American History: The Stormy Weather and Over and Well: 1930-1941

Stormy Weather & Over and Well: 1930-1941

The thirties were a time of the Great Depression. Everyone was poor. People who had had riches in abundance not one year earlier were living on the streets. It would take years for America to recover, and the road to get there was not very smooth.

The economy during the thirties was very bad in America. At the end of the last century, in 1929, the stock exchange crashed. It is referred to as the Wall Street crash and the collapse of the NY stock exchange, but most importantly it started the Great Depression. Every day there were more bankruptcies and layoffs. Even big, seemingly indestructible companies were in danger. Companies like Industrial Steel. They had to lay off 225,000 workers. The Great Depression hit everywhere and everyone. There was no food and no money. People rushed to the banks to get their savings, but there was no money to get. Nine million savings accounts were wiped out. Bank failures crushed tens of thousands of people. Everyone was selling all they had. Half the families in the United States were facing eviction. Four million United States families were without means for one year after the crash. Hoovers theology was that if America was left alone, it would right itself. So he did nothing. When Roosevelt became president, he closed down all the banks and rushed them two billion dollars, then reopened them. Roosevelt, although this was not enough to fix what the crash had done to America, attempted to bring America back from the brink.

The 1930’s was dominated by the Great Depression. There was not much time of money for people to spend on entertainment, but there were a few pin pricks of light. People, especially kids, went to the movie theater. They could spend ...

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...any wanted to land in Florida, but the United States turned them away. In relation to WWII, Roosevelt wanted to arm Britain and France, but most Americans wanted to leave Europe alone. But when Britain declared war, the United States sent sent weapons to Britain, their allies. Soon United States involvement became necessary. Freedom in world depended on the outcome of World War II.

The 1930’s were a time of poverty in America. The Great Depression hit the United States hard and it would take years to recover, but presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, although he did not solve everyone’s problem, would help a lot. Roosevelt brought America back from the brink and helped a lot of people, but so many others were left without jobs or money or food. 1930 to 1941 were difficult years for America and it was not until World War II that we started to make some progress.