Heraldry

Rebecca Silber
Mr. Doran
U.S. History II
January 2, 2012
The Great Depression: The Epitome of History
The great depression has had lasting effects on how Americans view themselves and their government. Some of the main causes of The Great Depression were the Dust Bowl, the purchase of margin stocks, and the advancement in technology. However, these things may have caused trauma in our country, but they also had a lasting effect that helped our country grown and learn from our mistakes. The economic and social pain that the Great Depression caused for America had a silver lining, as many positive new policies came out of our experience. Some examples are the Stock Market Crash leading to regulation, banks failing leading to FDIC, poverty leading to unemployment and welfare, and lack of medical care led to Medicare. Basically, we created safeguards to prevent another depression and programs to help people if the safeguards failed.
"Great Depression." : The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.
"Government Growth." : The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.
"The Great Depression - Causes of the Depression." The Great Depression - Causes of the Depression. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.
Generally, the Stock Market Crash led to regulation. Saying that the Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy is an understatement. A lot of people lost all of their life saving, and it was common that many of those people ended up committing suicide because of it. However, as a country we were able to learn from this significant event. Years after, regulations covering buying stocks on margin and the roles of banks have added protections to prevent this from happening again. The Stock Market regulations objective is to secure their futures, pay for homes, send children to college, and overall, sustain economic growth. The securities industry is one of the most highly regulated businesses in the United States. It created most of the structure and passes major laws that affect how the industry works. Also, it makes budgets for the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies involved in regulatory duties.
"The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (Page 2) ." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
"Who's Watching Your Back in Stock Market?" About.com Stocks. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.
Furthermore, banks failing led to the FDIC. The FDIC is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an organization that underwrites most private bank deposits. If The Great Depression never occurred, we would have never had this organization. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was founded by Congress for the purpose of maintaining stability and public confidence in the financial system of the United States. One objective the FDIC has is to insure deposits in banks up to $250,000 per person at each institution. The FDIC protects and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions by identifying, monitoring, and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the banking industry when a financial institution fails. The FDIC was created in 1933 as an independent agency of the federal government, in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Just around the same time The Great Depression happened! It is apparent that The Great Depression was simply the cause of our mistakes; the effect was all of the new policies we now have.
"Each Depositor Insured to at Least $250,000 per Insured Bank." FDIC: Who Is the FDIC?N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.
Additionally, poverty in The Great Depression led to unemployment and welfare. US Welfare is the government-funded social/economic programs created to help those who need it the most. The US welfare system goes way back to the Great Depression of the 1930s when everyone was struggling, living in poverty hopelessly. The system has changed a lot since then, but the original focus will always be to help American citizens from living in a state of poverty and to protect the unemployed find long term work.
There are two main categories in US welfare, social and economic. Social welfare focuses on helping disadvantaged people function more fully in society, and economic welfare refers generally to financial support. The main purpose of an economic welfare system is to help citizens who are not able to support themselves or their families due to unemployment, underemployment, hardship, unskilled labor capacity, disability, or other reasons similar. A lot of the time, elderly people and single parents may also qualify for aid. Most programs need proof of financial need and compare it to their standard to receive benefits. This is because of welfare abuse in the past that has threatened the credibility of the system (The Great Depression). A way to test this out, estimates earnings and measures them against the standard of living. When the income decreases to less than what is considered to be the poverty level, economic assistance steps in to cover you. One may be required to show regular attempts to gain employment in order to receive welfare benefits in some cases.
"Welfare Information." US Welfare System. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.
Finally, the lack of medical care led to Medicare. Medicare is a federally funded health care program that provides basic medical insurance to qualified residents. Assisting about 40 million individuals nationwide, Medicare is known to be America's leading health care insurance program. The Medicare program was created in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. An amendment to the Social Security program, which provides retirement benefits to U.S. residents, the idea for Medicare spawned from a desire for a national healthcare plan. Despite harsh criticism about socialized medicine, Johnson believed it was the government's duty to provide medical insurance to its elderly residents. As a result, the Medicare program was signed into effect, offering residents 65 and older more affordable health care options. The idea of having a program like this originally came from the need for medical care during The Great Depression. It has been helping our country ever since.
"ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF MEDICARE." - Business Exchange. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.
"Lee Resolution (1776) ." Our Documents. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.
Hence, The Great Depression has had lasting effects on how Americans view themselves and their government. The main causes of The Great Depression include the Dust Bowl, the purchase of margin stocks, and the advancement in technology. These things may have caused trauma in our country, but they also had a lasting effect that helped our country grown and learn from our mistakes. The economic and social pain that the Great Depression caused for America had a silver lining, as many positive new policies came out of our experience. Some examples are the stock market crash leading to regulation, banks failing leading to FDIC, poverty leading to unemployment and welfare, and lack of medical care led to Medicare. All in all, we created safeguards to prevent another depression and programs to help people if the safeguards failed.