Analysis of the Events of The Great Depression
Analysis of the Events of The Great Depression
"We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing from among us." (Herbert Hoover – 1928)
"The nation is marching along a permanently high plateau of prosperity."
(Irving Fisher – October 24th, 1929)
Five days later, the bottom dropped out of the stock market, ushering in the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in America's history.
The Great Depression. This was quite possibly the most economically devastating event in
American history. The people of the early century suffered massively during this disastrous time. “In 1932, a crowd of fifty men fought over a barrel of garbage outside the back door of a Chicago restaurant” (The Great Depression – Gale Group). The 1920’s were a decade of prospers, and because everybody in the United States had become accustomed to living a healthy, as well as comfortable lifestyle, it made the sudden impact of the stock market crash so much more detrimental. On that fateful day of October 29th, 1929, all of the nations progress, everything that had been accomplished throughout the past decade was plunged into an abyss of poverty. With the Dust Bowl coinciding, the Depression paved the way for many challenges that Americans would begin to face, such as starvation, poverty, unemployment, chronic illness, and death in large multiples.
During the nineteen-twenties, educational facilities boomed into play. Teachers’ salaries rose, and junior high schools were developed. Student attendance skyrocketed, and vocational education grew like garden alyssum. The reason it was called the “Booming ’20’s”, was because every aspect of the U.S. was growing, and at a rapid rate. This was quite possibly the most prosperous decade of the early century. And all of this was because of a great economic inclination. People began to charge everything that they bought on credit cards, and that was okay. This was a time of fun, life, and a carefree attitude. Everything was about buying and selling, drinking and dancing, and just trying to be happy. And president Coolidge was against the partying of this decade in every aspect. He took office immediately after president Harding died a horrible death, but that’s another essay, for another time. New ways of paying were developed, such as...