GD and ND

Stock Market

  • Who was investing?
    Many Americans, including average citizens, began investing in the stock market—often buying on margin (borrowing money).

  • Why did it crash?
    Stock prices became inflated and when confidence dropped, people began selling quickly. The crash was worsened by buying on margin and panic selling.

🏦 Bank Failures

  • Why did banks fail?
    Banks had invested in the stock market and lost money; when people rushed to withdraw savings, banks didn’t have enough cash.

🌾 The Dust Bowl

  • Causes:
    Over-farming, drought, and high winds led to severe dust storms. The land was too dry and damaged for crops to grow.

📉 Causes of the Great Depression

  • Stock market crash

  • Bank failures

  • Overproduction in factories and farms

  • Unequal wealth

  • High tariffs reducing world trade

👔 Hoover vs. Roosevelt

  • Hoover: Believed in limited government help; relied on businesses to fix the economy.

  • FDR: Believed in direct government action; launched the New Deal to provide relief, recovery, and reform.

📊 Economic Trends in the 1930s

  • Unemployment: Rose to about 25%.

  • Inflation: Low or deflation (prices actually dropped).

  • GNP (Gross National Product): Fell sharply—by almost 50%.

🆚 1920s vs. 1930s Economies

  • 1920s: Boom years—high consumer spending, credit use, and industrial growth.

  • 1930s: Economic collapse, job loss, and widespread poverty.

🏛 FDR’s First 100 Days

  • Congress passed many laws quickly to address the crisis—15 major acts, including banking reform and public works programs.

🧩 FDR’s New Deal

  • Goals: Relief (for the needy), Recovery (for the economy), Reform (to prevent future crises).

  • Impact on Government: Expanded the role of the federal government in daily life and the economy.

  • Concerns: Critics feared too much government control; some thought it didn’t go far enough; others worried about loss of constitutional balance (like court-packing).

🎖 Bonus Army

  • WWI veterans who marched to Washington in 1932 to demand early payment of promised bonuses. Hoover ordered them removed—public was outraged.

🏦 Banking Holiday

  • FDR temporarily closed banks to stop bank runs and restore public trust. It wasn’t a real “holiday”—it was a crisis measure to stabilize the system.

📻 Fireside Chats

  • FDR used the radio to speak directly to Americans, explaining policies in simple terms and calming public fears.

⛺ Hoovervilles

  • Shantytowns built by homeless people during the Depression, named sarcastically after President Hoover.

🚂 Riding the Rails

  • Many young, unemployed people (often teens) hopped trains illegally in search of work or a better life.

⚖ Court Packing

  • FDR proposed adding more Supreme Court justices to get support for New Deal laws. Many saw it as an abuse of power, and it was rejected.