1. THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
What is a Depression?
Photos by photographer Dorothea Lange

2. Alabama family, 1938 Photo by Walter Evans
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
period from 1929 – 1940 in which the economy plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed
Alabama family, 1938 Photo by Walter Evans

3. What is a depression?
Gross Domestic Product- total amount of goods and services produced within a country in a given year
Recession- a 6 month period when GDP decreases
Depression- a severe long lasting recession

5. The Great Depression

6. GDP DROPS, UNEMPLOYMENT SOARS
Unemployment leaped from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933
Unemployment Rate today about 7.6%

7. The Cycle of Money Good Business Cycle Bad Business Cycle
Factories hire workers
Able to buy goods
Factories need workers to make goods
Workers make money
Bad Business Cycle
Factories fire workers
Demand Decreases (leads to surplus)
Factories cut back on production
Workers can’t afford to buy goods

8. The Great Depression was a worldwide event
GDP During the Great Depression

9. Causes Of The Great Depression
Causes of the Depression
Causes Of The Great Depression
Overproduction
Sinking International Trade
Gambling On Stocks
Uneven distribution of income
Poor banking system

10. Causes Of The Great Depression
Causes of the Depression
Causes Of The Great Depression
Overproduction
Farms and factories were producing more goods than were being sold. No one was willing to spend their money.
Sinking International Trade
High U.S. tariffs forced other countries to raise tariffs. U.S. Businesses couldn’t sell goods overseas.
Gambling On Stocks
People who bought on credit couldn’t repay what they owed when the market crashed.
Uneven distribution of income
For all the prosperity, 1/2 of America lived below the poverty level during the 20s
Poor banking system
Bankers put depositors’ money into unsound investments. $$ was gone and banks closed when the market crashed

11. STOCK PRICES RISE THROUGH THE 1920s
Bull Market
By 1929, 4 million Americans owned stocks
New York Stock Exchange

12. The Stock Market’s bubble was about to break
SEEDS OF TROUBLE
Speculation
And
Margin
The Stock Market’s bubble was about to break

13. Amount Broker Must Borrow
Buying on Margin
Stock
Investor’s
initial cost
Amount Broker Must Borrow
Investor 1
10 Shares
$7.50
Investor 2
50 Shares
$212.50
Investor 3
100 Shares
$75.00
$42.50
$37.50
$425.00
Shares are being sold at $5.00 each. Initially, the investor owes 15%.

14. THE 1929 CRASH October 29, Black Tuesday, the bottom fell out
16 million shares were sold.
Prices plummeted
$30 billion was lost

15. By mid-November, investors had lost about $30 billion

16. Bank Closings Banks had invested in the Stock Market and lost money
By 1933 – 11,000 of the 25,000 banks nationwide had collapsed
Bank run 1929, Los Angeles

17. Herbert Hoover wins the 1928 election
Hoover emphasized years of prosperity under Republican administrations

19. HOOVER’S PHILOSOPHY
rugged individualism the idea that people succeed through their own efforts
People should take care of themselves, not depend on governmental hand-outs
Hoover believed it was the individuals job to take care of themselves, not the governments

20. “people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps”
“Have faith the economy will get better in 6 months”
6 months things were worse

21. Hoovervilles Hooverisms
Today’s term of destitution with my name in it is…
Hoovervilles

22. Hoovervilles
Hoover Blankets
Hoover Flags
Hoovervilles

23. Hoovervilles

24. Hoovervilles

25. Hoovervilles

26. Hoovervilles

27. Hoovervilles

28. Unemployed people flocked to find jobs.
Unemployment Lines
Unemployed people flocked to find jobs.

29. Unemployment Lines

30. Unemployment Lines

31. Bread Lines

32. Bread Lines

33. Bread Lines

34. Soup Kitchens

35. Soup Kitchens

36. Soup Kitchens

37. Soup Kitchens

38. Dinner is served….turtle soup.
The Great Depression
Dinner is served….turtle soup.

39. Christmas on East 12th Street, New York City
The Great Depression
Christmas on East 12th Street, New York City

40. THE DUST BOWL
A severe drought gripped the Great Plains in the early 1930s
Wind scattered the topsoil, exposing sand and grit
The resulting dust traveled hundreds of miles
Kansas Farmer, 1933

41. Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas - 1934

42. Dust buried cars and wagons in South Dakota in 1936

43. Boy covers his mouth to avoid dust, 1935
HARDEST HIT REGIONS
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado were the hardest hit regions during the Dust Bowl
Many farmers migrated to California and other Pacific Coast states
Boy covers his mouth to avoid dust, 1935