Following the end of the First World War, the economy of the United States roared back. Cash was plentiful, and advances in economic management promoted the growth of the credit industry and its use to finance expensive items like cars and appliances. Americans were feeling rich, and this was most visible in the stock market, which kept going up throughout what became known as the Roaring Twenties. Despite warnings from economists and from economic data that the party was coming to an end, folks were surprised when, on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market suffered its worst day, with a 48% drop and billions of dollars wiped out.
Suddenly, people who thought the growth of the market would continue found themselves owing money they didn't have. Economic misery became the norm, as consumer spending retracted, and, with no new orders for goods and services, businesses shut down. Soon, one out of every four workers was unemployed and looking for work. Financial despair became the norm, and families split as people started looking for work far afield. Farms and houses were foreclosed. Bad weather contributed to a mighty Dust Bowl in the prairies, which wiped out millions of acres of farmland. Poverty spread dramatically.
The election of 1932 represented a change of vision for the country, with the election of Franklin Roosevelt to the presidency. Instead of President Hoover's laissez faire attitude that government should not be helping people, Roosevelt promoted several ideas and programs to put the country back to work, including social security, unemployment insurance, the Civilian Conservation Corp, and the Work Progress Administration. The struggle to climb out of the despair and poverty triggered by the stock market crash of 1929 was not fully resolved until the Second World War brought full employment back to the United States.
Fans of history will appreciate this overview of a drastic period in American history, and will be able to trace some of the roots of the Second World War overseas as Fascist regimes took over in Italy, Spain, and Germany to address the economic distress caused by the crash of 1929.
Other books in the series include:
No comments:
Post a Comment