The Crash

1.       Stocks rose at a steady pace during the 20’s so much so that many put everything they had into stocks

2.       March 1928 stocks soared,  September 1929 stocks sold 400% high then they had 5 years earlier

3.       October  1929 selling skyrocketed

4.       Brokers began to asks buyers to pay of margin loans, late October orders came to sell at any price

The reasons for the crash

1.       Supply outbalanced demand, people quit buying so much as products became more durable

2.       Bank failure, loaned money to speculators and investors, when market crashed banks ran out of money

a.       People lost all of their savings, and many lost their jobs, which was the cause of the problem

3.       European investors removed their money from the U.S. market fearing the crash

4.       Economy collapsed

a.       1930- 26, 355 businesses failed or went under

b.      Production of cars dropped 2 million

c.       1930 4 million people out of work

d.      1932 12 million people out of work

Life during the depression

1.       People at from soup lines, many people at from the garbage, 20,000 people actually starved to death during this time

2.       Out of work parents would take their children to orphanages because they could no longer afford them

3.       In New York City a Bachelors degree was needed just to be an elevator operator

4.       Emigration was actually higher than Immigration

5.       Some teacher even gave their salaries to feed their starving students

Who was to blame?

1.       President Hoover was given most of the responsibility

a.       Hoovervilles (depressed towns)

b.      Hoover Blanket (newspapers)

c.       Hoover Flags (empty pockets turned inside out)