The Great depression was a tragic time period in American history that caused a lot of
devastation. In the 1920’s, the period known as the “Roaring Twenties” the economy was at an
all-time high and prosperity spread throughout the country, but this did not last very long. A
chain of unfortunate events led to an extremely catastrophic time. On October 29, 1929, the
stock market crashed. This day is known as “Black Tuesday” and was the start of an enduring
worldwide hardship. In the 1930’s America faced poverty, unemployment, and a loss of hope.
The Great Depression lasted ten years and is known as the world’s greatest economic downfall.
During that time businesses failed, banks closed down, and investors lost all of their money.
Many families could not be supported during this time, and were often homeless, jobless, and
hungry. A majority of the unemployed were African Americans. Their situation was even more
tragic because throughout this time they faced discrimination; which made it harder for them to
find a job. It was not just the citizens of urban areas affected by the Depression, but also the
farmers who faced an agricultural dilemma. The government took action to end this depression,
but it was not the only factor that led to the revival of the economy. Although the New Deal is
often praised for ending the Great Depression, it was inadequate in its limited accomplishments;
instead, the economic opportunities provided by World War II proved to be the more effective
solution.
There were various causes that resulted in the Great Depression including a stock market
crash, bank failures, unemployment, and an overproduction of crops. It started in the 1920’s
when stocks were ubiquitous and everyone was making investments. Going into the stock market
was a risky move, but during that thriving time it seemed infallible. On “Black Tuesday” the
stock market crashed and people began selling their shares and no one was buying. This event
also led to the second cause of the Great Depression. Since many people would buy stocks on
margin they would get loans from the bank that they ultimately could not pay back. Many banks
would also invest a vast amount of money into stocks, and when it crashed the banks went down
with it. Bank failures caused many people to lose all of their life savings and started a wide panic
throughout America. Since an overwhelming amount of banks closed and were not trustworthy
during this time, many people would resort to saving their money under their mattresses. Many
businesses also failed during this time, resulting in astonishing unemployment rates. This crisis
rapidly increased as, “unemployment figures nearly tripled-from about 1.5 million unemployed
in 1929 to 4.3 million in 1930. By 1933 the number had tripled again: 12.8 million people-almost
one-quarter of the U.S labor force-were unemployed” (Lindop and Goldstein 14). It is evident
from these statistics that the depression quickly spiraled downward, and worsened to
unimaginable rates. Since many families did not have an income or salary anymore, they could
not afford simple necessities. Families ended up suffering and going hungry because of the
limited amount of money they had. Many farmers were also affected during this time. The
1920’s seemed like a fortunate time, but it caused overproduction of crops and other products;
“corn sank from $1.50 per bushel to fifty-two cents. Wool slid from nearly sixty cents per pound
to less than twenty cents” (Kennedy 17). Since there was an increase of supply and a decrease of
demand it caused the prices of farmer’s crops to decline. The prices dropped so low that farmers
were not making a sufficient profit and they sold their farms to pay off loans from the banks.
It did not end there, many other issues led to the Great Depression such as the SmootHawley Tariff. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff that Herbert Hoover passed in 1930 was unsuccessful.
Since a lot of American businesses were failing, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff was designed to
protect them against foreign competition. It raised the taxes on imported goods in order to make
American products appear cheaper. This worsened the Great Depression because families were
already extremely poor and now that the prices were raised it made it even harder for them to
afford everyday things. Since fewer people were purchasing foreign items, “U.S. imports from
Europe declined from a 1929 high of $1,334 million to just $390 million in 1932, while U.S.
exports to Europe fell from $2,341 million in 1929 to $784 million in 1932. Overall, world trade
declined by some 66% between 1929 and 1934” (U.S Department of State). U.S imports and
exports decreased tremendously and this was causing the United States to lose a vast amount of
money in foreign trade. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff ended up making profits lesson instead of
rising.
