What were the Social Consequences of the Crash? (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Was the Social Impacts of the Wall Street Crash Greater than the Economic Impacts? - Summary
One major social impact of the Wall Street Crash was the rise in poverty and homelessness. As businesses collapsed and people lost their jobs, many families struggled to earn enough money to survive. Some people were unable to afford necessities like food and shelter, leading to a sharp increase in homelessness and hunger.
The crash also had a profound effect on people's mental health and well-being. A large amount of US citizens suffered from anxiety and depression. Some people committed suicide
The Wall Street Crash shattered people's confidence in the American Dream and the belief that hard work would lead to prosperity. Many Americans who had worked hard and played by the rules found themselves in poverty overnight. At the same time, the Wall Street Crash also made social inequalities worse. Black Americans and immigrants were impacted more by the depression. They suffered more hardship during the 1930s.
Overall, while the economic impacts of the Wall Street Crash were significant, the social impacts were equally severe. The crash left a lasting legacy on US society for generations to come.
Consequences For Towns & Cities
Many urban workers were impacted by the Wall Street Crash
Many businesses closed down due to the economic conditions
Unemployment rose from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933
The USA had no social security in the 1920s
The government expected unemployed workers to resolve their own problems
Charities and local governments organised social and economic support for those in need
People queued for hours for food
The level of support needed bankrupted some state governments
In 1932, President Hoover was forced to spend millions of dollars on public works schemes
Workers who kept their jobs also struggled because:
Employers reduced workers’ wages and increased their working hours
Employers could hire someone else very easily if a worker refused to work more hours for less money
Government employees like teachers did not receive a salary if the local council went bankrupt
Many US citizens could not afford the necessities
People suffered from malnutrition or even starvation due to a lack of food
By 1932, over 250,000 people could not repay their mortgages
The issue of homelessness
Homelessness became an increasing problem in urban areas
Banks repossessed houses from those who could not afford to pay their mortgages
Landlords evicted people who could not pay their rent
People began to create temporary slum housing out of cardboard and corrugated iron
They became known as ‘Hoovervilles’
The name was an attack on President Hoover for his government’s failure to help people during the Depression
People built Hoovervilles on wasteland
Consequences For the Countryside
The Midwest was intensively used for farming during the First World War
This intensive arable farming caused:
A decrease in soil fertility
A higher chance of soil erosion
Weather conditions also made farming more difficult
In 1930, the Great Plains suffered from drought and strong winds
The area was so dry that it became known as the Dust Bowl
Many farmers could not afford their mortgage repayments
They abandoned their farms to find farming work elsewhere
The treatment of migrant farmers
Many farmers head for California for work
Employers housed migrant farm workers in unhygienic camps
Disease spread quickly through this accommodation
Californian workers discriminated against farmers from the Midwest
They felt that Midwestern workers were taking their jobs
Consequences For the Immigrants & Black Americans
Sharecropping
Many sharecroppers were American-Americans living in the southern states
After the Wall Street Crash, many sharecroppers either:
Did not receive their share of the crops
Were made redundant by their employer
As a result, many American-Americans sharecroppers moved to northern cities to find work
Unemployment was high in these cities as well
American-Americans found it harder to find employment due to discrimination
Immigrant workers
In 1930, President Hoover significantly reduced immigration
He did not want more unemployed workers in the USA
Immigrant workers who already lived in the USA faced harsh conditions during the Depression
They were usually the first to be fired from their jobs
They were willing to work for even lower wages than US citizens
This made US workers, particularly white Americans, see them as a threat to their jobs
Some immigrant communities were deported from the USA
Mexican workers in states like California were ‘repatriated’ to Mexico by local government organisations
Worked Example
In what ways were the lives of American people affected by the Great Depression in the 1930s? Explain your answer
[8 marks]
Partial answer:
The lives of American people were affected by the Great Depression because of the issue of homelessness (1). Banks began to repossess people’s houses as they could not afford to pay their mortgages. This caused thousands of people to create temporary housing out of cardboard and corrugated iron, called Hoovervilles (1). This affected people’s lives because many people were living in substandard housing in wasteland across the USA’s biggest cities. This was unsafe and meant that diseases could spread easily. They were angry at the government, hence why they named this type of housing after President Hoover (1). As a result, homelessness meant that people were let down by the US government and struggled to survive in the Great Depression (1).
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In this style of question, you should aim to have two or three well-explained paragraphs about how the Great Depression impacted people’s lives. You should try to focus your paragraphs on different groups of people living in the USA in the 1930s. For example, your second paragraph could focus on the experience of farmers in the countryside.
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