Group9p5

=The Great Depression (1929-1933)= The Great Depression was caused due to weakening markets. It started when the Federal Reserve Bank began to increase interest rates. When people found out about this they started hoarding money. That means that people would take their money out of the bank and hold onto as much as they could so the economy wouldn’t have it. Then on October 27, 1929 the stock market fell significantly. The crash of the stock market caused unemployment to increase. In addition even young children were expected to drop out of school to work. The children had to work because their parents had lost their jobs. Most children would work in factories for little money but still they needed any money they could find. A lot of families didn’t even have an adequate amount of food and had to starve. During the last stages of the Great Depression earnings went up which helped families out and WWII began.

People were starving to death which is very hard to do. The Great Depression spread throughout the whole world. And around the world they did different things to get out of it. The Great Depression led up to World War 2 because America sided with Britain, France, and the Soviet Union against Germany, Italy, and Japan. Hitler took this for granted. He declared war on America because Japan declared war on America. So Hitler got the excuse he was looking for. Also right now were suffering from the same thing just its not as bad. Were still trying to figure out how they got out of this mess. If the Great Depression did not happen back then, right now it would be so much worse. After we got out of it this time it won’t be as bad next time and so on till it never happens again. If everything goes how I think, it will never happen again.

Our group has chosen the Great Depression. We choose it because we all did not know much about it and were interested to learn more about it. We found what happened during the Great Depression was very sad. The thought of all the people who could not afford their houses and were forced to leave is terrible. Also of all the people who lost their jobs and could not even afford food to feed their families. Some parents were forced to steal money from their children because they were so desperate for the money. Another thing that makes us interested and keeps us wanting to know what lead to this is the fact that it could happen again. If we know the facts about this we will be prepared and know if we end up heading toward that direction again. Overall we all had to agree that it was an interesting historical event to learn more about.

Timeline of the Great Depression **

** October 1929 ** : The stock market crashes, ending prosperity for most of the American economy. By October 1929, stock prices plummeted and banks were calling in loans. An estimated $30 billion in stock values “disappeared” by mid-November.
 * March 1930 ** : More than 3.2 million people are unemployed, up from 1.5 million before the “crash” of Oct. 1929. President Hoover remained optimistic however.
 * January 1931 ** : Texas congressman Wright Patman introduces legislation authorizing immediate payment of “bonus” funds to veterans of WWI. Hoover was against payment of these funds, saying it would cost the treasury $4 billion.
 * January 1932 ** : The R.F.C. (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) was allowed to lend $2 billion to banks, insurance companies, building and loan associations, and railroads.
 * April 1932 ** : More than 750,000 New Yorkers are reported to be dependent on city relief, with an additional on a waiting list.
 * June 1932 ** :15,000 to 25,000 WWI veterans begin setting up encampments near the White House and the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
 * July 1932 ** : Hoover set a July 24th deadline for WWI veterans to abandon their encampments. On July 28th when some “bonus army” members resisted being moved from their camps violence erupted, killing 2 veterans. The R.F.C. is authorized to lend needy states sums from the National Treasury.
 * November 1932 ** : Franklin Roosevelt is elected President in a landslide over Hoover.
 * April 1938 ** : FDR asks Congress to authorize $3.75 billion in federal spending to stimulate the economy. Unemployment remained high and was predicted to stay that way for a long time.
 * November 1940 ** : Roosevelt was lobbying Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act, which would aid Britain in its struggle to fend off Germany. The U.S. would enter the war in the Pacific and in Europe. The war effort jump-started U.S. industry and effectively ended the Great Depression.

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