-
The Stock Market Crashes
Investors sold their stocks and pulled out after stock prices peaked in September 1929. Consumers and farmers were going into debt, they were not profiting from their work. Many consumers used credit and were in more debt than they thought. Lots of jobs were no longer needed after the war, so lots of people were unemployed. -
Boulder Dam
This is the world’s tallest dam and the second largest. In addition to providing electricity and flood control, the dam also provided regular water supply, which enabled the growth of California’s massive agricultural economy. -
The Great Depression Starts
Known as Black Tuesday. This was when the stock market completely plunged and many tried to sell their stocks so they would not lose so much money. The number of shares dumped that day was a record of 16.4 million. Tariffs and war debt policies that cut down the foreign market for American goods did not help the stock market, it made it even worse. Another cause was unequal distribution of income: the rich got richer and the poor became poorer. -
The Great Depression in Cities vs. Rural Areas
In the cities people lost their jobs and had to search for food. They were evicted and had to live in shantytowns. These were nicknamed “Hoovervilles” to show their resentment towards President Hoover, who barely did anything to help them.
People in rural areas had the advantage of growing their own food, but many farmers lost their land due to debt and barely scraped out a living. They also dealt with Dust Bowl, a region that was made worthless for farming by drought and dust storms (1930-1939) -
Social and Psychological Effects
Some people were so demoralized by hard times that they lost their will to live. Between 1928 and 1932 the suicide rate rose more than 30 percent. Three times as many people were admitted to state mental hospitals as in normal times. Many Americans made sacrifices that affected them for the rest of their lives, for example, adults stopped going to dentists and doctors, young people didn’t go to college, and others put of raising large families, getting married, or having children (1930-1939). -
Federal Home Loan Bank Act & Reconstruction Finance Corporation
(FHLB)Lowered mortgage rates for homeowners and allowed farmers to refinance their farm loans and avoid foreclosure.
(RFC)It authorized up to $2 billion for emergency financing for banks, life insurance companies, railroads, and other large businesses. In the first five months RFC loaned $805 million to large corporations, but business failures continued.
