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The Great Depression

 

Others swallowed poison and inhaled deadly gas".
             The Great Depression began in the U.S. but quickly turned into a worldwide economic slump due to the special and intimate relationships that had been forged between the U.S. and European economies after WWI. Almost all nations sought to protect their domestic production by imposing tariffs, raising existing ones, and setting quotas on foreign imports. One of these tariffs, passed by Hoover, was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. In 1930, congress passed this act to protect farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition. It did the opposite, preventing other countries from buying American goods. The tariff made the already high amount of employment worse.
             Due to over production and over-farming of trees, the farming sector took a great plunge. Because of the tariffs of the global depression, farmers began working overtime to meet their quota. Giant dust storms were spawned from the loose soil and devastated crops. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act only made matters worse for the farmers. Unemployment rates rose once again. By 1932, the number of unemployed people in the U.S. was over 12 million. Americans sought work near their homes and traveled across America leaving their families to find work. Soup lines and bread kitchens were made for starving families. They offered free or low-cost food. Lines of people waiting to receive food provided by charitable organizations or public agencies, became a common sight. By 1931, unemployment reached 13.5 million -- almost one third of the American labor force.
             President Hoover could not cope with the sheer madness of The Great Depression. In 1932, in the first presidential election after The Depression has begun, U.S. voters elected Franklin D. Roosevelt by a landslide. His confident manner appealed to millions of Americans who felt bewildered by The Depression and Hoover. On March 4, 1933, the new president sought to restore Americans' faith in their nation with this speech, "The only think we have to fear is fear itself".


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