1929-1941
The Stock Market

 As more people had extra money in the 1920’s, many
started to invest in the Stock Market.
 Question: What is a stock and what is the Stock Market?
 Answer: Stocks are small pieces of a company. When you
own a stock or “share” you own a part of that company. If
the company does well, you make money, when it does
poorly…..
 The Stock Market is literally the buying and selling of
shares in many different companies in an effort to make
money.
 Question: Why would a company sell stock or shares in
that company?
“Bull Market”- When the stock market is doing well and
prices are going up.
“Bear Market”-When the stock market is doing poorly
and prices are going down.
“Margin buying”- The practice where people could buy a
stock while only putting down 10% and borrowing the
rest.
Many would sell the stock at a higher price and pay off
the money they borrowed. This worked ok until a
“margin call”. (Click on “crash” on the wiki)
“Speculation”- The practice of buying and selling shares
to make a quick profit. This works during a “bull”
market but not during a “bear”.
October 1929

 A large number of investors nervous about the
economy, started selling off their stocks all at once
leading to a panic as others started to sell theirs as
well. Stock brokers made margin calls to people who
owed money. To cover what they owed, people sold
more stocks…
“Black Thursday” and “Black Tuesday”
October 29, 1929
(The Stock Market Crash)

 Causes:
1. Stock speculation
2. Margin buying
(margin calls)
3. Installment
buying(buying on
credit)
4. Debt
 Results:
1. “Run” on the banks
2. Loss of trust in banks
3. People defaulting on
loans taken from the
banks and bank
collapses
President Hoover and the Crash
• “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”- No whining just work harder!
• “Volunteerism” instead of government aid (The Salvation Army, Red Cross, soup kitchens,
churches, neighbors)
• Publics works programs like the building of the “Hoover Dam”
• The Reconstruction Finance Corporation or “R.F.C” (loans from the government to keep
businesses and banks afloat)

The “Bonus Army” in
1932 (or the nail in Hoover’s coffin)
President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and the Great
Depression

 What was the “New Deal”? It was one of FDR’s campaign slogans…
Americans would get a “new deal”. He was vague as to what that was but
promised to help the needy, jobless and elderly.
 What was the first thing FDR did to try and stem the momentum of the
Depression? He encouraged people to go back to their banks and pulled together a
team of experts to come up with ideas to make banks more stable.
 What did FDR ask from Congress? He asked them to back the “Alphabet
Soup Programs” (CCC, WPA, NRA, TVA, etc.) which were programs to put
people back to work as well as programs designed to stabilize and regulate
industry.
 Did the New Deal programs help? The New Deal started to bring confidence
back into the economy but ultimately didn’t solve the Depression.
Reaction to the New
Deal

 Some thought the New Deal should do more for
Americans while others thought it was giving our
government too much control and taking away our
freedoms.
 FDR argued that the Depression was a national
emergency and therefore the government had a right to
take over (think 9/11 or the recent bailouts/regulations)
 The Supreme Court ultimately ruled parts of the New
Deal as being unconstitutional.
 What was FDR’s reaction to this that upset people in both
parties? Hint: It has to do with the Supreme Court
The cartoon is called The Illegal Act- “I’m sorry
but the Supreme Court says I must chuck you
back again”.
(See the wiki for more cartoons related to this controversial incident)
A Great Depression
“hodgepodge”

 Hoboes and Okies
 The “Dust Bowl” and “Black blizzards”
 Some famous people during the 1930’s