 1929? 1932?

9

Bank Suspensions 1925-1933

0

1

2

3

4

5

1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933

Year

Num

ber

of S

uspe

nsio

ns (i

n th

ousa

nds)

Question 6:How many banks were suspended in 1925? In 1933?

Effects of the Depression

• Initially the effects of the stock market crash were only felt by investors.

• Some investors lost everything.

• Within a very short time its effects began to filter into other areas of society.

• People who had never even owned a stock became affected.

Stock Market

Effects of the Depression

• Banks began calling in their loans and people didn’t have the money to pay them.

• Bank customers rushed to the banks to withdraw their money because they were afraid the banks would run out of money.

• Banks began to fail due to unpaid loans and runs on the bank.

• Bank failures caused people to lose their savings.

Economic Factors

Effects of the DepressionEconomic Factors

• Businesses no longer had the means to expand their business.

• People could no longer buy goods.

• Factories began to close with no money and no incentives.

• Unemployment grew because of cut backs in production.

• Small businesses closed including restaurants.

• In 1932, more than 12 million people were unemployed.

Effects of the DepressionEconomic Factors

• Congress continued to keep tariffs high.

• U.S. companies could no longer invest in foreign countries which resulted in bank failures, suspended reparations, and a reduction of industrial production.

• Europeans could no longer afford American made products.

Effects of the Depression

• People of all levels of society faced difficulty during the Depression.

• Loss of jobs, savings, home…

• People hardest hit were those at the bottom of the ladder. Homeless people would build shanty towns out of tar paper, cardboard and scraps. These were often called, “Hoovervilles.”

Hoovervilles

Effects of the Depression

• Low crop prices affected farm families.

• When mortgages could not be paid the farms were sold by the bank at an auction.

• In the Midwest, farmers were also hit with an environmental crisis- Dust Bowls.

Dust Bowl

• Farmers believed that dust bowls were the result of drought, but they were also caused by farming practices.

• When a farmer plowed the land the topsoil was removed and exposed the soil to the elements. When the wind blew the soil was picked up blown away. Left behind was dunes of dirt and sand.

Dust Storms in Oklahoma and Colorado

Effects of the Depression

• People went hungry, they faced poor housing conditions, quit going to school, fought over the contents of garbage cans, and suffered poor health.

• People began crowding into smaller homes with relatives or other families. Women could not find jobs or lost jobs to men if they were married. Minorities also faced great competition in finding jobs. Black unemployment reached 56%.

Survival

• Farmers worked together to help each other through the Depression. Farmers would get together and agree to keep bids low at farm auctions. At penny auctions farmers would bid pennies for equipment and then after the sale they would return the item to the owner.

• States began to pass moratoriums on foreclosures to give farmers more time.

Survival

• Riding the Rails: During the Depression many young adults left their homes to seek a better life. By 1935 over 250,000 teenagers were living on the road and riding freight trains.

• They faced danger every day- train related injuries, being arrested by police or shot at by angry farmers.

Survival

• In 1933, Prohibition was repealed with the passing of the 21st Amendment.

• The Empire State Building officially opened May 1, 1931. At 102 stories it was the tallest building in the world.

• Americans began to call for political change…

Election of 1932

•Get into groups of 4•Materials:

•Textbooks for each person•1 piece of paper •Pen or pencil

Election of 1932

Pick a writer

On your paper draw a t-chart and

Label one side Problems,

the other side Solutions

Election of 1932

• What were the problems that faced Americans during the Depression?

• Make a list of your problems.

• Skip one line after each problem.

What about low crop prices?

What about Farm auctions?

What about loss of your home?

ELECTION OF 1932

•As President of the United States what solutions could you come up with to help those in need?

•Write your solutions on your paper next to the problem it most fixes.

What was Hoover’s solutions to the Depression?

Write them next to the problem it fixes the most.