How To Understand The Effects Of The Great Depression On The United States

Transcription

1 What effects did the Great Depression have in the United States? Pablo Kawas Historical Investigation IB Number IB History of the Americas-HL Mr. Colin Roberts March 08, 2011 Word Count: 1,784

2 Kawas, Pablo ( )1 Table of Contents A. Plan of Investigation.2 B. Summary of Evidence..3 C. Evaluation of Sources...5 D. Analysis 7 E. Conclusion 9 F. Bibliography.10

3 Kawas, Pablo ( )2 A. Plan of Investigation This investigation is intended to study and explain the economical, social and other effects that the Great Depression of 1929 had on the people of the United States. Many people associate the great depression solely with money, but they are wrong in doing so. Yes, the great depression is a term used to refer to a great economic recession, but such event had greater effects than those economic in nature. All of them affects society, especially in psychological ways. How did this happen? How does an economic situation affect the minds and the way people behave and decide how they live their life on a daily basis? It's rather simple; it has to be a great depression. The situation was so desperate and tense that money was not the only problem, food became a problem, health, marriages, everything that was somewhat related to money was now a problem. This of course affected the mental health of the population of the United States. Through logical conclusions it is obvious that the great depression was not only an economical matter, it affect the society in many other ways.

4 Kawas, Pablo ( )3 B. Summary of Evidence "Roaring Twenties" was a marked growth in the economy during the decade. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was established in 1919 in order to exploit the benefits of new technology. Factory workers wages rose by nine percent during the 1920s but it was very weak compared to the 63 percent increase in corporate profits. The economic collapse at the end of 1920s left nearly all Americans feeling insecure. Simple meals became common in the 1920s, services dropped and everything became average. The collapse of the American Stock Market on Wall Street took place in October 1929 (The Great Depression). The whole value of goods and services dropped by more than thirty percent between 1929 and At the market's peak in 1929, only a diminutive number of people, no more than three million had a mixture of financial resources to own stocks and gain interest. President Hoover tried to invigorate the economy with the 'Reconstruction Finance Corporation'. During the rates on telephones service and the purchased cars dropped heavily. In 1931, about 2,294 banks with $1.7 billion in deposits closed. As banks started to drop, they often took local businesses with them as they called in business loans in a desperate effort to stay buoyant. In the summer of 1932 the "Bonus Army" was formed. The normal family life and status was harshly changed, the rate in divorce, suicidal, and abandoned families grew largely. The democrats elected Franklin D Roosevelt in 1932, his opponent being Hoover aiming at a second term. The agricultural areas where the largest, hardest and longest to hit in the United States, such states as the southern plains of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, which turned to what is known as the "Dust Bowl". By 1933, Americans overall had 54 percent income compared to New Deal was formed by Roosevelt in 1933 through 1939, within the New Deal many reforms policies and acts were formed. At the beginning of 1933, over 40 percent of the nation's home mortgages were in default.

5 Kawas, Pablo ( )4 During (the worst years for the United States) the overall unemployment rate was twenty-five percent with another twenty-five percent of breadwinners having their wages and hours cut. Roosevelt's most outstanding policy was the Social Security Act signed in Roosevelt was easily reelected in the 1936 presidential campaign. The depression had a strong effect on the physical and mental health of most part of society. It also caused a certain division between women and men.

6 Kawas, Pablo ( )5 C. Evaluation of Sources Source One: Stanley, George. The Great Depression and World War II. United States: World Almanac Library, This book was written by George Stanley who studied at Texas Tech and currently works as a professor at Cameron University in Oklahoma. He has written eight books within the subjects of History and Science. This particular one was published by the World Almanac Library in 2005, making it a respectable source on the Great Depression. The book's purpose is to inform and explain what happened during the Great Depression and later in the Second World War. This source is of great value for various reasons including the way the author explains events in a chronological and detailed way. Another aspect of the book which provides it with a great deal of importance is the numerous documents, letters, diaries, speeches, amongst others which served as a primary source for the author Stanley George. This book is a very important source for this research paper, even though it has various limitations. The first and most important limitation is the fact that Stanley George did not live in times of the Great Depression, making him a secondary source. Another aspect that limits the value of this source is the fact that Stanley is not a full time Historian, reducing the book's reliability. The Great Depression took place in the year 1929, Stanley published his book in That's more than 70 years later, making evidence and knowledge on the topic weaker. Nevertheless, this source is of great importance and contains valuable information that depicts a crude reality American's faced many years ago.

