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656-661 Analyze statistical data sets from the 1930s. Describe the causes and effects of the “Great Depression”.
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656-661 • Analyze statistical data sets • from the 1930s. • Describe the causes and effects • of the “Great Depression”.
“ The police had been called to a telephone booth to investigate something unusual. When they arrived they found a man slumped in the phone booth dying from blood loss. Two panes of glass on either sides of the phone booth were broken and the telephone hung from it’s cord.” What happened?
Analyzing Data Sets: • Study each set of statistics and write a one sentence conclusion from the data. (Your conclusion might also include a summary of the information, identifying a trend, making a prediction or tying it in with the reading). • Example: • Stock market speculation could be risky and dangerous. • A decrease in one company could also mean a decrease in another related industry. • The stock market experienced strong growth in the 1920s, then a sharp decline lasting into the 1930s, which shows extent of the weakness the economy. • The number of hired workers and wages fell as they were replaced by family members on farms. • Farm property values decreased likely due to foreclosures. • Stagnate wages suggest weak industry leading to further unemployment.
The Great Depression • Stock market crash on • 10/29/29 “Black Tuesday” • was the symbolic start. • Panicked investors “dumped” • stocks, selling at a loss. • Stocks hit bottom in 7/1932 as • more investors try to sell since • speculators (investors) ran out • of money and brokers denied • margin-buying.
Weaknesses in the U.S. Economy: The Great Depression Hits • Unequal distribution of income contributed to under-consumption of goods. • 1929 the top .1% of population had the same amount of income as the bottom 42%! • Prices of goods were artificially high due to oligopolies. • Oligopolies set “administered prices”- those set and agreed on by those corporations that manufactured the goods. • Overproduction in “weak” industries. • Farming, coal and textiles industries all suffered from overproduction, declining prices and debt. • International economies suffered from high U.S. tariffs. • U.S. exports to Europe fell 70% between 1929-32. • Federal government failed to enforce laws regulating the economy. • Anti-trust laws were not enforced, banks were unsupervised, opposition to unions and collective bargaining kept wages low. • High consumer debt (especially farmers).
The Depression Spreads 1929-32 Industrial production fell Unemployment rises Farmers Income Personal Income Soup Kitchens Auto production Steel mills Hoovervilles
Impact on groups in society: • Married women were often fired from jobs since many saw this as taking a job away from a man. • Akron, Ohio City Council ruled public agencies should stop employing women and 75% of our nation’s schools refused to hire married women as teachers. • HOWEVER, the number of married women in the workforce actually increased overall in the 1930s! • Chronic unemployment humiliated many men. • Divorce rates decreased, but, abandonments increased. • Marriage and birth rates fell due to the expense. • Traditional family roles changed since now women often became the heads of households rather than men. • Oftentimes women took in laundry and boarders for 10 cents a week. • Children suffered. • Parents starved themselves so children might eat, school dropouts increased as children had to take jobs to help support the family.
Impact on groups in society: • African-Americans suffered higher unemployment rates than whites. • Unemployment rates for blacks were almost double that of whites. • Religious and charity organizations oftentimes refused to help blacks • Hispanic-Americans were targets of deportation efforts. • Were replaced as farm workers by whites in California and some states (CA, AZ, TX) barred them from public works (gov’t.) jobs. • Informal protest • Small groups of people took individual actions (theft, crime increased). • Radical protest • Communists organized “unemployment councils” to stage hunger marches. • Farmers’ Holiday Association stopped food shipments to drive prices up.
Impact on groups in society: • African-Americans suffered higher unemployment rates than whites. • Hispanic-Americans were targets of deportation efforts. • Informal protest • Radical protest • Communists organized “unemployment councils” to stage hunger strikes. • Farmers’ Holiday Association stopped food shipments to drive the price up. • Farmers dumped milk, beat sheriffs and mortgage agents at farm property foreclosures.