The last cause of the Great Depression was the severe drought that happened mainly in
Oklahoma and Texas, and spread to Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. This drought went
from 1934-1937 and was referred to as the “Dust Bowl”. Once it struck, “the soil lacked the
stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and
swirled it into dense dust clouds, called "black blizzards." Recurrent dust storms wreaked havoc,
choking cattle and pasture lands and driving 60 percent of the population from the region”
(History). This drought lifted the soil and caused crops to fail, diminishing the agriculture of the
land. The Great Depression was an unforgettable event in American history that destroyed a vast
amount of lives.
Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were the two presidents that took office
throughout the Great Depression, and each had a different idea of how to end the Depression. At
the start of the Depression from 1929-1933, the president was Herbert Hoover. He was a more
hands-off president and practiced laissez-faire economics. He believed in less government
interaction and less regulations. During the next election, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was
voted into office. He stayed in office for the rest of the Depression, and had a different outlook
on how to run things. His method was more hands-on and he believed in more government
involvement. During his time in office, Roosevelt, came up with an idea called the New Deal.
He had high hopes for the future, and he “presented and won approval for the programs that he
believed would lift America out of the depression. Those programs combined would become
known as the New Deal” (Farrell 33). The programs that made up the New Deal were referred to
as “alphabet soup”. A promise that came along with the New Deal idea was the three R’s
Roosevelt would talk about: relief, recovery, and reform.
There were numerous promises and programs Roosevelt made during the time of the
Great Depression. He promised economic success and he believed he could relieve everyone
from the Depression. Based off of his three R’s, Roosevelt promised, “Relief (helping the poor
and unemployed to survive) Recovery (getting the economy going again) and Reform
(changing things so a depression could never happen like that again)” (America8). Roosevelt
created many different programs to try to fulfill the promises he made. His programs promised
to get the economy running effectively again and equip the unemployed with work again.
Roosevelt also assured to help farmers increase their profits and bring back the farm they once
had. Roosevelt created programs such as the NIR (National Industrial Recovery Act), the AAA
(Agricultural Adjustment Act), and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). The NIR was
created to help regulate and fix prices and wages. It also tried to ensure fair competition among
companies. The AAA served to help famers manage their production and lower the amount of
crops being produced. The CCC was put in motion to give work to young and unmarried men
who were in search of a job. Programs such as those were established to help the economy,
farmers, and employment. These programs and promises gave American citizens hope and a
vision of change for the future.
Although Roosevelt promised a lot of solutions to the tragic situation, he failed to come
through with a huge impact. The New Deal seemed like a great idea, but in reality it did not
improve the Depression with as much difference that was promised. “In spite of the billions of
dollars spent on New Deal programs and on promoting economic recovery in America, over
eleven million Americans were still unemployed in 1935…Roosevelt, too, was disappointed in
the slow economic turnaround ” (Farrell 60). Not only did the economy fail to improve as
Roosevelt said it would, it also cost an excessive amount of money to provide for these
programs. The New Deal also caused a mass amount of debt; “between 1933 and 1939, the
national debt ballooned from $22.5 billion to $40.5 billion” (Lindop and Goldstein 37). The
national debt worsened from all of the programs Roosevelt set up and it did not help the
economy in that way. The New Deal also did not fix the mass unemployment to the extent that it
promised it would. As stated in the previous quote, a vast amount of American citizens were still
without a job. As for the farmers, he promised to improve their profit and to reduce the abundant
supply they had. Roosevelt tried to solve this by hindering how much the farmers produced and
telling farmers to plow fewer acres. After making this decision, “farm owners took land out of
production, they laid off many tenant farmers who worked for them, creating even more
unemployment” (Lindop and Goldstein 33). Now even fewer people had jobs since the farmers
did not need to rely on their tenants. The whole point of cutting down production and raising
prices was to get an increased profit for the farmers, but “in the end, the AAA raised farm prices
somewhat but not significantly. Even many diehard Roosevelt fans were disappointed with AAA
policies” (Lindop and Goldstein 33). It is evident that the New Deal did not restore America like
it said it would and farmers did not receive the prices they were hoping for. Through the
disappointment of the devoted Roosevelt fans, this quote shows the failure of the New Deal.
