Sunday, March 22, 2009

the great depression

In the year 1929 the a Great Depression hit in America. The cause is not sure, but could have been a couple of different possibilities. During this time unemployment rose sky high. Some of the causes could by that people were buying and selling stock and only putting a percent down of the total price of the stock. So when companies started demanding the money paid for the stock the buyers could not come up with the money. They had only expected to have to turn around and sell it for a bigger price, not pay for it in full. Another thing was the housing industry in Florida. There was a boom in land being sold in Florida, and people were looking to buy. Much like today, people began buying above and beyond what they could really afford, like the stocks, and thought they would just be able to sell it in return for a bigger profit. Some people began buying multiple properties with no intent on ever coming to live, and some corrupt bankers began selling the same land multiple times because the knew people were only buying them for profit. Then when people began to realize the fraud involved they stopped wanting the land, therefore people stopped buying, and the people that owned the land could not pay the banks for it. Also in the stock market, some people began selling stock for non-existent companies, and things. This was fraud in the stock market.
When the Depression set in, Hoover was president. And as a classic conservative president he did not want the government to step in and intervene. Instead he wanted to give encouragement and helpful advise to those in those in need. This caused people that were deeply affected by it to hate him. Those who were homeless made little 'towns' out of cardboard and called them 'hoovevilles' after the president who they despised.
So Franklin Dealeno Roosevelt ran for president and he won in a landslide because he was an advocate of huge government intervention to help sitituations like that. Being a classic democrat in favor of huge government control of everything he emplemented many reform programs to help get the country out of the depression.

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