Lead up and Causes of the Great Depression

Where we stand The year is 1928… Calvin Coolidge is finishing up his term. What was Coolidge’s major belief? He decided not to run again Why may he not have wanted to? Instead, Herbert Hoover ran as the Republican

Why might Smith being Catholic hurt his chances to be President? Election of 1928 Herbert Hoover Alfred Smith Republican Secretary of Commerce Favored Prohibition Ran on Coolidge’s record Democrat Governor of New York Opposed Prohibition Catholic = BAD!!! There had never been a Roman Catholic run for President. This hurt Smith Why might Smith being Catholic hurt his chances to be President?

Election of 1928 Results What does this one sided win for Hoover say about Americans beliefs in the way things were going?

Trouble arising Americans were happy with the way the country was being run BUT….there are still issues Many industries are struggling Farmers are in big trouble Consumers do not have money to spend Credit is becoming out of control There is a gap in income= rich getting richer, poor getting poorer

Trouble arising BUT….no big deal because the economy is strong… Hoover states “We in America are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before…The poorhouse is vanishing among us.” And people believed him.

Causes of the Depression Old, decaying industrial base What makes an industry old and decaying What problem may this cause? Why would this hurt when competing with industries from other countries? What might America do to help their poor industrial base?

Causes of the Depression Farmers in crisis What was going on prior to the Roaring 20’s? How does farming factor into this? Food production during the war What problem might arise once the war is over? What would have been a way to deal with this?

Causes of the Depression Easy credit-Too Easy What is credit? How does it work? If anyone can get as much credit as they want, what problem might come up? What happens if you don’t pay for the credit you take?

Causes of the Depression Unequal Distribution of Income What does that mean? Why might it be a problem? Who spends money and buys things? What happens when the people who buy the most don’t have money to spend?

The match that lit the fire Poor decisions in the stock market Why do people invest in the stock market? Speculation: buying stocks on the chance that they will make big profits. What problem could come up when you only pay a down payment on a stock and borrow the rest of the money? Buying on margin- good idea unless stock prices decline. Then, you cannot pay what you borrowed

Stock Market Crash When prices dropped, investors sold and this mass selling led to a huge collapse of the market. This was called Black Tuesday.

Now you make a statement Create a political cartoon about what led to the Great Depression. Make sure to include at least one of the four long term causes, not just the stock market crash.

Causes of Depression Old, decaying Industrial base Farming crisis Availability of easy credit Unequal distribution of income= not enough money in the hands of workers to buy Sparked by poor decisions on stock market-massive sell-offs causing market to collapse.