The Cause and Effects of the Great Depression Essay Example for Free

The Cause and Effects of the Great Depression Essay Many people speculate that the stock market crash of 1929 was the main cause of The Great Depression. In fact, The Great Depression was caused by a series of factors, and the effects of the depression were felt for many years after the stock market crash of 1929. By looking at the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, reduction of purchasing, American economic policy with Europe, and drought conditions, it becomes apparent that The Great Depression was caused by more than just the stock market crash. The effects were detrimental beyond the financial crisis experienced during this time period. The first and most obvious known factor in the development of The Great Depression is the stock market crash of 1929. The Money Alert website states that, â€Å"When the stock market crashed in 1929, it didn’t happen on a single day. Instead, the stock market continued to plummet over the course of a few days setting in motion one of the most devastating periods in the history of the United States† (The Money Alert). Many investors would buy stocks on a margin where they would purchase the stocks with borrowed money. This was a great option for buyers when the stock market was on the rise. However, when the stocks plummeted, the financial institutions that had loaned the money for the stock purchase went to collect the capital that had been loaned out and were unable to do so. This, in effect, caused banks to lose money as a result of being unable to collect on the debt, and the investors were unable to collect their losses. In addition to private investors, banks and businesses were investing in margin loans as well. So, these poor investment strategies led the banking industry to lose the majority of their assets, including money from bank customers that had no knowledge that their money was being used for this purpose. Since no government regulations were in place to protect investors and banks in this circumstance, this ultimately led to the effect of the stock market crash, which paved the way for America to go into The Great Depression. The banking industry’s reaction to the stock market crash, would be the next major cause of the Great Depression. The banking industry as a whole after the stock market crashed was going bankrupt due to not being able to carry the â€Å"bad debt† that was created from using customer money to buy stock. Because the banks were out of money, they were unable to cover customer withdrawals from their bank, causing many bank customers to lose all of their savings. With the uncertainty of the future of the banking industry, many people withdrew all of their savings, which caused more than 9,000 banks to close their doors and go out of business (Kelly). Due to the effects of the Great Depression, and the collapse of the banking industry, the government created regulations to prevent similar failure in the future. For Example, the SEC, (or Securities Exchange Commission), which regulates the sell and trade of stocks, bonds and other investments was created as a result of The Great Depression. The FDIC (or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), was created to insure bank accounts so that that the consumer would be protected if the bank were to go out of business (Kelly). The Great Depressions effect on the banking industry led to many useful changes to the banking industry and helped restore confidence in banks in the American people. The next major factor that contributed to the Great Depression was the reduction of goods being purchased during the time period. After the stock market crashed, consumers from all economic classes in America were uncertain of the stability of the economy, and stopped purchasing consumer goods. The effect of not purchasing goods caused many companies to begin to produce a surplus, or an excess of goods, which caused companies to reduce their unneeded workforce (Kelly). Since so many people were out of work, they too were unable to purchase goods, and soon a domino effect was created and many companies went out of business. During this time period, many people purchased goods on payment plans, similar to the modern credit system we use today, and their inability to pay caused many companies to repossess the purchased goods. This caused companies to have additional inventory of products that contributed to the lack of need to manufacture additional products (Kelly). By this time, more than 25% of the workforce was now out of work, and due to the overproduction of goods and overstock of inventory, there weren’t enough consumers to purchase these goods (Kelly). Another major contributing factor to The Great Depression was America’s economic policy with Europe. During the midst of the depression, the government decided to create the Smoot-Hawley Tariff to help protect American companies by taxing import goods from Europe. The government initially created the Smoot-Hawley Tariff to protect America by making foreign agricultural goods more expensive than domestic products so that foreign goods would cost more than local grown goods(Kelly). Due to many revisions during the initial stages of the tariff, many other American businesses were included in its protection. The effect of the tariff on trade with Europe caused unstable relations with European countries. Also, many of the European nations began to boycott goods sold by American companies in an act of retaliation for the tariff (Kelly). Having this tariff in effect during the Great Depression caused a prolonged recovery in the American economy due to the decline in Europe purchasing consumer goods from America, in addition to the decline of domestic goods purchases. The final major contributing factor in the great depression was the massive drought that took place during the 1930s. Though the drought wasn’t a direct cause to the depression, it did, however, add to the turmoil that was taking place during this time period. The drought of the 1930s had a very drastic effect on many reigns of the United States which caused both economic and ecologic problems to the country. The economic problems caused by the Great Depression were mostly concentrated in the Mississippi valley, where farmers were unable to pay the tax on the land and most were left no choice but to sell their farms for no profit. This caused a decline in agriculture goods available in America, due to the lack of farming during this time period (Kelly). The ecological effects of the drought, combined with the effects of over-farming the land, caused the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was caused by over-farming the land and not correctly rotating the crops. By not rotating the crops correctly, the top soil became damaged. Because of the damages to the top soil, the land became infertile, and many people were forced to abandon their land or sell off their property. The timing of the drought, along with the effects that it had on the economy, forced the Great Depression further into turmoil and made recovery even more out of reach for the country (Bonnifield). The stock market crash did, however, act as the match that lit the fire that was The Great Depression. Along with the stock market, the cause of the depression was also contributed to the banking industry’s inability to cover losses sustained during the stock market crash. Also, the reduction of manufacturing and purchasing goods caused a toxic cycle of workers not being able to work, in turn not being able to consume goods, which further sank the country into financial hardship. With the tariffs in effect with Europe, the consumption of America’s goods by foreign nations greatly decreased, which caused the country to fall further behind in recovery of the economic turn-down. In addition to these circumstances, the timing of the drought that occurred in this time period caused many of the farmers supporting our agriculture to fold, and created one of the largest man-made natural disasters in history. Careful of these factors shows that it took more than a crisis in the stock market to cause America to go into the greatest economic slump ever experienced in the history of our country.

