North vs South
North vs. South in the Great Depression The Great Depression is one of the most misunderstood events in not only American history but also Great Britain, France, Germany, and many other industrialized nations. It also has had important consequences and was an extremely devastating event in America. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world. When the New York Stock Exchange crashed in October 1929, the United States dropped sharply into a major depression. The world was in wide demand for agricultural goods during World War I, but they had rapidly decreased after the war and rural America experienced a severe depression throughout most of the 1920's and even on into the 1930's. One of the major losses for agriculture was due to banks foreclosing farm mortgages because the farmers could no longer pay their mortgages. By the early 1930's, thousands of American farmers were out of businesses. Major businesses, however, had to increase profits through most of the decade although wages remained low and workers were unable to buy the goods they had helped produce. The financial and banking systems were very unregulated and a number of banks had failed during the 1920's. Not only did the Great Depression affect the United States as a whole, there were many different effects on both the North and South. At first the impact was small. As Ayers states, "For most Americans, there was no single decisive moment when they knew that the economy was in trouble," (733). For instance, a husband might find that there are fewer hours to go around at the factory, or his wages are being cut a little short. Soon family's started to realize that they had a minor crisis on their hands and started either saving or started sending their children out to find jobs to help bring in extra income. Although there were many new people trying to find jobs, they soon realized that there were no jobs to be found, and savings started to
Cited: Ayers, Edward. Lewis Gould. David Oshinsky. Jean Soderlund. American Passages a History of The United States. 2nd ed. Belmont: Thomas Wadsworth. 2005. 720-735. Interview (recorded transcript). Nolan Bell (interviewer). Dr. Fred M.Bell (Great Depression Survivor). 15 March 2002. Interview (in person). Candice Combs (interviewer). Evelyn Gray (Great Depression Survivor). 22 February 2006. Interview (recorded transcript). Ginger Erwin (interviewer). Walter Borchich (Great Depression Survivor). 25 April 2003. Rothbard, Murray. America 's Great Depression. Auburn: Ludwig von Mises Institute. 2000. 84-87.