Depression and Stock Market Crash
Depression/Stock market Crash of 1929
The stock market crash of 1929 was the most significant crash in U.S. history. The crash began on October 24, 1929, the stock market opened at 305.85, falling 11% during day trading. It regained just 2% down for the day, the Wall Street bankers were worried because trading was triple the normal volume. They bought stocks to prop up the market but, it fell again on Black Friday. The stock market ended with a stampede out of the stock market on Black Tuesday. The crash led to the Great Depression.
Great Depression
The crash wiped out many peoples investments and the public was shaken. At first, economists and leaders thought the Great Depression was a mild bump, perhaps a correction of the market, or in any case, no worse than the recession the nation suffered after World War. But, they were proven wrong. The Depression worsened. By spring of 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office, unemployment had risen from 8 to 15 million and the gross national product had decreased from $103.8 billion to $55.7 billion. The poor were hit the hardest. By 1932, Harlem had an unemployment rate of 50 percent and property owned or managed by blacks fell from 30 percent to 5 percent in 1935.
Farmers in the Midwest were doubly hit by economic downturns and the Dust Bowl. Schools, with budgets shrinking, shortened both the school day and the school year. Those hurt the most were more stunned than angry. Many sank into despair and shame after they could not find jobs. The suicide rates increased from 14 to 17 per 100,000.
The New Deal The New Deal set lofty goals to maintain public works, full employment, and healthy wages through price, wage, and even production controls. One of the most heartbreaking results of the New Deal was the destruction of excess crops to justify the artificially high prices, despite the need for cheap food. In fact, many of the agencies created by the New Deal broke up black markets
The stock market crash of 1929 was the most significant crash in U.S. history. The crash began on October 24, 1929, the stock market opened at 305.85, falling 11% during day trading. It regained just 2% down for the day, the Wall Street bankers were worried because trading was triple the normal volume. They bought stocks to prop up the market but, it fell again on Black Friday. The stock market ended with a stampede out of the stock market on Black Tuesday. The crash led to the Great Depression.
Great Depression
The crash wiped out many peoples investments and the public was shaken. At first, economists and leaders thought the Great Depression was a mild bump, perhaps a correction of the market, or in any case, no worse than the recession the nation suffered after World War. But, they were proven wrong. The Depression worsened. By spring of 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office, unemployment had risen from 8 to 15 million and the gross national product had decreased from $103.8 billion to $55.7 billion. The poor were hit the hardest. By 1932, Harlem had an unemployment rate of 50 percent and property owned or managed by blacks fell from 30 percent to 5 percent in 1935.
Farmers in the Midwest were doubly hit by economic downturns and the Dust Bowl. Schools, with budgets shrinking, shortened both the school day and the school year. Those hurt the most were more stunned than angry. Many sank into despair and shame after they could not find jobs. The suicide rates increased from 14 to 17 per 100,000.
The New Deal The New Deal set lofty goals to maintain public works, full employment, and healthy wages through price, wage, and even production controls. One of the most heartbreaking results of the New Deal was the destruction of excess crops to justify the artificially high prices, despite the need for cheap food. In fact, many of the agencies created by the New Deal broke up black markets