Essay on The Great Depression - 2259 Words

The Great Depression was a time of sadness and poverty for many. It became an unforgettable historical time in American history. The author of the book The Great Depression, Pierre Berton gives a clear view of what happened from 1929-1941. He basically outlines the Depression event by event, explaining what happened where and who was involved. Although many books can tell stories of the depression, I think the author of this book did a good job getting all the facts and letting the reader know exactly what happened. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It is easily shown that the author, Pierre Berton, didn’t show much opinion in this book. He mainly focused on just the facts. He would however give some personal views of reasons for certain†¦show more content†¦The sluggish economy drastically reduced the quantity of goods and services bought and sold. The industrial and financial urban centers suffered from large numbers of business failures, which came about in 1932 with over 30,000 failures world wide. Almost 2500 banks were forced to close their doors because of lack of liquid assets. Because of these massive closings and shut downs, it led to massive unemployment. Unemployment was at an unheard high of 25 percent in 1933. As a result of this, children received inadequate nutrition and healthcare. Starvation had become an everyday occurrence. Some unemployed were evicted from their homes and left in search of jobs or charity. Between 1928 and 1932, the suicide rate in the US rose 30 perc ent because many people who had lost everything had committed suicide in shame of their losses. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;According to Pierre Berton, the depression in both rural and urban areas demonstrated the inability of the US economy to cope with the impact of the of the stock market crash. Everything that could go wrong did for the citizens living in America in the 1930s. The author explains three main ideas of why the economy took so long to recover for the market crash according to economists. One being that inequality of wealth and income lead to instability and set the stage for the big impact the depression had on those at the bottom of the economic world. Secondly the industrialShow MoreRelatedThe Depression Of The Great Depression1223 Words   |  5 Pagesfar-reaching consequences as the Great Depression. This experience was the most extended and severe depression of the Western world. It was an economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. A large amount of America’s labor force lost their jobs and suffered during this crisis. During the nati on’s financial disaster, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president and made extensive changes to America’s political structure. 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Because the large companies who made films with a focus on making money were gone the filmmakers and artists were able to concern themselves with the art of film, they often took poetic innovations thatRead MoreGreat Depression7197 Words   |  29 PagesGreat Depression From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia {draw:frame} Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, age 32, a mother of seven children, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression) in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s