American Culture 1930-39

I. The Stock Market Crash of 1929A. The 1929 Stock Market

Crash is well known as the most devastating crash in United States history.

B. Which marked the beginning of the Great Depression.

C. It didn’t happen on a single day

1. The stock market continued to plummet over the course of a few days

2. Setting in motion one of the most devastating periods in the history of the United States

II. Black ThursdayA. The most significant events

started on Black Thursday, October 24, 1929

B. On that day, nearly 13 million shares of stock were traded.

1. It was a record number of stock trades for the U.S.

2. Marked the end of an upward trend on stock prices

C. On Black Thursday, the stock prices dropped so quickly, the stock ticker could not keep up

D. As the day progressed, the stock ticker lagged behind, failing to show the most up to date stock prices.

III. Top American Bankers Try to Save the Banking System

A. On the next day, Friday, October 25, several of the nation’s largest bankers met to decide what they could do about the situation

1. Among the attendees were the heads of Morgan Bank, Chase National Bank, and National City Bank

2. The bankers ultimately decided to purchase a number of U.S. Steel shares above market price

B. The bankers who tried to thwart the 1929 stock market crash were unsuccessful

C. In those days, the stock market traded six days a week

D. The bankers’ move led to a slight increase in stock price on Saturday, October 26

1. Over the weekend many investors lost faith in the stocks and decided to sell their shares

2. When the markets reopened on Monday, October 28, 1929, another record number of stocks were traded

1. The stock market declined more than 22%

2. The situation worsened yet again on the infamous Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929

3. When more than 16 million stocks were traded

4. The stock market ultimately lost $14 billion that day.

IV. Causes of The Stock Market CrashA. Rising stock markets

1. Throughout the 1920's, the New York Stock Exchange had risen dramatically faster than any time in the nation's history.

2. This sudden appearance of overnight multi-millionaires convinced many that the stock market was the easy way to future riches.

3. Indeed, during much of the 1920's, fortunes were made overnight by many investors who bought stock

a. frequently without little of their own money

b. sold it as it rose in value

B. Margin Loans1. Refers to the practice of

using borrowed money to pay for stocks in order to pay for much more stock than one could normally afford

2. An investor went to a bank and received a loan for the purpose of buying stock

3. The investor offered the stock to be purchased as collateral

4. Thanks to so many poor loans that were made for the purpose of buying stock, many banks were unable to cover their losses and were short of cash

C. Overproduction1. Businesses boomed

overnight in the 1920's2. In order to assure

buyers that they would not be left without items to buy, manufacturers produced at top capacity

a. What manufacturers did not realize was that while their output rose by 40%

b. The wages of average workers rose only 25%

D. Agricultural Depression1. All through the 1920's,

while those in the East Coast and Wall Street prospered, the American farm family suffered

2. During WWI while crop priced were high, many farmers went further into debt to buy more land and better farm equipment

a. When the war ended, crop prices plummeted

b. They had more bills to pay than they did before the war

E. European Depression1. In the 1920's, Europe,

source of several of our most important trading partners, was in a depression of its own

2. Paying for the unimaginable costs of WWI

a. The cost of WWI actually exceeded the amount of money in circulation in the entire world

b. European nations were forced to divert most of their national earnings into debt repayment

3. This had the effect of leaving little left over to trade with the United States

Great Depression Activity• Choose a partner. • One person plays the role of the interviewer and the other person

plays the role of the interviewee. • Using your computers research the answers to the interviewers

questions• Questions:

a) Where were you living in the 1930s? b) How old were you in the 1930s? c) What do you remember most about the 1930s? d) How did the Great Depression affect your family? e) How was your life affected by the Great Depression? f) What activities did you participate in during the 1930s? g) Are there any particular stories or experiences from these years

that you can tell me? h) What was a typical day like for you? i) How was your life in the 1930s different than life today? j) Is there anything else you would like to tell me about your life in

the 1930s?

Great Depression Activity•Create a PowerPoint presentation for the

interview•Each presentation must contain the

following:▫A title slide▫Each slide must contain:

The question The answer A picture to aid in interpreting the

interviewee’s answer

V. Historic EventsA. Dust Bowl

1. Tons of topsoil were blown off barren fields and carried in storm clouds for hundreds of miles

2. Its primary area of impact was on the southern Plains

B. Causes1. Poor agricultural

practices and years of sustained drought caused the Dust Bowl.

2. Plains grasslands had been deeply plowed and planted to wheat.

3. The droughts of the early 1930s deepened, the farmers kept plowing and planting and nothing would grow

4. The ground cover that held the soil in place was gone.

5. The Plains winds whipped across the fields raising billowing clouds of dust to the sky's

6. In some places the dust would drift like snow, covering farmsteads.