The Great Depression began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed, and nearly half the country’s banks had failed. History.com Staff. “Great Depression.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/great-depression.
The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. “Great Depression Facts.” FDR Presidential Library & Museum, www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts.
The Depression also resulted in an increase of emigration of people for the first time in American history. For example, some immigrants went back to their native countries, and some native U.S. citizens went to Canada, Australia, and South Africa. It also resulted in the mass migration of people from badly hit areas in the Great Plains and the South to places such as California and the North, respectively (Okies and Great Migration). Racial tensions also increased during this time. “Great Depression Facts.” FDR Presidential Library & Museum, www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts.
2. I believe in our society (Canada), there is a very small gap between classes that are based on (money, opportunity, and social status). In Canada, the inequality between the social classes is small due to the fact that every Canadian has the chance to succeed in life (via university or college) and become prosperous (with the chance to work), and the majority of Canadians belong to the middle class thus allowing us to have wealth/money, a small number of Canadi...