An Analysis Of Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants Essay -- Hills Li

In Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† I found many layers of symbolism, and a fascinating psychological underplay afoot between his two characters. It begins with the girl’s comment about a line of white hills seen in the distance, which she compares to white elephants. The man responds with the comment â€Å"I’ve never seen one.† The symbolism of a white elephant is widely known as something very large or apparent that no one wishes to acknowledge or speak of in American society. It is an interesting opening to a very strained conversation concerning an apparent pregnancy, and the man’s wish to terminate it. The couple’s careful avoidance of actually naming the problem, or the proposed solution, suggests the situation in which a mate, reluctant to assume responsibility, or unprepared for the task of parenthood, is lobbying to prevent it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In her next comment, â€Å"No, you wouldn’t have.† the girl returns a very passive aggressive riposte, perhaps suggesting that the man cannot, or will not, recognize an unpleasant issue. His defensive reaction to her response suggests that she is correct. She then changes the subject casually, as though retreating from his irritation. He plays along with it in a placatory manner, seemingly eager to avoid an escalation of the tension that obviously exists between them. Clearly, the woman in this story is reluctant to abort her pregnancy, while the man is strongly committed to making it happen. After he orders them...

Political Typologies Essay

Liberal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The political typology quiz categorized me under the liberal typology group. The liberal typology group belongs support the ideologies of Democrats. It is also the largest group among the nine typology groups. According to the quiz, the liberal group is open to several controversial issues that are the main themes and topics of debates and arguments. These issues include homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, etc. A most recent controversial social issue involves stem cell research. However, even if the liberal typology group is part of the Democratic Party, it still has distinct values apart from other groups that also belong to the same party. One that is particular to the liberal group is their stand on war. The liberal group is supportive of diplomacy as a means of promoting peace with other countries. Liberalist groups do not believe that war is the answer to conflicts and disagreements. In addition to this, the group does not support anti-terrorist laws, specifically the Patriot Act, that the U.S. government is implementing. Other issues include espousing same sex marriages and advocating the protection and the preservation of the environment. Moreover, the group is also sympathetic to the concerns of immigrants and labor unions. I agree with the results of the quiz because as I was reading the ideologies of the liberal group, I find myself agreeing to them. I do not believe in war, and I do not want to support it. I think wars just cause more wars. Instead of resolving issues, it makes it even more complicated. A lot of innocent lives have been lost just because of simple disagreements that the higher-ups should resolve by talking in peace, compromising, and deciding what is best for the country and other countries as well. I also respect other people in that I believe they have a choice whether to engage in same sex marriages, abortion, support stem cell research, adhere to any religious doctrine or not, etc. I think everyone has the right to decide for themselves and choose whatever it is that they want to do in life, well, as long as they do not do harm to others or the environment. That is a different case. In addition, the issue about labor unions and immigrants is also something that I agree with. There is no competition when it comes to immigrants and employment. They were qualified to work in the country; therefore, there should be no question whether they do harm or good to the economy. Moreover, the rights and concerns of labor unions should be addressed. I think large businesses should pay attention to them and practice humanitarianism in the sense that they should think more of the people who work for them than the money that they earn because of them. Works Cited The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. (2008). â€Å"Liberal.† Retrieved from The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 28 March 2008. .

Societys Benefits From The Internet Essay - 1279 Words

Before the invention of the internet, we would have to call one store after another to try to get the best price on a major purchase. When we did buy something, it was not from the convenience of our own home. We stood in line at the bank during â€Å"bankers’ hours†. As for finding information, we either did not find the information we needed or did so only through great effort and expense. We also were more isolated as individuals because of the barriers of time and distance. On the whole, it is clear that the internet has benefited society by allowing for easier communication and access to data. In particular, communication and access to data has been eased through the use of: the various forms of: networking; the web; and browsers.†¦show more content†¦This was a great advantage over having to mail a letter and wait for a response or make a comparatively expensive telephone call with the hope that your party is available. Another example of networking is â€Å"Packet Switching†. Packet Switching is the process of taking numerous files and combining them into a â€Å"Packet† to be sent in a space-saving way to another host/person. This enables files that were once too large to be sent over a network to actually be sent and received within a reasonable timeframe. Some common examples of data transferred in compressed form are downloaded movies, photographs, and software. Aside from networking, another part of the internet, and particularly the web, allows for faster communication and access to data. The web is a system of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a markup language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Through the use of this computer language, the internet has become a fundamental building block upon which to create a society that is fully benefitting from the internet. 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