Tag: 1929

03/13/11

The Crash That started the depression.

One of the major catalysts of the Great Depression was the stock market crash in October of 1929. The market lost $40 billion dollars in value in two months, which is at that time over 40% of the Gross Domestic Product of US in 1929. The crash led to widespread panic selling which fueled further declines in the market. Business conditions became bleak, leading to high unemployment rate. Black Tuesday was one the days when the market crashed and lost 12%, marking the beginning of the great depression. The market bottomed in 1932, after losing 89% of its value from its peak three years earlier.

03/11/11

The Great Depression in America

People sleeping on the streets using newspapers as a blanket and as a mattress

The Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s and early 1940s. There was a sharp decline in profits, personal incomes and tax revenues. Businesses were failing rapidly and many people became unemployed and homeless. The two images shown above portray how the Great Depression greatly impacted their lifestyle. The first image have multiple pictures combined, it shows people of different backgrounds besieged with the same problem. The second image shows homeless people sleeping on the streets. This resulted from high unemployment rates, causing many people have no source of income to support themselves.

03/7/11

The Stock Market Crash of 1929

After World War I, the United States had an extensive economic expansion due to new technologies and enhanced production processes. The Stock Market benefited from the expanding economy. Eventually the Stock Market Crashed on 1929. Many banks tried to collect loans made to stock market investors since their holdings were worth nothing at all. When people found out that the banks’ assets contained uncollectable loans, depositors rushed to withdraw their savings, concerned about the security of their bank. Several thousand banks began to fail due to the panic. In result of the Stock Market Crash, many people lost their entire saving, many companies failed, and peoples’ faith in banks was destroyed. This event triggered the beginning of the Great Depression.