Americans React to the Great Depression  | Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945  | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline  | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress  | Library of Congress (2024)

FAQs

How did America react to the Great Depression? ›

By 1932, hunger marches and small riots were common throughout the nation. In June of 1932, nearly 20,000 World War I veterans from across the country marched on the United States Capitol to request early payment of cash bonuses for their military service that weren't due to be paid until 1945.

How did Americans react as the Depression continued? Some people started hunger marches, shouting "Feed the hungry, tax the rich!". Farmers began destroying their crops in an effort to raise prices by reducing the supply.

Massive unemployment beginning in the middle of the 1920s led to a drop in stock prices. The collapse of the banking industry led many banks to foreclose on home loans, eventually leading to the stock market crash.

Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defense jobs.

What was the government's response to the great depression? The response to the great depression was FDR's establishment of the New Deal. It was the start of the present Social Security system. The system was established to give payment to retired citizens and to help other in need.

Based on the assumption that the power of the federal government was needed to get the country out of the depression, the first days of Roosevelt's administration saw the passage of banking reform laws, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, and agricultural programs.

Industry was badly shaken by the Depression. Factories closed; mills and mines were abandoned; fortunes were lost. Business and labor alike were both in serious trouble. Unable to help themselves the American people looked to the federal government.

Psychologists and sociologists have noted that the effects of depression-era hardships can shape the behavior of people for the rest of their lives, impacting activities ranging from saving money to job preferences, food conservation, and even birth rates.

During the Depression, America saw high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement.

As the financial markets collapsed, hurting the banks that had gambled with their holdings, people began to fear that the money they had in the bank would be lost. This began bank runs across the country, a period of still more panic, where people pulled their money out of banks to keep it hidden at home.

How did the Great Depression affect American workers? ›

For many workers the Great Depression. was a period of misery and destitution. Unemployment increased: It rose from 1.6 million in 1929 to 14 million in 1933 (i.e. from 3 per cent to 25 per cent of the workforce). People were desperate for work.

The year 1929 brought with it the end of the Roaring Twenties, and saw the Wall Street Crash which started a worldwide Great Depression. Globally, the Influenza Epidemic reached a large number of people, killing a total of 200,000 in 1929.

As millions of men and women entered the service and production boomed, unemployment virtually disappeared. The need for labor opened up new opportunities for women and African Americans and other minorities. Millions of Americans left home to take jobs in war plants that sprang up around the nation.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America all suffered from the economic collapse. International trade fell 30 percent as nations tried to protect their industries by raising tariffs on imported goods.

Not everyone, however, lost money during the worst economic downturn in American history. Business titans such as William Boeing and Walter Chrysler actually grew their fortunes during the Great Depression.

Psychologists and sociologists have noted that the effects of depression-era hardships can shape the behavior of people for the rest of their lives, impacting activities ranging from saving money to job preferences, food conservation, and even birth rates.

History books often credit Roosevelt's New Deal for leading the economic recovery from the Great Depression. Under the New Deal, the government put in place many programs of relief and recovery that employed thousands of people and made direct cash grants or loans to individuals, firms and local governments.

Ironically, it was World War II, which had arisen in part out of the Great Depression, that finally pulled the United States out of its decade-long economic crisis.