course material

1. HIUS 221 Survey Of American History
Question:
Explain the major causes of the Great Depression (e.g., economic policies, trade concerns,
banking practices, international commerce.
Answer:
Introduction
The Great Depression continued from 1929 to 1939 and considered as the nastiest financial
depression in the United States history. The historians and economists argued on the stock
market boom of October twenty-fourth, 1929, as the initiation of the slump (Eichengreen, &
Temin, 2000). But the fact was that numerous things triggered the Great Depression (GD),
not specifically that single incident. In the United State, the Great Depression damaged the
position of Herbert Hoover and headed to the voting of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the year
1932 (Robbins, 2011). Promised to provide the country a New Deal, Roosevelt became the
country's longest-serving leader or president (Robbins, 2011). The communal and cultural
impacts of Great depression had no less astounding, particularly in America, where the GD
denoted the strictest adversity confronted by American people after the Civil
War (Eichengreen, & Temin, 2000). In this particular assessment the causes of Great
Depression, three ways that the New Deal solved the problem, how World war 2 helped to
the rise of Cold War tensions, and the two different changes due to historical events will be
discussed.
Causes Of Great Depression
A crash of the stock market (economic policies) –
Many trusts mistakenly that the crash of stock market happened on Black Tuesday;
October twenty-ninth, 1929 is one and the similar with the GD. In point, it was considered
one of the main reasons that result in the Great Depression (Kennedy, 2003). Sixty days
after the real boom in October, the shareholders had misplaced higher than $40 billion US
dollars. Even though the American stock market initiated to recover some of its damages, by
the completion of 1930, it just was not sufficient and the US truly moved in what was named
the Great Depression (Kennedy, 2003).

2. Failures of Banks –
During the 1930s more than 9,000 banks botched. Bank credits were uninsured and
therefore the banks failed individuals simply lost their funds (Calomiris, & Mason, 2003).
Remaining banks were insecure of the financial condition and worried about their personal
existence, stopped being as eager to generate new loans or credits. This worsened the
condition leading to fewer and fewer disbursements (Calomiris, & Mason, 2003).
The decrease in Buying Through the Board –
Due to the stock market smash and the doubts of further financial woes, people from every
class stopped buying items. This now led to a lessening in the number of items
manufactured and thus a decline in the staff (Calomiris, & Mason, 2003). As individuals lost
their employment, they were incapable to hold onto paying for objects they had bought with
installment policies and their things were repossessed. The joblessness rate increased
above 25 percent which intended; of course, even less expenditure to assist alleviate the
financial situation (Carlson, & Mitchener, 2009).
Economic Policy of America with Europe –
As businesses initiated weakening, the government formed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in the
year of 1930 to defend American corporations. This charged a great tax for importations
thereby results in less trade among America and foreign nations along with certain
economic reprisal (Almunia, Benetrix, Eichengreen, O’Rourke, & Rua, 2010).
Drought-related conditions –
Although drought was not a straight initiator of the GD, but affect the economy indirectly.
The drought that happened in the various part of Mississippi Valley in 1930 was of such
extents that numerous could not even wage their dues or other credits and had to vend
their smallholdings for no return to themselves. The region was named "The Dust Bowl”
(Fishback, Horrace, & Kantor, 2006).
Three Ways By Which New Deal Solved Great Depression
Relief
WPA and CCA
FDR generated the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration to
offer occupations for lots of jobless American people in order to kick-start the economy
once more (Fishback, Horrace, & Kantor, 2006). The WPA concentrated on developments:
Throughout its time, labors built 651,087 miles of good roads, highways, and streets; and