Knowing that even the diehard fans felt like the New Deal was not effective is a reason enough
to believe that it was exaggerated and did not come through as expected. Although Roosevelt
took action, it did not make the difference that was needed to get America out of the Great
Depression.
The New Deal was supposed to help everyone who was going through the Great
Depression, but the African Americans were not getting enough support as they were promised.
During the 1930’s, discrimination was still immensely alive throughout the country. A big reason
for the unchanging and elevated unemployment levels was the African Americans not being
supplied with a job due to racism. Many of the White Americans were the ones getting the jobs
provided by the New Deal, and still not even all of them were being supported, “by the 1933 the
unemployment rate has risen to a catastrophic 25 percent-17 million people in all. The
unemployment rate for African Americans was closer to 50 percent” (Grapes 25). These statistics
provide evidence that unemployment for all Americans overall sky rocketed. It also shows that
unemployment for Africans Americans was double the rate of the 17 million people in all.
Roosevelt created the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), and it “provided jobs for more than
two million men. About 7 percent of the CCC workers were African Americans, who lived and
worked in segregated camps and took their orders from white supervisors” (Lindop and
Goldstein 35). The programs that were established helped 2 million people get jobs, but of them
barely any were of color. The reason for unemployment rates not decreasing as they should was
because of the segregation of blacks and how they were not provided with the equal amount of
help and aid as the White Americans. A historian named Barton Bernstein states, “More than one
out of five workers was excluded from the pension plan, including those whose worked on farms
and domestic help, and this workforce was disproportionately black or female” (Bernstein). This
is showing that the New Deal’s pension plan prohibited the jobs that mainly were taken on by
blacks and women. If the New Deal was truly created to end the depression, they would have put
segregation aside to lift the nation out of unemployment. The New Deal was falsely praised for
ending the Great Depression.
Once World War II hit, African Americans finally were able to find jobs, and
unemployment decreased. The war welcomed any race and anyone who was willing to fight for
the United States. It was stated that “in most places whites received preference when jobs were
scarce. But worse, a tendency to replace black workers with white was soon seen. White girls,
for instance, replaced black waiters, hotel employees, and elevator operators-all at reduced rate”
(Meltzer 39). It was a challenge for the African Americans to get jobs, because the Whites would
get first priority. When the Blacks would finally get a job, the Whites would replace them. A
majority of African Americans lost employment, but the war accommodated them with an
occupation. The job situation for colored people was harsh because not only did they lose their
jobs, they never were able to get a new one since white people would typically come first. It is
also stated that “black men landed factory jobs, but when companies laid off workers, blacks
were the first to go” (Lindop and Goldstein 62). Due to racism blacks were the first to get laid
off. This was a huge reason for the unemployment rates being so inflated for African Americans.
When factory owners had to fire workers, they immediately made the decision to get rid of
blacks before any other white worker. The solution to this was not the New Deal, but the war.
Discrimination was still imminent, but when times got desperate the war allowed African
Americans to fight alongside whites. Not only did unemployment for African Americans
decrease, the war also opened up opportunities for any American that was unemployed.
Through the war, there was an array of jobs available for any American or African
American that was out of work. Soldiers were gravely needed for battle. This meant that anyone
was a great addition for the front line to help serve and fight. A huge and powerful way the
African Americans got involved in the war was through the Air Force, “the War Department
formed the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the Air Force) to
train a small group of pilots. They trained at Tuskegee, Alabama, and became known as the
Tuskegee Airmen.” (National Geographic) The Tuskegee Airmen equipped numerous African
Americans with successful and respected jobs. The Air Force was not only secluded to African
Americans. The Whites fought alongside them, and this part of the military became a step closer
to fewer unemployed Americans. The war was not just for men, it also provided countless jobs
for women. The nurses of the war were made up of women, including African American women.
