13 Questions
What led to a rise in unemployment in many industrialized nations during the Great Depression?
Companies producing large quantities of consumer goods could no longer find people to buy them, and prices for mass production consumer goods dropped worldwide
What event occurred in 1929 that marked the beginning of the Great Depression?
The New York Stock Exchange crash
Why did people initially invest heavily in the New York stock market?
Because shares could be bought on credit and sold for a profit when prices rose
What happened when shareholders lost confidence in the market and sold their shares?
Prices fell rapidly, and the market crashed
How did workers' reduced purchasing power contribute to the Great Depression?
They bought less, leading to further cutbacks in production and jobs
What was the result of the government's inability to address the economic downturn during the Great Depression?
Poverty spread
What was the global impact of the American economy's collapse during the Great Depression?
The collapse of the American economy led to 2/3rds of world trading ceasing, affecting countries globally.
What was the living situation like for many people during the Great Depression?
Many people lost their homes and were forced to live in substandard housing, shanty towns built from discarded materials on waste ground.
What was the impact of the Great Depression on women and children?
Women and children became the breadwinners as they were cheaper to employ.
What was the effect of unemployment on soldiers who had returned from fighting?
Soldiers who had returned from fighting were still recovering from traumas and without work, families broke, and the suicide rate among soldiers increased rapidly.
What form did government relief take during the Great Depression?
The government provided relief to the unemployed in the form of sustenance payments, given in the form of rations or coupons.
Who was eligible for sustenance payments during the Great Depression?
Only the truly destitute, those who had been unemployed for a sustained period of time and had no assets or savings, were eligible for sustenance payments.
What kind of compromises did people make to survive during the Great Depression?
People were forced into tricks and expediences to survive, making all sorts of shabby and humiliating compromises.
Study Notes
The Great Depression
- Global economic downturn in the 1930s characterized by severe hardship and high unemployment
- Triggered by the 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash, which led to a sharp decline in consumer spending and industrial production
Causes of the Great Depression
- Overproduction of consumer goods led to a surplus, causing prices to drop worldwide
- Unemployment rose in many industrialized nations as companies struggled to find buyers for their products
The Stock Market Crash of 1929
- Share prices inflated to unreasonable highs due to speculative buying on credit
- When confidence in the market decreased, share prices rapidly fell, causing the market to crash
- Stockbrokers, investors, and business owners lost significant amounts of money, leading to widespread financial ruin
Consequences of the Great Depression
- Workers experienced job losses, wage cuts, and reduced purchasing power, leading to further decreased production and employment
- Poverty spread rapidly as governments struggled to respond effectively to the crisis
Australia and the Great Depression
- The Great Depression started in America and had a ripple effect on other countries, including Australia, due to the network of borrowing and loan repayments from the war.
- Germany was severely affected by the Great Depression, partly due to its ongoing repayment of war reparations.
- In the 1930s, Australia's economy was heavily dependent on international trade, which collapsed when the American economy failed, resulting in 2/3 of global trade coming to a halt.
- The economic crisis led to widespread unemployment, causing many people to lose their homes and live in substandard housing, known as shanty towns, built from discarded materials on waste ground.
- Women and children became the primary breadwinners, as they were cheaper to employ, leading to a shift in family dynamics.
- Returning soldiers, still recovering from traumas, struggled to find work, leading to family breakdowns and a rapid increase in suicide rates.
The Susso
- The Australian government provided relief to the unemployed in the form of sustenance payments, known as the "Susso".
- To be eligible, individuals had to be unemployed for a sustained period, have no assets or savings, and be truly destitute.
- The sustenance payments were given in the form of rations or coupons, forcing people to make humiliating compromises to survive.
- The crisis led to a proliferation of shabby and desperate measures to get by, with people resorting to tricks and expediences to make ends meet.
Learn about the causes and effects of the Great Depression, a period of severe economic downturn and hardship that began in 1929 with the New York stock market crash.
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