Great Depression

by A.A.A.

The Great Depression lasted from October 24, 1929 until the economy recovered in the 1940s. On October 29, Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed badly, and continued to fall through the weeks. As a result, the United States and the world were thrown into 10 years of poverty and unemployment. The depression affected all sectors of the economy. Farmer owners suffered from falling crop prices. Businesses failed from a lack of investment support. Banks closed their doors as the nation's citizens hoarded their money and defaulted on loan payments.

Herbert Hoover was President of the United Sates at the beginning of the depression. His message to the people was one of the messages that made people still believe in recovery, even as things began to get worse. Though he eventually sparked some government action in an effort to curb the effects of the depression, he believed in the power of the economy and their power to right itself without government intervention. The situation did not improve, and dissent grew throughout the nation. Hoover lost presidency to Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR) in the 1932 election.

FDR quickly shifted from a stance of non-intervention to a government policy of regulation. In the first hundred days of his presidency, he and his trusted advisers, known as the Brain Trust, created the New Deal. Marshalling a previously unseen executive power, Roosevelt created a number of agencies to aid business, and the unemployed. The nation mobilized, and it appeared that the economy might improve. However, the economy remained troubled, and criticism of the New Deal rose up in the government. A number of Supreme Court Rulings dismantled the primary mechanisms of FDR's plan.


FDR set forth the Second New Deal in 1935. This program reaffirmed the administration's commitment to public support of the nation's troubled people. Great steps were taken in attempts to solve the unemployment problem. The economy showed some signs of recovery but was set back by the 1937 recession. After that, FDR enacted few additional measures to cooperate with the depression. Finally, the economic recovery took place under the war economy of the early 1940s, with levels of poverty and unemployment returned to pre-depression levels.

The great depression was an really bad disaster but it did help spark many things which became popular during that time.The radio was a really good things that the depression sparked because it was mostly comedies and soap operas, that took peoples minds off their troubles and provided happiness during time of great sadness.