Comparing The Great Depression And The Great Recession

The Social Security act aided many people with government relief. These 2 acts helped to boost the economy. President Roosevelt’s many daring projects proved to pay off in the end because many people regained jobs. Roosevelt’s New Deal basically ended the great depression altogether because of his many government aid projects and employment agencies.

The United States entered one of the most devastating economic periods in its history after the stock market crash of 1929. The massive damage done to the quality of life of the average American during this time, known as the Great Depression, prompted a fundamental change in the attitude of the nation. The most notable change was a shift in public belief about what type of President would best serve the struggling nation. The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt completely reversed the trend of Presidents that pursued policies focused around benefitting businesses and the wealthy. Whereas leaders before him held fast in their support of big businesses, even to the point of ignoring the harm they had brought to the country, Roosevelt focused his

One of the most severe worldwide economic downturns in history is known as the great depression. Numerous amount of issues and problems were taken place between the years of 1929-1939. The great depression brought a rapid rise in unemployment, bank failure, and much more. Despite the wide range of issues, Franklin D Roosevelt was actually concerned about the depression. Roosevelt's response to the great depression was very effective because he had launched the new deal, due to the uprising problems and issues of the great depression.

Once President Franklin Roosevelt was elected during the Great Depression, his first 100 days enacted what he called the New Deal. This “deal” was a series of reforms that were meant to increase available jobs, better the working conditions, and put money back into the economy. Jobs offered during this time, as well as the relief, recovery, and reform efforts gave a kick start to the American economy, helping to pull us out of the Great Depression. Some examples of these efforts can be seen in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the National Recovery Administration (NRA), and the Social Security Act (SSA).

In 1929, the United States Stock Market crashed, heralding the tumble into world-wide depression. President Hoover tried to pacify the people by telling them it was temporary and would pass over. But a new figure rose out of the people, promising he would do anything and everything he could to restore their lives. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to the presidency, and his new policies would soon sweep over the country. Roosevelt's responses to the problems of the Great Depression were successful in strengthening the power of the federal government and instilling hope in the public, yet were unsuccessful in that they did not help him achieve his intended goal: the restoration of the economy. His responses were, however,

After the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Hoover administration, something had to be done regarding the relief and recovery of the Great Depression. This was one of the more important objectives of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term as president. Although Herbert Hoover made somewhat of an attempt trying to reconcile the country, but he was unable to live up to his rhetoric, “prosperity is right around the corner.” Hoover failed to comprehend the extent of the damage of the stock market crash from a global perspective and simply did too much too fast. When Franklin Roosevelt came into presidency in 1933, he set out his first hundred-day plan. Within the first term, FDR created a series of relief and recovery acts to start the

The Great Depression was a severe economic slump down that took place between 1929 and 1939 (Sauert, 2010). Observers reckon that this historical event was the longest, demeaning, and most widespread recession. The resultant widespread economic hardship hit Europe, North America, and other industrialized economies (Olson, 2001). Also, in the 21st century, the international community has experienced yet another crisis, the Global Financial Crisis, which the observers of the global economic fora have similarly compared and contrasted with the Great Depression. The Global Financial Crisis offered itself as a case scenario that epitomes how deep the economy of the world can decline to abysmal levels.

After the roaring twenties, in 1929, the U.S. economy took a downwards turn. The uneven distribution of income, stock market speculation, overproduction of goods, a weak farm economy, and extreme laissez faire government policies caused the Great Depression to occur. President Herbert Hoover initially thought of the stock market crash as a passing recession, but his laissez faire approach only heightened the negative effects of the Great Depression. He believed that it was the job of state and local governments, not the federal government, to aid in public relief. However, Hoover’s “lame duck” approach proved his powerless efforts to stem the depression.

As incoming Presidents, Roosevelt and Obama were handed down several of the same issues. Both Presidents acquired economic problems. Roosevelt inherited the Great Depression, while Obama inherited the Great Recession. In comparison, the Great Depression that Roosevelt inherited was more severe then the financial issues that Obama had coming into office. Not only did the Great Depression last longer than the Great Recession, but unemployment and poverty was at an all time high point. “By 1932, one of every four Americans was unemployed; in many large cities, nearly half of the adults were out of work” (Shi and Tindall p. 913). Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes or farms and a large numbers of banks failed (Shi and Tindall p.913).

Roosevelt responded to the great depression by creating the new deal. The new deal “set out to relieve the suffering of the unemployed and impoverished” during the great depression (New Deal Gale Encyclopedia). This means that through the new deal, Roosevelt was attempting to alleviate some of the burden that the great depression was placing on Americans. Roosevelt’s first move under the new deal “ was to restore confidence in the nation’s banking system” (New Deal Gale Encyclopedia). During the great depression a lot of people had lost faith in banks and withdrew all of their money. This hurt the banks and had a negative effect on the American economy so Roosevelt recognized that it was a problem that needed addressed. After the banking situation was handled, Roosevelt and “Congress turned [their] attention to the farm sector” (New Deal Gale Encyclopedia). This was done by passing the Agricultural Adjustment Act which provided subsidies to farmers who reduced crop production, thus raising the value of U.S. agricultural goods. Through these different acts and ideas Roosevelt attempted to address the great

The Great Depression was a harsh global economic depression in the decade prior World War II. The Great Depression, while it happened far before the “Great Recession” of 2008, it can be greatly compared. During the Great Depression, all income, tax revenue, and prices dropped. International trade decreased by more than 50%, and U.S. unemployment climbed to just above 25%. Industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh took the heaviest hits. While the recession of 2008 was not as drastic, it affected the world economy and resulted in a global recession more so than ever before. The percent of U.S. citizens unemployed had reached 10% as of 2009. Along with the challenges unemployment presented, consumer

An economic crisis has a destructive impact on the economy, along with social and cultural ramifications. The Great Depression and the Great Recession were no different, but varied in more specific aspects. The crisis of 1929 was preceded by irrational confidence in

The presidencies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt both fell into the time of economic crisis that began in 1930. The Great Depression would pose a challenge for both presidents to bring the United States economy back to stabilization. With two contrasting responses to this American disaster, Hoover and Roosevelt would create opposing reputations for themselves. With this economic downfall, both knew that the nation needed a solution; however, Hoover deemed it best for the federal government to stay out of the situation while Roosevelt pushed for the government to have a greater role in the economy.

When the Depression first started, Herbert Hoover, the president at the time, believed that the Federal Government should leave the economy alone and adopted a laissez-faire (free market) policy. Most American citizens disagreed with this policy as it proved to not help the Great Depression and more citizens faced unemployment, this caused Hoover to loose the re-election in 1933 to Franklin Roosevelt who advocated for government involvement. Roosevelt attempted to fix the Great Depression in America by developing the New Deal program which increased government spending in order to decrease unemployment. He was successful in that he employed 8 million Americans, however Conservative Right Wing citizens opposed the New Deal programs accusing it of being too aligned with Socialistic views. Another way that the Great Depression affected politics in America was that it caused America to stop being involved with other countries and instead focus on domestic issues.

The Great Depression and Great Recession were two unique events that had monumental impact on the economy. Both had similarities, and differences that made them unique. The Great Depression was caused by people living on credit, and when it was time to pay they didn’t have the money, this happened on a wide spread scale. The crashing of the stock market was what officially started the Great Depression in 1929. The great recession was caused by subprime mortgages as well, as risk taking by financial institutions. Much like the depression people were living over their heads, and when it was time to pay their bills they were unable to. Both the Great Depression and Great Recession were brought on by bubbles, for the Great Depression it was the stock market bubble, for the Great Recession it was the housing bubble.