From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dorothea Lange'sMigrant Mother shows poor children inCalifornia with their 32-year-old mother, Florence Owens Thompson. She said "that they had been living on frozenvegetablesfrom ... fields, andbirds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from hercar to buyfood. There she sat inthat ...tent with herchildren ... around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me.[1]
TheGreat Depression was the globaleconomiccrisis that started after theU.S.stock market crash in 1929.[2] The prices on the Wall Streetstock market greatly fell from October 24 to 29, 1929. Many peoplelost their jobs. By 1932, 25–30% of people had lost their jobs.[3] They becamehomeless andpoor, which ended the wealth of theRoaring Twenties. Many people think that the Great Depression started on Tuesday, October 29, buteconomists think Black Tuesday was just one of the causes.
From 1929 to 1932, the depression worsened. Many suspect that one reason was the increased taxes on Americans such astariffs (taxes onimports). The economistMilton Friedman said that the Great Depression was worsened because theFederal Reserve printed out less money than usual.
When the depression started,Herbert Hoover was thepresident of the United States and so he was blamed for it. A new president was elected in 1932,Franklin D. Roosevelt. He convincedCongress to pass many newlaws and programs to help people who were hurt by the Great Depression, which were called theNew Deal.
One of the programs was theCivilian Conservation Corps. The CCC put many young men to work outdoors. The men were paid thirty dollars a month for their work, twenty-five dollars of which was sent home to support their families, and they got free food and shelter.
Another program, calledSocial Security, continues to this day. It gives retired seniors a smallincome to let them have money for things that they need. The depression was a difficult time, but with everyone's help, it would get better. Between 1939 and 1944, more people had jobs again because ofWorld War II, and the Great Depression came to an end.
The Great Depression followed a decade of rapid economic growth andurbanization. After theWall Street Crash of 1929, business declined as it had after previous stock market crashes. However, people still had hope.John D. Rockefeller said, "These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity (wealth) has always returned (come back) and will again."[4]
However, the bad effects of the depression soon grew worse and worse. More people lost jobs, money, and homes. There were reports that inGermany and theUnited States, there were greathunger,disease, and evenstarvation. Nations usedprotectionism more than in recent decades. That reducedinternational trade.
Farmers were usually safe from the severe effects of previous depressions because they could at least feed themselves. During the Great Depression, theGreat Plains were also hit hard with adrought anddust storms. The events were called theDust Bowl.
Years ofovergrazing, combined with drought, caused the grass to disappear. With thetopsoil exposed, high winds picked up the loose dirt and carried it over long distances. The dust storms destroyed crops and left farmers without food or crops to sell.
Small farmers were hit especially hard. Even before the dust storms had hit, the invention of thetractor drastically cut the need for manpower on farms. Small farmers were usually already indebt since they borrowed money for seed and paid it back when their crops came in. When the dust storms damaged the crops, small farmers could not feed themselves or their families and also could not pay back their debts. Banks would thenforeclose on themortgage, and the farmers' families would be homeless, unemployed, and poor.