7 Kawas, Pablo ( )6 Source Two: The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers."The Great Depression." Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, et. al. (Hyde Park, New York: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 2003). [Accessed April 22, 2010]. This website is appealing and very useful for various reasons. It was written by an unknown author, but it is based on papers belonging to Eleanor Roosevelt who can be considered as a primary source in relation to the Great Depression considering she lived through it as USA's first lady. The purpose of this website is to provide readers with detailed information of the Great Depression, specifically around the moment when FDR took office. This source is of great value and importance for this investigation because of its broad range of useful information, but more specifically because it contains precise data and numbers. It provides the reader with percentages, ratios and concrete numbers that create a more clear idea of what was going on during the Great Depression. The fact that who or when this internet article was written is unknown limits its reliability because the author may be biased in any way or the date may be very recent for its information to be as reliable as an article written during the depression. Aside from these small limitations, this website is very useful and contains precious data that contributes to a better understanding of the Great Depression.

8 Kawas, Pablo ( )7 D. Analysis The United States of America suffered devastating effects in many areas because of the Great Depression. Because the economy of a country defines nearly every other aspect of such, it is logical and understandable that such a great nation was devastated by such a great crisis. Beyond the economic effects are those that matter most, those caused by the economic consequences; the social effects. Because of the great depression the American people was very deeply psychological and emotionally hurt. The psychology of a nation is defining and crucial in the path for success. It is what makes great nations overcome weak nations, but even the greatest of nations can psychologically succumb to problems as big as these. The mental state of the United States changed for the worse, such desperate times called for incredibly desperate measures. People were decided to do things they never thought they were capable of doing. In the male population for example, crime rates increased sharply during the depression. This is due to the fact that in the face of no other option to produce money, the only resource left was to steal from others. Fathers needed to put food on the table for their family, youngsters needed to help their family out as well. On the other hand, the female population also resorted to actions which were previously reserved for the lowest part of society; prostitution. During the Great Depression, divorce rates steadily decreased but this is a misleading fact. Divorces cost money, and money was very scarce during the depression so husbands turned to the more convenient "poor man's divorce" in which he just abandoned his family. This led to an increase in single mothers with the responsibility of a whole family lying in their hands. When no other option was left, many of these mothers turned to selling their bodies to put food on their table. Even though it is hard to believe, the depression did have some positive effects on the psychology of the United States. During the crisis high school dropout rates steadily decreased. This has a very logical and convincing explanation. Because jobs were so

9 Kawas, Pablo ( )8 scarce, there was no point in leaving school anymore. Usually teenagers dropout of school to work and help their families, but times were so hard that there were no jobs for them to support their families with. Psychological effects are closely tied to emotional effects. It can be said that the first may lead to the second, and vice versa. During the Great Depression alcoholism was on the rise. Many turned to alcohol to relieve the pain and forget their misery. This led consumers into decisions which turned them into crime, abandoning their families, etc. But alcoholism wasn't the only negative impact tied to emotions, there was one which stood out; suicide rates. In 1929, the year of the market crash, the suicide rate had a dramatic increase. In 1928 it was 12.1 per 100,000 population. The following year, the rate increased to an alarming The following years the rate remained abnormally high and decreased steadily after WWII. Marriages were also affected by the depression. Even though couples wanted to live a happy life together with their family, having children was now an important decision that needed careful thinking and planning. The expenses had to be covered, and if it was too hard or "not worth it", most families decided not to have more children or no children at all. It is evident that the Great Depression struck not only the economy of a country, but the minds and hearts of it's people were hit just as hard.

10 Kawas, Pablo ( )9 E. Conclusion It is evident that the Great Depression was a defining moment in history. It changed the economic fate of the world and through that, many other things. People had less or no access to money, banks were being closed and it was extremely hard to find a job. Some people, millions, lost their homes, others did not have anything to eat. Divorce rates did not increase but abandonment rates did increase, so families were being shattered. The great depression probably changed a lot of families' lives, from the richest to the poorest; the whole of the American population was deeply affected by the stock market crash.

11 Kawas, Pablo ( )10 F. Bibliography Stanley, George. The Great Depression and World War II. United States: World Almanac Library, 2005 The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers."The Great Depression." Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, et. al. (Hyde Park, New York: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 2003). [Accessed April 22, 2010]. Smiley, Gene. "Great Depression: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics." Library of Economics and Liberty. Web. 10 Feb < "Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression [ushistory.org]." U.S. History. Web. 10 Feb < "Great Depression in the United States - encyclopedia article - Citizendium." Welcome to Citizendium - Citizendium. 01 Feb <