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  • Essay / Stock market crash, bank failures and the Dust Bowl as causes of the Great Depression in America

    On October 29, 1929, an event called the Great Depression began. It changed the world forever. This affected many lives because people could not afford to feed themselves and daily life was a struggle. In 1933, 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed. (A&E Networks) The many Americans affected by these events have had a difficult time. The Great Depression had many causes, including the stock market crash, bank failures, and the Dust Bowl. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay There was a financial boom starting in August 1921. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIJA) was multiplied by six, from 63 to 381. in September 1929. (KA Richardson Gary). The stock market crash ruined many people's stocks and essentially started the Great Depression. How stocks work: They are part of a company that the public can buy, so people can own part of the company. If stocks are high, it means the economy is doing well. If the business is doing poorly, inventory is low. The company will then make no profit. The stock market crash occurred while Herbert Hoover was president of the United States. That didn't make him popular. This also brought back what is called poverty. It was widespread in the prosperous 1920s. (E. a. Arnesen) The stock market crash caused businesses to close. Falling prices caused a collapse in consumer wealth. As the article says, “spiral” growth occurred. Even after the Depression ended, it left scars on many Americans born into that generation. What this tells us is that all of the factors in the stock market crash were one of the many causes of the Great Depression. Many families have had to change their lifestyle. They began growing their own food in gardens and eating whatever they could find. Many men had to take menial jobs that paid far less than their previous positions. The many things we did tried to help ordinary Americans survive, but there still weren't many options for work. However, many eventually found employment at the start of World War II, due to the boom in construction jobs. Additionally, many families went hungry because there was not enough food, pushing them into poverty. Many Americans did not survive the Depression because many of them died trying to survive. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin the economy if it happened again, but it's extremely unlikely. What happened during the Great Depression was horrible for many American families as they struggled to live the American dream. We should be grateful that we are in a better situation today than during the Great Depression. The next cause of the Great Depression was bank failure. What we do know is that many banks failed, and many causes were attributed to the increase in bank failures, which snowballed into many other effects like unemployment. Peter Tamerin believes that the bank failures of 1930 were caused by falling agricultural incomes. (Stauffer). In agricultural regions, bank failures were numerous due to the decline in cotton sales in certain states. More than 8,000 banks were not owned by the Federal Reserve, the central bank of..