3. constructed, refurbished or rebuild around124, 031 bridges, nearly 125,110 communal
buildings, 8,192 public parks, and close to 853 landing grounds (Mitchell, 2017).
Social Security Act
The Act answered to the drawbacks of old age, disability, poverty, joblessness, reliant
widows, and orphans by given them aid and economic security to pensioners and the
jobless people, including lump-sum at bereavement (Mitchell, 2017). Social Safety protects
people from poverty throughout retirement, and delivers short-term relief for instinctive
joblessness American people and families looking for new occupations- a program well-
known as Unemployment Insurance help them the achieve that goal (Fishback, Horrace, &
Kantor, 2006).
Recovery:
AAA
The Agricultural Adjustment Administration prepared to deliver instant help to the
agriculturalists. It recognized prices for rudimentary farm merchandises, which comprised
corn, rice, hogs, cotton, wheat, and dairy values.
The National Industrial Recovery Act
Congress approved the National Industrial Recovery Act according to which companies
would be self-managed by a program nailed out by representatives of business,
employment, and overwhelming public (Cole, & Ohanian, 2004). The programmes would
have to be permitted by the National Recovery Administration (NRA) (Cole, & Ohanian,
2004).
Reform:
Bank Reforms and FDIC
Each bank was put on break for around four days in order to support them with the Central
Reserve. After that Roosevelt contracted the Banking Reform Act to acquire the bank favor
and running while re-establishing the impairment that bank-runs had produced. This
carried Americans a security sense in banks yet again and put trust back into the American
bank system (Hodgson, 2009).
Fair Labour Standards Act
The Fair Labour Standards Act was established in 1938 which set criteria for least wage and
needed employers to reimburse workers for overtime work, between other things. If a

4. worker works overtime, the company must recompense minimum one and a half times the
fixed salary per sixty minutes (Hodgson, 2009).
The Contribution Of World War II To The Rise Of Cold War Tensions
Effects of the arms race
The nuclear arms race among the United States and the Soviet Union carried about a
dominance entanglement among the two nations that continued during the cold war period.
Second World War established the point upon which both the nations would compete and
demonstrate the armed as well as atomic abilities (Painter, 2002). The positive
development of the nuclear explosive by the United States and its efficacious detonation in
Nagasaki, Japan results in the termination of World War two (Painter, 2002). In revenge, the
Soviets established successfully and hurled their head atomic explosive in 1949. The
development of the atomic arms race fetched about anxiety among the people of the United
States and the Soviet Union with both nations taking highest protections and methods into
expending the atomic codes (Painter, 2002).
Effects of dissimilar ideologies
The United States and the Soviet Union had opposing thoughts on how policies should be
controlled within the government. The United State was an industrialist country who
thought that the individuals should be capable to act upon their legitimate liberties, such as
permitted speech and media ((Westad, 2005). The Soviet Union considered as the
dictatorship country ran by Joseph Stalin who was against the capitalism and all it
characterized. He imposed stringent instructions that the individuals of Russia were to
agree. The people of Soviet Union did not have the similar liberties as the individuals of the
U.S. had. They were not allowable to keep their personal properties, and they had only one
political party (Westad, 2005).
Effects of cold war tension
The national security, economy, society, culture, foreign policy, and politics were distressed
by the outcomes of the war resulted in the effect on civilization and the impact on
Nationwide Safety. The Cuban warhead crisis endangered the individual’s sense of security
and wellbeing in their households and caused hesitation to whether or not the United States
could truthfully protect them (Kennedy, 2003). Soviet detectives in America were put on the
explosion, damaged the United States image. This problem carried to bright the
susceptibility of their safety and ended the country looks feeble. The United States key
purpose of using overseas policy is recognized as containment, stopping communalism from
dispersal to other regions of the world (Cuordileone, 2012).
The United States accepted a strategy called “containment, according to which the United

