14.1 Problems at the End of the 1920s
Economic Problems• 1920s businesses boomed but problems
lurked beneath– Steel, railroads, and coal mining businesses all
weakened– Farmers were able to plant a ton of their crops• Crop prices fell, Coolidge vetoed bills that would
have helped guarantee farmers a better price
Economic Problems• Prices on goods like radios,
cars, etc. kept going up but wages weren’t increasing– Buying stuff on credit (w/
installment plans) meant many people bought more than they could afford.• Some people even used credit
to buy stocks (buying them “on margin”)
Economic Problems• The income gap (difference between the
best paid workers and the rest of us) grew significantly– Top 1% made $10,000 and over– Bottom 70% made below $2,500
Economic Problems• In the 20s, the New York Stock Exchange boomed– Stock: a small piece of a company you can buy/sell• Mr. Phelps’ stock market tip: buy when the stock’s price is
low, sell it when it is high• There is always a risk the price could go down.
– People would speculate that stock prices would keep going up (and never go down)
The Crash• Stock prices reached their peak in Sept. 1929• Black Tuesday: Oct. 29, 1929, “everyone” tried to
frantically sell their stocks– But who was going to buy them???– Many people lost their life savings gambling in stocks– …and thus the Great Depression started
The Crash• Banks and businesses failed in record numbers– “Bank run”: when everyone goes to the bank at
once to withdraw their money, which banks can’t handle• Banks loan out part of your money to people. That is
their business
The Crash
• The rest of the world felt the crash too– Hitler rose to power in Germany by blaming
Germany’s problems on other countries and the Jews
The Crash
• U.S. tried to protect American businesses with…– The Hawley-Smoot Tariff, extremely high tariff rates– European countries responded by protecting their
businesses with high tariffs too
Summing it up• Who should we blame?!• The Government!– They made it easy for companies & people to
build up debt
• The Rich!– They were the ones making all the money &
calling the shots
• The Rest of Us!– We went into debt buying all that dumb stuff on
credit.
