Fun Fact 2: The Great Depression crisis of the 1930s began in America after a major crash of stock prices on October 29, 1929 that day became known as 'Black Tuesday'
Fun Fact 3: There were a number of different reasons why the depression fell so quickly. The Wall Street Crash, overspending, over production of goods and an unstable banking system all added to the problem
Fun Fact 4: In the early days of the great depression a quarter of a million young people became homeless
Fun Fact 5: Due to the cost of fuel and lack of money cars were adapted to be towed by mules or horses, these were known a Bennett Buggy or Hoover wagons
Fun Fact 6: At the peak of the great depression 25% of the population were out of work, with no form of income to pay the bills, buy food or purchase clothes
Fun Fact 7: The youth (under 16s) of America made up 31% of the population during the great depression but they accounted for 42% of the poor that became dependent on help
Fun Fact 8: The ‘Dust Bowl’ was a term given to the devastation caused by changing farming methods and severe drought, this fatal combination created huge dust clouds which led to the death of tens of thousands of animals and the destruction of over 100,000,000 acres of land
Fun Fact 9: The History and story of the book ‘of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck relates to the depression. The story is about two unemployed men, held together by an American dream, and battling against the odds in the harsh economical crisis
Fun Fact 10: In 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as the 32nd president of the U.S. he introduced new policies that very gradually led to an end to the great depression
Fun Fact 11: Many adults and children wrote to the first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt asking for help to finance food, clothes and transport to school. It is said that in the first year of office alone she was sent over 300,000 pieces of mail
Fun Fact 12: Actor Al Capone opened a soup kitchen in Chicago during the great depression, which provided free soup, coffee and doughnuts for the unemployed
Fun Fact 13: California became know as the new land of "milk and honey" due to the rich crops and farming opportunities. Thousands fled there on the hope that California would help to restore their dreams
Fun Fact 14: It took over 23 years for the stock market to recover to the rate it was at before the crash of 1929
Fun Fact 15: The date for the end of the Great was dependant on the area, for some it came at the end of the 1930s, for others it wasn't until the middle of the 1940s |