As the war became more dangerous and a mass amount of soldiers were getting injured, the line
between Black and White became thin and more African American women were given jobs as
these nurses. As people were getting employed by the jobs that were needed on the battlefield,
this left an opening to the jobs they left behind on the home front. It was not just the Whites that
were taking up these positions, the African Americans were also fortunate in getting these jobs,
“More than two million African Americans went to work for defense plants, and another two
million joined the federal civil service.” (National Geographic) These statistics show how
beneficial the war was and how many workers were needed after millions of soldiers left to fight
in the war. It also shows that 4 million African Americans were supplied with a job, and how
much the war contributed in lowering the unemployment rates.
World War II gave jobs to women also, and was the main reason for the ending of the
Great Depression. Many women had a harder time getting jobs during the Great Depression and
were paid unfairly. The New Deal programs also discriminated against women as men were the
ones being provided for and getting the jobs. After the war came into the picture, all of the men
were called away to fight for the country, and the factories were in need of workers. The women
were the ones who would take up these jobs. The war also caused an incredible amount of
injuries to the soldiers, and the women were the ones who became the nurses to aid them. The
war opened up ways for the women to be supported, and it brought the unemployment numbers
down. From the Journal of Economic History, it shows a table of the statistics of unemployment
from 1933-1945. In the year 1937 it was 9.1%, in 1938 it was 12.5%, and in 1939 it was 11.3%
and in 1940 it was 9.5% (Gene Smiley 487). In 1937 and 1938 the New Deal was still around
and was trying to change things. However, it is shown from the table that unemployment
increased instead of declining and the New Deal did not relieve this problem. In the year 1939,
when the war started, unemployment dropped 1.2% and kept dropping until it reached 1.9% in
1945. This is evidence that the war was the event that ended the Great Depression. It provided
jobs to blacks, and women were needed to work in the factories to make weapons and to take
over the jobs of the men who went to war. In the end the economy and families in difficult
situations without jobs were saved by the war.
World War I serves as a good example of a war creating a prosperous economy. The
Roaring Twenties did not emerge out of nowhere. World War I was responsible for that time,
because it established a circulating and well off economy. This is evidence that war can bring
about a flourishing and hopeful time. In a quote from Clark County Washington it states, “When
the United States entered World War I, the city of Vancouver enjoyed a big surge of prosperity.
The Army expanded its force at Vancouver Barracks and established the Spruce Production
Division to manufacture airplane wings and fuselages” (Clark County). This shows how much
the war affected job openings and gave numerous people the joy of having prosperity once again.
World War I provided a stable economic and flourishing time, along with creating new job
opportunities. This is a great comparison to World War II, and how a war can play an extensive
part in healing a broken economy and giving people the feeling of hope again.
Ultimately, the long lasting Great Depression that caused many lives to be lost and
hopeless times to be endured was finally ended. It was diminished by the war, and although the
New Deal made the suffering minimal, it has no right to take credit for ending it. The
accomplishments made by the New Deal were not to the extent it promised. The recovery that
came from the New Deal was insignificant and did not make as big of a change that the world
was longing for. The programs that were created by Roosevelt did help few families and men,
but discriminated against blacks and females which did not help the unemployment numbers to
decrease as they should have. Rather, the war is responsible for ending the Great Depression by
giving jobs to blacks, and opening up doors to jobs in the factory, which were taken up by
women in need and on a desperate search for a job. The Great Depression finally ended but at the
cost of having to go to war. The economy finally began to strive again, and it had the war to
thank for that.
Works Cited
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Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968. Print.
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Prosperity and More People (1917). Clark County Washington, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013.
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Farrell, Jacqueline. The Great Depression. San Diego: Lucent, 1996. Print.
Smiley, Gene. "Recent Unemployment Rate Estimates for the 1920s and 1930s." The Journal of
Economic History 43.02 (1983): 487. Print.
Grapes, Bryan J. Franklin D. Roosevelt. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2001. Print.
Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929
1945. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Krause, Lisa. "National Geographic News @ Nationalgeographic.com." National Geographic.
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Knopf, 1969. Print.
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