Jul 03 2011 12:11 pm
Posted by jason.zhu under ADMIN ONLY - featured,July 5 Assignment
The Great Depression
The Great Depression began with the crash of the New York Stock Exchange of October, 1929 and it rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash manifest the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, deflation, diminishing farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth. In the Great Depression the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity became the land of desperation. Unemployment rose and wages fell for those who continued to work. Thousands of banks and businesses failed and millions were homeless.
In Virginia the economic impact of the Great Depression was less harsh. While the state suffered industrial reverses, unusual unemployment, and much hardship, Virginians did not experience, in the same degree, the extensive hardship that the rest of the nation endured. Virginia had a delayed reaction to the financial catastrophe. The state’s manufacturing did not include the heavy production of steel and automobiles that sustained huge national losses. A major part of Virginia’s industry was consumer oriented; producing the sort of necessities that even a poor person could not do without, such as food and clothing. While these buffers eventually broke down, they minimized the depression’s effect on Virginia and contributed to its more rapid recovery by 1935. Virginia was fairly better off than most other states during the depression, with industrial production and employment rising in the last 10 years.
Depression: Breadlines: long line of people waiting to be fed: New York City
(Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.)
Depression: Breadlines: long line of people waiting to be fed: New York City: in the absence of substantial government relief programs during 1932, free food was distributed with private funds in some urban centers to large numbers of the unemployed. (Circa February 1932)
3 Responses to “The Great Depression”
nataliya.vynnychuk on 06 Jul 2011 at 4:44 pm #
October 1929 was indeed a time of hardship and sorrow for American nation. Money, shelter, food and jobs were scarce. In my opinion not only had the Great Depression caused much harm to each city within the country, but it also affected other capitalistic countries worldwide. Granted, it had started in New York City where the stock market crushed taking down thousands of businesses, banks, investors and the people who had owned stock – everyone lost practically everything. Although Virginia was not an industrial state like other northern states including New York, it does have navy academies and ship building industry. Because of the Great Depression the ships that were being built had to be abandoned as more and more workers were getting fired. Virginia is also known for its agriculture and tobacco. When stock failed in NYC, Virginia state was affected by it because of a shortage of buying power of people around the country and the world, who were buying the products made in Virginia. This lack of product movement would force Virginia’ agriculture and production to shrink as it couldn’t sell enough to allow any growth.
taimoor.shahid on 06 Jul 2011 at 8:45 pm #
I agree with above post and comment, in great depression of 1929 NYC suffered the most. Although many people were aware of danger of speculation but they still believed that prices will keep on increasing. After crash, chain of events started. It happened because brokers were lending small investors more than two third of the face value of the stock they were buying. By 1929, more than $8.5 billion was out on loan which was more than entire currency circulating in USA.People started crying, most of investors lost almost everything.Virginia was less affected because of nature of its economy. There was a balance between agriculture, commerece and industry.The state’s manufacturing didn’t include heavy industry of steel and automobile sustained massive national loss.