ch 11.1 & 11.2
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Ch. 11 Part 1The Beginnings of the
Great Depression
The Election of 1928 • The Republican Herbert Hoover vs. Democrat Alfred E. Smith.• Smith was the first Roman Catholic nominated for the
presidency.• If you favored prohibition you were called a “dry.”• If you wanted prohibition repealed you were called “wet.”• Hoover was elected by a large margin of 444 to 87 electoral
votes.• Hoover promised such things as “a chicken in every pot and two
cars in every garage.”• "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over
poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing from among us."
Herbert Hoover
At this point life in the US is still GREAT! The
Roaring 20s is still going strong, and
people are filled with hope.
Stock Market Increase
• A Bull Market is when stock steadily rises.• Many people used this time of progress in the
1920s to invest in the stock market.• If the price of the stock fell, the broker could
issue a Margin Call. This forced you to pay up on your loans.
• People began to sell their stock and make lots of money since the market was doing so well.
Stock Market Crash• October 24th 1929 is known as Black Thursday. This is
when prices went down.• People started getting nervous and began selling their
stock.• Then they have the weekend to think…and worry…and
talk…and worry…and worry…and worry• October 29th 1929 is known as Black Tuesday. Prices
dropped $10-$15 billion.• This drop in prices weakened the nations banks. People
then could not borrow money.• Many people began to withdraw money from banks which
forced the banks to close.
Stock prices in Great Depression
“Bank Run” at beginning of panic
Great Crash Investors
Businesses and WorkersInvestors lose
millions.
Businesses lose profits.
Consumer spending drops.
Workers are laid
off.
Businesses cut investment and
production. Some fail.
BanksBusinesses
and workers cannot repay bank loans.
Savings accounts are wiped
out.
Bank runs
occur.
Banks run out of money
and fail.
World Payments
Overall U.S. production plummets.
U.S. investors have little or no money to
invest.
U.S. investments in Germany
decline.
German war payments to Allies fall off.
Europeans cannot afford
American goods.
Allies cannot pay debts to
United States.
Great Crash Investors
Investors lose millions.
Businesses lose profits.
Great Crash Investors
Businesses and WorkersInvestors lose
millions.
Businesses lose profits.
Consumer spending drops.
Workers are laid
off.
Businesses cut investment and
production Some fail.
Great Crash Investors
Businesses and WorkersInvestors lose
millions.
Businesses lose profits.
Consumer spending drops.
Workers are laid
off.
Businesses cut investment and
production Some fail.
BanksBusinesses
and workers cannot repay bank loans.
Savings accounts are wiped
out.
Bank runs
occur.
Banks run out of money
and fail.
World Payments
Overall U.S. production plummets.
U.S. investors have little or no money to
invest.
U.S. investments in Germany
decline.
German war payments to Allies fall off.
Europeans cannot afford
American goods.
Allies cannot pay debts to
United States.
Effects of the Great Crash, 1929Great Crash
Investors
Businesses and WorkersInvestors lose
millions.
Businesses lose profits.
Consumer spending drops.
Workers are laid
off.
Businesses cut investment and
production Some fail.
Banks
Businesses and workers cannot
repay bank loans.
Savings accounts are wiped out.
Bank runs
occur.
Banks run out of
money and fail.
World Payments
Overall U.S. production plummets.
U.S. investors have little or no money to
invest.
U.S. investments in
Germany decline.
German war payments to Allies fall off.
Europeans cannot afford
American goods.
Allies cannot pay debts to United
States.
The Great Depression Begins• The Great Depression took place from 1930 to
1939. • During this time the prices of stock fell 40%.
BY 1933:• 9,000 banks went out of business and 9 million
savings accounts were wiped out.• 86,00 businesses failed, and wages were decreased
by an average of 60%. • The unemployment rate went from 9% all the way
to 25%, about 15 million jobless people.
Charities Help• Private charities and millionaires would provide
soup kitchens and bread lines.• The poor and homeless would line up to receive a
free meal.
Shantytowns and Hoovervilles • Families that could not pay rent or mortgage were forced to
live on the street.• Many people built homes of cardboard, scrap metal, and
lumber pieces.• Shantytowns and Hoovervilles were nicknames of
“neighborhoods for homeless.”• Many people who did not want to live in a cardboard home
began to wonder from city to city jumping boxcars for rides. These people were known as hobos.
Hobo Codes
The Story of Us: Great Depression
The Dust Bowl• To make matters worse, the Midwest experienced the worst
drought in history in 1932.• Without water for crops, many farmers could not pay their
rent, and thus became hobos.• The sun dried earth from Texas to the Dakotas was
nicknamed the Dust Bowl.• Many people from Oklahoma moved west to California to
work picking fruit in the fertile San Joaquin Valley. These people were known as Okies.
The Migrant Mother
The Story of Us: Dust Bowl
Surviving the Dust Bowl
Entertainment
• Many people found escape from the hard life in movies, books, and radio broadcasts.
• Some examples of depression era entertainment:Movies Books Radio ShowsAnimal Crackers The Grapes of Wrath Lone Ranger Snow White & 7 Dwarfs The Sound and the Fury The Guiding LightThe Wizard of Oz Look Homeward Angel Green Hornet Gone With The Wind George BurnsKing Kong