Stock Market Crash (1929)Bank FailuresReduction in Purchases
The Days Before High trading volumes (buying/selling) Steadily rising prices Peaked on Sept. 3, 1929, then fell into decline The Crash Decline Accelerated into “Black Thursday”(Oct. 24, 1929) Panic on the trading floor Record number of trades due to rapidly falling prices Failed Attempt at Recovery Wall Street’s leading bankers met to find a solution Elected Richard Whitney (then Vice President of NYSE) to place a massive bid on many “blue chip” stocks in the hopes of boosting recovery Only succeeded in stalling the decline for the remainder of the day
Panic People saw what was happening in the stock market, and rushed to withdraw their savings in what’s known as a “bank- run” Banks had no money to give back due to the inability to collect on the loans used for buying stock Bad Loans Giving out loans for “buying on margin”When, the stock market crashed, the banks couldn’t collect Poor Infrastructure Very little government involvement in the American banking system at the time/non-exsistent regulations On average, 70 banks would fail, nationally, during the 1920’s
With the economic decline, people were afraid to spend any money, and instead held onto whatever money they had This led to less production, which led to massive job cuts, leaving much of the country unemployed With no income, spending came to an almost complete halt, and the economy slumped even deeper into the depression
Presidential Election 1932 Because of President Hoover’s lack of action resulting in progress during the early stages of the Depression, it was an easy victory for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised action against the failed economy. President Herbert Hoover The stock market crash occurred after only 8 months of President Hoover’s term. Hoover’s policies toward the depression were based on volunteerism. He also believed that the private sector would recover on its own, without the governments help. New President, New Policies As soon as FDR took office, he began building the foundation for the rebuilding of the American Economy. He called his plan for the future “The New Deal”
The Wagner Act was passed in order to promote labor unions and their growth The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was organized and gave millions of people jobs doing various projects (construction of buildings and roads, distribution of clothes/food) The Social Security Act was put in place (still functioning today)
The economy dipped low again in late 1937, and lasted through most of 1938 FDR solved this issue by again increasing government spending, and therefore giving the people more “buying power”
The effects of the depression continued to decline up to the U.S. entering World War II Do to the massive mobilization efforts, the GNP doubled (due largely to government spending), and signaled the end of the Great Depression
Cole, Harold L., and Ohandi, Lee E., New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis. UCLA and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, February “Franklin D. Roosevelt: Inaugural Speech of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.” Retrieved from February Hamilton, David. “The Causes of the Banking Panic of 1930: Another View.” The Journal of Southern History, Kangas, Steve. “What Role Did the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Play?” Retrieved from McJimsey, George. “Agricultural Adjustment Act.” Retrieved from February Samuelson, Robert J. “Great Depression.” Library of Economics and Liberty: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Retrieved from February Wheeler, Mark. The Economics of the Great Depression. W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Western Michigan University, 1998.
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