Black Tuesday Causes

Words: 1461
Pages: 6

The Great Depression was an economical depression in the 1930s. This depression lasted ten years and greatly impacted the lives of Americans. The date Tuesday, October 29, 1929 has been known as Black Tuesday. On this day, the stock market crashed, causing the beginning of the Great Depression. This crash lost millions of investors’ money and the unemployment rate of America increased drastically. Although Black Tuesday is not the only cause of the Great Depression, it was one of the major causes. Another cause was the failure of many banks. Throughout the 1930s, over nine thousand banks could not keep up with business and failed. (Kelly) As the banks failed, people lost their savings in these banks. The remaining banks were concerned for their …show more content…
The combination of economic depression, a long drought, unusually high temperatures, poor agricultural practices, and wind erosion caused the Dust Bowl. (Trimarchi) It lasted from about five to ten years, depending on the location. These storms mostly affected the American Great Plains region, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Strategies were taken to bring the Dust Bowl to an end. One of the biggest factors was the end of the drought in the late 1930s. This brought much more moisture to the soil. Although there had been a lot of damage to the soil, things like planting trees and grasses helped anchor the soil. Overall, twenty seven states were affected by the drought causing the Dust Bowl. In 1932, there were fourteen large, dense dust clouds called black blizzards. In 1933, there was thirty-two. April 14, 1935, is referred to as “Black Sunday” due to the large dust storm that occurred this day. Migration was a very large part of the Dust Bowl. Of the two and a half million people that fled their homes by 1940, two hundred thousand of them moved to California. (“American Experience”) Migration was a very large part of the Dust Bowl. Californians did not want to let people into their state. The ones who were allowed into California had to adapt to a life of being a worker for farmers. “Some 40 percent of migrant farmers …show more content…
By 1932, about fifty percent of the African American population was unemployed. (“Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945”) In 1932, there were eight lynchings. But in 1933, the amount of lynchings had grown to twenty-eight. Of about two million black farmers, two-thirds of them earned nothing and went into debt. (Wormser) African Americans lost their jobs to unemployed white people. Many people believed that every white person who wants a job should have one, even if it meant that every black person is unemployed. A set of laws known as “Jim Crow” were made, affecting the daily lives of African Americans. These laws segregated schools, libraries, restaurants, parks, restrooms, drinking fountains, and means of transportation. The majority of these rules kept distance between white and black people. Since African Americans and white people were segregated, but neither was necessarily “better”, many white people claimed that blacks had equality. White-only schools were nicer, larger, and more civilized. These schools had more money and educated their children much better. Attempts were made to desegregate schools. “In the spring of 1932 the Association issued a report that called for a legal campaign to challenge the school segregation laws because they led to a painfully obvious disparity between black and white schools.” (Stakeman)