The+Great+Depression



When the stock market crashed in 1929, America's economy had been deteriorating for several years. The government had a practice of not interfering with business practices in any way, and when the market crashed, the entire country went into a terrible period known as the Great Depression.

=**__What was the Great Depression?__ **= The Great Depression started at around the year of 1929 and lasted to about 1939. This was the worst depression America has ever faced. This depression affected more than just America, but it started in America. This depression occured, at first, with the crashing of the stock market on October 29, 1929 (which was known as Black Turesday).Black Tuesday was on October 29, 1929. This was the date of the stock market crash. Stocks lost 13% of their original value on this date. This date is considered the beginnig of The Great Depression.Many things happened because of this, including the personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices started to drop, while international trade dropped by one half to two-thirds.Around 9,000 banks closed and thousands of Americans lost their homes. Millions also went hungry, and thousands of businesses went out of business. In America, unemployment reached a peak of 25%, and in some countries it was up to 33%. Crops were majorily affected by this depression. The prices for crops fell about 60% during this period in time. Many jobs were affected majorily by this depression, such as farming, mining, and logging. For most countries, they were able to get out of this depression by the mid-1930's, but some countries weren't able to get on their feet until the start of World War II, when companies needed to hire more people to keep up with the demand the Army gave them. The United States was one of the countries that had to wait until the war started to get its economy back on track. Below are some pictures and some interviews with people from the Great Depression.

=**__Who was the president when this started?__ **= When the Great Depression started Herbert Hoover was the president. The economy dropped every month. In 1932, Presdient Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president. Roosevelt had many ideas to help ease up the economy.Roosevelt had "The New Deal" that gave the government more power.

=**__How did the Great Depression end? __**= Each of the New Deal programs that Roosevelt had made helped in its own way. When the government imposed rationing, recruited 6 million draft workers, and drafted 6 million soldiers, and ran massive deficts to fight WWII did this tragedy finally end.

=What did we do after the Great Depression? = After the Great Depression, people learned what it was like to be hungry and they also learned what they really need to live. Many of new jobs opened to the people who didn't have jobs. There was also an increase in industries and homes. = = [|Click to read about interviews with people who experienced the Great Depression]