The Great Depression

Knights Charge 3/25 What was the fear of the spread of communism in America called? What did the US do in response to it? How did women challenge social norms? How did African Americans challenge racial inequality? What was the Harlem Renaissance?

Learning Points You will be able to identify some of the causes of the Great Depression How did President Herbert Hoover and the US Government respond to the Great Depression

Causes of the Great Depression Uneven distribution of wealth Too much buying on credit Buying on the margin

Uneven Distribution of Wealth The rich had the majority of the money supply

Buying on Credit Too many Americans relied on buying goods with money they did not have

Buying on Margin Money was borrowed from stockbrokers to pay for stocks Paid only a portion of a stock’s cost out of pocket If stock values rose  buyer would sell & pay back amount owed & make a profit

Black Tuesday: The Market Crashes October 29, 1929  Stock Market crashed Stock prices continued to fall through November

Results of the Crash Fortunes were lost People withdrew their savings from banks Banks closed and failed People lost their jobs Some lost their homes

Hoovervilles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUCyjDOlnPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I8-CbJYGMA

Hoover’s Response Hoover believed that the Great Depression would end on its own Viewed the economy would go through upswings and downswings naturally Hands-off approach

President Hoover’s Response Asked Congress to cut taxes Had public works created  build dams, roads, public buildings Signed Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act  put high tariffs on foreign goods (makes things worse) Localism- problems could be fixed at state and local levels

The Dust Bowl Dust Bowl- 1931 – 1940  Great Plains experienced drought Clouds of dust blew through towns & into homes Thousands of farm animals died Contributed to more economic problems

Dust Bowl continued… Crops were ruined Farmers had no income & couldn’t repay loans Farmers lost their land  as many as 3 million The dust clouds reached as far as the east coast John Steinbeck wrote about the Dust Bowl in his book The Grapes of Wrath