1. The Causes of the
Great Depression
“One of the greatest assets any man
or woman can have entering life’s
struggle is poverty” – R.B. Bennett
Mr. Danowski

2. Outline of the 1930s
 Introduction to the 1930s
 The Causes of the Great Depression
 How Canada Responded to the Depression
 Riding the Rails to the Relief Camps
 The Emergence of Political Alternatives
 The Breakout of Canadian Culture
 The Rising Tide of Fascism and Nazism

3. Four Corners
 For this activity you will go to different corners
of the room that are labeled:
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
 I will show three different statements and I want
you to stand by the opinion that you agree with
the most

4. The Statements
 1. I am good with my money
 2. “If you want to feel rich, count the things in
your life that money cannot buy”
 3. Money is the root of all evil

5. Game time!
 Hot Seat
 I will divide the class into two teams, each team sends
one person to the front of the room, the two people
stand facing their teams
 I will write a term on the slide and without using
rhymes or the word itself try to get the person in
“the hot seat” to guess the correct term in relation
to the business cycle
 1 point for every right guess until the cycle is
complete, everyone must go or help, only 1 guess!

6. Recovery:  Prosperity:
 The Business
Cycle 
Depression: Recession:


7. The Stock Market Crash
 Black Tuesday, Oct 29, 1929: The New York
Stock Exchange crashes – millions of people
lose nearly all their money.
Crowds gather on Wall St. after the
stock market crash.

8. Why did the Stock Market Crash?
 Called Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929
 What were the factors that led to the stock
market crashing?
 Read page 82-83 in your textbook and do worksheet!

9. Why did the Stock Market Crash?
 During the 1920s, many people played the stock
market.
 Wanted to get rich quick
 People bought stocks at low prices then would sell
them when they were high
 Stocks also bought on credit from stock brokers
 What happens when the stocks increase in value?
 Sell it and pay back the stock broker and keep the
profits

10. The Crash of 1929
 Too many people had bought stocks using
borrowed money
 When stock prices began to fall they could not
cover their debts by selling off stocks
 A drop in stock market prices set off a panic
wave in selling
 In a few hours the value of stocks fell 50%,
millions of dollars were lost, Thousands of
investors went broke, and this spread to Canada

11. “Sell, Sell, Sell!”
 It was “sell, sell, sell” as thousands of
speculators rushed to get rid of their shares
before the prices went even lower.
 But there were fewer buyers and prices
continued to plunge.
 Thousands of people saw their stocks become
worthless, almost overnight
 It was an early warning sign of the beginning of
the Great Depression – the worst economic
downturn in Canada’s history

12. Causes of the Great Depression
 The Depression was a world wide economic
disaster, which affected countries as far away as
Germany, Norway, Chile, Japan and the United
States
 Many causes
 Due to the stock market crash in October 1929,
there were frightened American and Canadian
consumers and business people

13. Exit Cards
 You will be able to leave once you have given
me a piece of paper with the following on it:
 What you are most interested about the 1930s
 How you learn best
 A fun fact about yourself
 What assignments are you most interested in doing
 Examples: Letter or Diary assignment, role play
assignment, mock election, drawing political cartoons…
etc.
 HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

14. The Dust Bowl
 Wheat prices collapsed by 1932.
 An extreme drought hit in 1933, lasting many years.
 The soil dried up and blew away, creating massive
dust storms and leaving farmland barren.
 Many farmers lost their homes and property and were
forced to move.
The Dust Bowl – a sand storm. Bankrupt farmers travel west, looking for work.

15. The Great Depression
 Effects of the stock market crash
spread through the economy, forcing
many people and businesses into
bankruptcy.
Soup kitchen helping feed the unemployed. A stock broker has to liquidate his assets.

16. Unemployment
 By 1933, one in five Canadian workers
had no job.
 There was no unemployment insurance.
 Two million people were on ‘relief’.
Feeding the unemployed.