The Great Depression
Effects
The Great Depression was a difficult time for
all Americans and citizens from various countries. For the American people it was a time where everything simply collapsed
beneath them and there was nothing they could do to stop the continuing downfall. Everyone within the US,
rich or poor, was greatly affected by the depression. The effects of the Great Depression were as follows: massive poverty,
decline in trade and manufacturing, a reduction in the world birthrate, and the struggling of other international countries
The Great Depression had its continuous effects on the entire country including other foreign nations.
The Great Depression had led almost all the America
people into intense poverty. The reason the Great Depression had badly affected the American people is due to the fact there
was no welfare systems for the unemployed. Between the years of 1929 and 1933 income fell to 53%, this in turn caused demand
to drop significantly. Production levels fell and the unemployment rate increased to 25% by 1933. Some Americans were able
to maintain a steady job, but most of the time wages and working hours were cut. During the 1920’s credit had powered
the economy which caused credit availability to tighten and loans to be called in during the Great Depression. With those
consumers who had taken advantage of the credit, soon found themselves unable to make the monthly payments. Soon repossessions
of houses, cars, household goods, and furniture became common. (“The Great
Depression – Effects on America 1) Poverty struck the American people with intense force.
The rich also found themselves affected by the
Great Depression. Many had made substantial investments in the stock market and losses varied on how those investments were
structured. Not all wealthy families were affected by the depression, for instance, the Kennedy family remained untouched.
Some American families found their fortunes literally wiped out overnight. The sales of automobiles also fell dramatically.
General Motors used advertisements that emphasized “one car sale would keep a worker employed for another 3 months.”
Many couldn’t afford to but new cars and those who did were not concerned about helping others keep their jobs(“The
Great Depression – Effects on America” 1) The
Great Depression led the American people into a life where everything was nothing.
International trade and manufacturing dropped
rapidly during the depression. In 1929, the estimated value of United States
imports and exports had reached almost ten billion dollars. By the year 1933, the value had dropped down to three billion.
American industrial output was cut in half. The “dollar value” of international trade fell more than 60 percent,
and the decline in cargoes was about 25 percent. (Rempel 1) With this, the economy suffered greatly from the depression.
The amount of children being conceived in this
time period dropped steadily and significantly. Many Americans and people internationally, were very uncertain about their
futures which meant they were less likely to get married and have children in which they couldn’t support. The world
birthrate averaged about one-tenth lower than it had been during the “prosperous” 1920’s. This meant that
there was about three less births per year for each thousand people. By 1930, the population reached about two billion, which
meant that six million less babies were born in a year. Between 1930 -1940, about 550 million babies were born into the world
instead of the average 600 million. The Depression seemed to have a great effect on the birthrate than would any world war.
(Rempel 1) The Great Depression caused not only American population to drop, but also international population to fall.
Even though America
was the greatest hit by the depression, other countries were involved in the depression as well. Almost all the countries
around the world were affected by the Great Depression. It affected those countries that exported raw materials and those
that were industrialized. As each country tried to protect itself by raising import tariffs, a sharp decline in world trade
increased. Government had reduced their spending, which led to decreased consumer demand. Some nations changed their heads
and type of government. In Germany, weak economic conditions
led to a rise of Adolf Hitler. Germany was suffering greatly
due to its huge war debt after World War I. The Depression had very profound political effects. In Germany
and Japan, reaction to the depression brought about the rise
to power of militarist governments who adopted the aggressive foreign policies that led to World War II. In the United
States and Britain, government
had intervened which resulted in the creation of welfare systems. Many people had to depend on the government or charities
for support in providing them with food (Pillai 1) The Great Depression not only had its effects on the American people, but
also on those of foreign nations.
The Great Depression had its lasting effects
on the world. It caused a drop in the world birthrate due to people having doubtful thoughts about their futures. Trade declined
due to the depression which caused the economy (international and American) to collapse. It caused foreign countries to have
economic downfall and suffering the same as the United States.
Poverty, during the depression, increased dramatically causing people to live off the little that they had. Therefore, the
Great Depression was a period of suffering and turmoil that had international effects.
Works Cited
Pillai, Prabhakar. “Effects
of the Great Depression.” May 16 2008. 31 May 2008.
<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-the-great-depression.html >
Rempel, Gerhard. “The
World Depression and its Results.” 2000. 31 May 2008.
<http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/world/lectures/depressionresults.html>
“The Great Depression
– Effects on America.” 2008. 31 May 2008. <http://www.thegreatdepression.co.uk/effects-on-america/>.
