The document summarizes several economic factors that contributed to the Great Depression in the United States, including stock market speculation, over-borrowing by individuals and businesses, bank practices like lending money they didn't have, overproduction of industrial and agricultural goods, high tariffs that reduced international trade, and depressed agricultural production due to drought and the boll weevil infestation in the South. Taken together, these factors led to plummeting stock prices, widespread bank failures, and mass unemployment in the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s.

1. SS8H8a
 Describe the impact of the boll weevil
and drought on Georgia.
Concepts:
Location
Production – Distribution -
Consumption

4. •Lack of rainfall
over extended
period of time
DROUGHT
EFFECT
1924-1927 DROUGHT IN GEORGIA
• Food shortage
• Farmers went into
debt
• Sharecroppers
move to urban
areas
• Agricultural related
businesses
struggle

6. Economic Factors
of the Great
Depression
SS8H8: b. describe the economic
factors that resulted in the Great
Depression

7. THE ROARING 20s – AMERICANS BECOME RICH
The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political
change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities
than on farms. The nation’s total wealth more than
doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic
growth swept many Americans into an affluent but
unfamiliar “consumer society.” People from coast to coast
bought the same goods (thanks to nationwide advertising
and the spread of chain stores), listened to the same
music, did the same dances and even used the same
slang!
WWW.HISTORYCHANNEL.COM

11. Analyzing Photographs

12. Causes of the Great Depression
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13. THE GREAT DEPRESSION
THE 1930s

14. Stock Market Speculation
 People bought stocks and paid only
part of the cost at the time of purchase.
 Even though it wasn’t paid for, the investor
could sell it.
 If stock went up, all could be paid.
 This made prices higher than
what they were really worth.

15. Over-Borrowing
 Borrowing more money that they could
afford to repay.
 Hurts banks, so banks can’t loan money to
businesses
 Businesses don’t get paid, people get laid
off work

16. Personal Debt
 Owing more that you can ever pay off
(homes, cars, boats, etc.)

17. Bank Practices
 Banks bought stock, when the market
crashed…banks lost money.
 Runs on the bank, people withdraw all the
money…the bank closes.

18. Laissez-faire
 Attitude of living life to the fullest without
worry about the future.
 Believing the economy would take care of
itself; that the government couldn’t do
anything to help.

19. OVERPRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

20. Industrial Overproduction
 Factories and farmers produced more good
than they could sell.
 Had to stop production, so people loose
jobs.
 Farmers drove prices so low they couldn’t
pay debts…then drought hit.

21. High Tariffs
 Tax on imports.
 Made it hard for other countries to sell goods in
the U.S. and get money to repay wartime loans
or buy U.S. products.

22. Depressed Agricultural
Production
 Drought (Dust Bowl)
 Boll Weevil (in the South)
 Less product=less money to pay debts