1929-1945The Great Depression

Current Issues through World History EQ: How did the decline in the

worldwide economy lead to the rise of totalitarianism?

GQ: What factors in the economy led to the events of The Great Depression?

SWBAT: Identify the causes of The Great Depression and contrast them with modern economic problems

Mission statement connections: A, C, & D

October 24, 1929

Stock exchange crisis An unprecedented wave of sell orders

shook the New York Stock Exchange Stock prices tumbled During the first three hours of trading

stock values plunged by $11 billion

October 29, 1929

Black Tuesday The stock market experienced the

greatest crash in its history The average price of a share of stock fell

12% The reason for this was a convergence

of economic problems of production, income, and credit

It also marked the beginning of the Great Depression, which destroyed the economy and left millions of Americans unemployed.

The Great Depression

“Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.” – US pres. Hoover November 15, 1929

1930

By 1930, more than 3.2 million people in the US were unemployed, up from 1.5 million before the Stock Market Crash of October 1929.

Worldwide, over 30 million people could not find jobs

Protectionism

Economic Nationalism Nations try to protect domestic

industries by limiting trade with other nations

To protect their industries, nations establish tariffs on imported goods Tariffs- taxes on goods made in other

countries and brought into a country for sale

How could this government policy make the situation in the global economy worse?

June 17, 1930

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act It raised tariffs on imports an average of

20 percent in order to protect American industry and farming.

The tariff prompted retaliation from foreign governments and created a ripple effect of global trade reduction.

Worldwide News

In groups of 4-5 you will create a newspaper. Your newspaper will include articles

It must include at least 3 articles from the perspective of the following: A world leader A wealthy business owner A farmer A typical worker A professional athlete