5. States dedicated itself to stopping any further extension of Soviet power (Kennedy, 2003).
The positive effect was the elimination the discrimination issues. Despite being unbound
from slavery about 80 years earlier the end of Second World War, black people were still
the second class people in South America and discrimination was communal in variable
forms almost all over the place Opening in the initial 1950s states initiated founding fair
occupation commissions, they approved laws prohibiting discrimination, and the black
voter cataloging began to increase (Kennedy, 2003). The Civil Rights Act in 1964 expelled
discrimination in the community and numerous private housings (Cuordileone, 2012).
Changes In Legislation Due To The Civil Rights Movement
Traditionally, the term "Civil Rights Movement" has denoted to determinations toward
attaining true fairness for African-Americans in altogether facets of society, but nowadays
the word "civil rights movement” is also applied to define the progression of fairness for all
individuals irrespective of race, age, sex, national origin, disability, belief or religion, sexual
orientation, or other protected features. In the year of 1865 13th alterations has been
passed in the U. S constitution which eliminated the slavery in the United States ((Chong, D.
(2014). In between 1865 and 1870 the 14th and 15th amendments have been passed which
assured that the civil right like “vote for all” will be secured for all American citizens. In the
year of 1920 19th amendment has been approved according to which all the females will
have the freedom or right to vote (Dudziak, 2011).
Opportunity and the encouragement provided for ordinary individuals to involve in public
discussion, to inhabit public seats and to open those seats for true relational connections
that eventually create real culture shifting (Dierenfield, 2013). Neither was public rights
ingrained in the culture by lawsuit or lawmaking by themselves (Chong, D. (2014). What
stimuli durable alteration is what Stoddard named “culture shifts,” i.e., the chance for
fellows of the community to bear watcher, to deliberate and to make a superior public
discussion that carries the fictional future to live (Dudziak, 2011).
Conclusion
The great depression was the issue occurred in between 1929 to 1939 and found to be the
worst economic issues in the history of United States of America. It was not only triggered
by the only economic crisis but by various factors. There are five major causes od GD
including the crash of the stock market, failure of the banks, reduction in buying thought the
board, economic policy of America with Europe, and drought-related situation that
indirectly affected the economy. The three different ways were relief, recovery, and reform
by which America solved Great depression. Arms race increases the race of making a
nuclear weapon to threaten another country that fetched anxiety among the people of
America and Soviet. The different ideologies of America and Soviet Union governments
result in dissimilar rights to the people of both countries and lack of choices. The cold war

6. tension affects national security, hesitation among people. In response, America adopted
containment to prohibit Soviet power. The civil rights have changed American history in
which changes have been made in legislation like the elimination of discrimination and
involving ordinary people in public debates.
References
Almunia, M., Benetrix, A., Eichengreen, B., O'Rourke, K. H., & Rua, G. (2010). From great
depression to great credit crisis: similarities, differences, and lessons. Economic
policy, 25(62), 219-265.
Calomiris, C. W., & Mason, J. R. (2003). Consequences of bank distress during the Great
Depression. American Economic Review, 93(3), 937-947.
Carlson, M., & Mitchener, K. J. (2009). Branch banking as a device for discipline: Competition
and bank survivorship during the Great Depression. Journal of Political Economy, 117(2),
165-210.
Chong, D. (2014). Collective action and the civil rights movement. (2nd ed.). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Cole, H. L., & Ohanian, L. E. (2004). New Deal policies and the persistence of the Great
Depression: A general equilibrium analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 112(4), 779-816.
Cuordileone, K. A. (2012). Manhood and American political culture in the Cold War (1st ed.).
New York: Routledge.
Dierenfield, B. J. (2013). The Civil Rights Movement: Revised Edition. London: Routledge.
Dudziak, M. L. (2011). Cold War civil rights: Race and the image of American democracy.
New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Eichengreen, B., & Temin, P. (2000). The gold standard and the great
depression. Contemporary European History, 9(2), 183-207.
Fishback, P. V., Horrace, W. C., & Kantor, S. (2006). The impact of New Deal expenditures on
mobility during the Great Depression. Explorations in Economic History, 43(2), 179-222.
Hodgson, G. M. (2009). The great crash of 2008 and the reform of economics. Cambridge
Journal of Economics, 33(6), 1205-1221.
Kennedy, D. M. (2003). The American People in the Great Depression: Freedom from Fear,
Part One. (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

7. Kennedy, D. M. (2003). The American People in the Great Depression: Freedom from Fear,
Part One (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, B. (2017). The Depression Decade: From New Era Through New Deal, 1929-41:
From New Era Through New Deal, 1929-41 9(2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Painter, D. S. (2002). The Cold War: an international history (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
Robbins, L. (2011). The great depression (3rd ed.). New York: Transaction Publishers.
Westad, O. A. (2005). The global Cold War: third world interventions and the making of our
times (1st ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.