Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck

The Great Depression

By Cliff, Liam, Max, & Ezra

History of the Great Depression

• During WWI, US spent 3 times as much as earned from taxes

• After WWI, Allies owed lots of money to US, but couldn’t pay it back

• October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday): Stock market crashes

Causes:

President Hoover kept Federal Reserve from making more money

International trade, income, tax revenue, prices, and profit declined greatly

Most of the Western World affected, especially Latin America

1929-19331929-1933

Statistics

1929-1930: National income down from $87bn to $75bn

1931: Down to $59bn 1932: $42bn 1933: $40bn 11,000 of 25,000 banks failed 25% of all workers unemployed

(37% of non-farm workers)

The Great Depression Current Economic Crisis

13 million people unemployed

11,000 bank failures by 1933

Industry failure

Skyrocketing food and goods prices

President Hoover resisted intervening to help stop Depression

Most people couldn’t afford basics (food, water, shelter)

Thousands left to live on streets

Bread lines became necessary to keep people fed

The government regulatory and recovery agencies that we have now did not exist. Many were created by FDR

When FDR became president he immediately implemented plans to move America out of the depression, similar to the plans proposed by Obama

In both cases large banks were making risky decisions that led to accumulating debt on their hands

Both involved massive stock crashes and several major bank failures

Both left millions unemployed

Both were an economic bubble caused by speculation in the market

Both led to unemployment, foreclosures, and bankruptcy

Millions unemployed

Stock Market failure

Drop in customer spending

Excess government spending increasing national deficit

Bush administration tax cuts lead to increasing debt

Price of food, housing, and other necessities increased

Price of gas increased

Bush and Congress worsened the impact of the crisis by making poor decisions to “help” the economy

Buyouts of major banks were wasted by those banks in an attempt to settle their own debt not their clients’

The 2008 stock market lost $7 trillion in value but lost a smaller percentage than ‘29 stock market

Drop in value of loans and increasing amount of poor credit

What life was like:• Lots of unemployment and poverty• Break down of families• High dropout rates (2-4 mil in highschool)• Homelessness

– Hoovervilles of cardboard and tar paper shacks were built across the country

QuotesQuotes

“I like ‘em with ketchup.”

“Well, we ain’t got any.”

“We got ten bucks

between us.”

“I seen too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand.”

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