Course of the Great Depression

The Great Depression 

A quarter of the workforce was unemployed during the Great Depression, the worst economic downtown in American history, which was marked by a 50% drop in productivity and falling prices. The economic vulnerabilities that existed during the prosperous 1920s is connected to the underlying reasons of this terrible era. Historians continue to debate as to what caused it in the first place, but the October 1929 crash of the New York Stock Market set off a series of events that eventually led to the collapse. The worldwide economy was impacted, even beyond the bounds of the American economy. The Great Depression ultimately came to an end with America's involvement into World War II.

The Dust Bowl 

Farmers on the Great Plains were faced with both natural disasters and climate change at the beginning of the 1930s. The soil became less resistant once the protecting grasses were removed, which resulted in an ongoing cycle of droughts that destroyed crops and turned the topsoil into dust. Strong winds that transported the dust eastward, triggering blizzards that negatively impacted farmers and livestocks led to the known "Dust Bowl.". Many farmers, referred to as "Okies," who were unable to make a living on their farms, so they moved westward to California in search of work in cities or fruit plantations. The government's restrictions on migrant laborers from Mexico made it impossible for the Okies to obtain jobs, even with their best attempts to move.

The Bonus Expeditionary Force

People became disappointed with President Hoover's apparent lack of leadership during the Great Depression. Public dissatisfaction was brought to light by the rise of shantytowns, which were called "Hoovervilles," and protests against the government's inaction. Roughly forty thousand jobless veterans, who were a member of the "Bonus Expeditionary Force," set up camp in Washington, D.C. in 1932 in hope of receiving a bonus that was promised. Many were taken aback when President Hoover rdered the army to separate them. The Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt went on to win a landslide victory in the November 1932 election, giving Americans faith through his promise of a "New Deal."