1. Topic 5a-The Start to the Great Depression
Student Objectives
1. Analyze how the situation with the economy, society, and government in the 1920s helped lead to the Great Depression.
2. Explain why the Stock Market crashed in 1929.
3. Describe how the Great Depression worsened quickly in the United States and spread overseas.
4. Identify varying factors that led to the Great Depression.

2. 1920s Review Economy Society Government Facts about the 1920s
Economy
Society
Government
Facts about the 1920s
Effect on US Society
Potential danger because…
Use the above graph to remind yourself about life in the 1920s in the United States. Start with the facts, then move to its effect on US Society and why these were potential dangers for the United States.
Based on what you remember about the 1920s, did many Americans see these things as being issues/dangerous? Explain.

3. More 1920s Republicans Republican mindset in 1920s
1928-Herbert Hoover (R)
Huge fortune in mining
Sec. of Commerce for Harding & Coolidge
Competition & “voluntary cooperation” between labor and management
“A chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage”
Won election easily-US confidence still huge
What was the Republican mindset in the 1920s?
What do you think is meant by Hoover’s quote from his campaign in 1928? How does this compare with what you know about the American mindset in the 1920s?
Look at the results of the 1928 election. What does this tell you about what most Americans thought of the 1920s?

4. Continued Issues of 1920s Issues with Farmers Rich vs. Poor
Wartime demand
Production/machines
Rich vs. Poor
Rise of wages for industrial workers
Rise of worker productivity
Wealth of top families 50x more than average American family
Credit buying adding up
Because farmers were not enjoying in wealth of 1920s, what do you think they did to get by?
What are some of the major issues associated with a large gap between rich and poor? Why is this problematic for the overall economy?

5. Stock Market Crash Stock Market & Speculation
Black Thursday (October 24)
Panic set in-stock prices too high
People began to sell quickly-stock prices dropped dramatically
Attempt by top bankers to invest as much as possible to save market-no good
Black Tuesday (October 29)
Stock market collapsed
Speculators and others lost everything
Companies had to fire employees in order to save their companies
What is the stock market and what is speculation? Why was this an issue in the 1920s?
What does the Stock market crash tell you about the wealth of the 1920s?

6. Great Depression Begins
Stock Market crash begins GD
Huge unemployment & weakening of US economy
Failure of banks
Collapse of business
Closure of factories
Layoff of employees
Production Cuts
Issue of tariffs
High tariffs
US creditor situation
Depression spreads
What were some of the reasons why banks failed in the 1920s? How had people’s perceptions changed in the 1920s?
How was consumer spending so much different during the Depression compared to the 1920s?
Based on the US role during/post WWI, how was the Depression in the US destined to spread across the globe?

7. 1. Describe some of the scenes occurring in the pictures above during the Great Depression. What does this tell you about life during the 1930s and how does this compare to what we discussed during the 1920s?