The Great Depression
It isn't easy to give a brief summary of the Great Depression. It was,
without a doubt, the longest and most severe economic downturn in
American history. Widely held to begin with the stock market crash of
1929, the Depression lasted until the advent of American involvement in
World War II.
Unemployment skyrocketed during the Depression years, reaching levels as
high as one third of the population. Output shrank tremendously, falling
by ten percent a year from 1929 to 1932. Nearly half of the commerical
banks of the United States failed during the Depression. Crop prices fell
by over fifty percent. People went hungry because so much food was
produced that production became unprofitable. Others were unemployed
because they had produced more than could be sold.
Huge numbers of Americans had their lives upset by the Depression. Tens
of thousands of migrant farm workers travelled the nation looking for
employment. Homelessness, poverty and general despair characterized much
of the nation.
It was times of economic hardship such as these that gave rise to the
dream of - and need for - Greenbelt.
Work Consulted
Thorkelson, H. John. Great Depression. Encyclopedia
Americana. Bernard S. Cayne, ed. Danbury: Grollier, 1990.
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