Essay about The Great Depression in America - 1866 Words

The 1920’s in America The 1920’s was a very prosperous period for many Americans. Food production increased 64 percent, worker productivity increased by 40 percent, electricity sales doubled, fuel consumption more than doubled, and pay was increased for many industrial workers (Davidson, 2008). With the soaring economy and new items hitting the shelves all the time, American consumers were living the high life. Even if you wanted something and did not have the money you could simply get it on credit and pay for it later. After all, the economy was showing signs of immense economic prosperity with productivity at an all time high what could go wrong. Construction soared with the building of new skyscrapers, suburbs, and road construction.†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"In 1928 and 1929 the Federal Reserve System raised interest rates in an effort to slow the market speculation† which led to a reduction of spending (Mitchener, 2011). The share prices began to drop rapidly which left many people uneasy about their stocks and on October 29, 1929 nervous shareholders sold 16,410,030 shares causing the stock market crashed. The estimated loss of around forty billion dollars left the United States in a state of panic. Millions of Americans had invested both small and lager sums of money into stock. The fortunes of the wealthy were destroyed and the savings of the average American were lost. America’s prosperity of the 1920’s had come to an abrupt halt. Millions had lost so much money that banks began to fail taking people’s savings with them, forcing factories to close, and bankruptcies swept the nation. â€Å"By 1932, U.S. manufacturing output had fallen to 54 percent of its 1929 level, and unemployment had risen to between 12 and 15 million workers† (Nelson). The Great Depression was now gripping the nation. President Hoover’s Efforts At first President Hoover was optimistic about the stock market and the unstable economy telling people not to fear. â€Å"He called business leaders, industrialists, and labor leaders together for conferences†¦in an effort to keep wages stable and to avoid strikes† (Walch, 2011). In 1930 he signed the Smoot-Hawley bill to raise tariffs on farm andShow MoreRelatedThe Great Depression Of America920 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Depression A major event in American history that has shaped society today is the great depression that began in 1929 and ended in 1939. The official day the stock market crashed was a a day known as â€Å"black Tuesday†. At the time, the American government was not prepared nor did they have policies in place that made them well prepared for such an event to take place. 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