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Education: The Great Depression

In October 1929, the prosperous Roaring Twenties crashed to an end. In the 1920s the Stock Market boomed. Shares in companies soared and millions of ordinary Americans invested their life savings, in the hopes of turning a profit. Some people even began taking out loans in order to invest in the Stock Market. While things looked good on the surface, the 1920s were plagued by deeper economic issues. Industrial production declined, unemployment crept upwards, and the agricultural sector struggled.

The Stock Market bubble popped on what became known as "Black Tuesday." The sudden drop in value of stocks led to billions of dollars in lost revenue. Many banks shuttered as a result. This fueled panic among Americans who rushed to the banks to withdraw their lifesavings.

Before the Great Depression, people's money in the bank was not insured. If the bank closed, people lost all of their savings! So many people went to the banks looking for their money and many banks simply did not have enough cash on hand to meet the demand. In a chain reaction of events, people lost their jobs, life's savings, and homes.

From 1929 throughout the 1930s, the Great Depression wrecked havoc on the lives of Americans, and New Yorkers in particular. It would take the immense industrial demand of WWII and a dramatic increase in government regulation and spending to really get the United States out of this economic rut. During this decade of depression, Americans' lives transformed dramatically.

New York Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards 8.5b,c, & 11.7c.

For Teachers: Great Depression Lesson Plan

ByUrban Archive logoUrban Archive
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1117 Eastern Parkway icon

1117 Eastern Parkway

Few images are more evocative of the Great Depression than the run on the bank. A common sight across the country following the stock market crash, account holders crowded shuttered banks in fear that their savings would be lost. In 1933, President FDR closed all banks until they were declared solvent or stable by Federal and State Bank Examiners. This immediate solution helped to soothe people's panic and ended the worst of the bank closures. In order to prevent a future run on the banks, FDR and Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This organization guaranteed account holders their money even if the bank closed. In the case of another economic downturn, people would not feel the need to run to the bank and withdraw their cash. This helps banks remain solvent during periods of economic turmoil and this policy still exists today!
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215 Bowery icon

215 Bowery

The Bowery Mission was established in 1879 as the third rescue mission founded in the United States and the second in New York City. Institutions like these became instrumental in the wellbeing of many New Yorkers after the crash of 1929. Millions suddenly found themselves having lost their jobs or forced to take dramatic pay cuts. Like the Bowery Mission, the Salvation Army Memorial served a similar purpose in aiding the unemployed. Before the Depression, the location largely served the vagrant or homeless population that lived and passed through the Bowery. Once the Depression struck, the Salvation Army realized they needed to organize for much greater demand. The needy population was growing exponentially to include everyone from common laborers to white-collar workers. By 1931 this location began collecting extra food from local restaurants to serve in a makeshift dining hall in the basement. The efforts of private organizations were really the only option for many people. Prior to the Great Depression, the federal government provided minimal welfare assistance. This Depression prompted politicians to begin creating and expanding welfare programs like Social Security and unemployment benefits.
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129 West 227 Street icon

129 West 227 Street

The severity of the Great Depression caused the federal government to become involved in employment. Under President Roosevelt's leadership, The Works Progress Administration (WPA) formed. This federal agency became a major source of employment for Americans in general, and New Yorkers in particular. Throughout the depression, the WPA put thousands of men and women across the city to work. This photo, which shows Federal employees repairing this street pavement and curbing, was typical of the WPA efforts. While the WPA aided men and woman across the country, New York benefitted immensely. One in every seven dollars spent by the WPA was directed to work projects in New York. That is almost 15% of all WPA funds, even though New Yorkers only comprised about 5% of the nation's population!
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Plaza Hotel icon

Plaza Hotel

While Prohibition is often associated with the Roaring Twenties it persisted into the first years of the Great Depression. Prohibition encouraged the development of organized crime and the illegal production and selling of alcohol. During an economic depression, it also cost the government millions in largely unsuccessful enforcement efforts. As you might imagine, many Depression-era New Yorkers wanted a drink. This image captures the "Beer for Taxation" parade, sometimes also called the "We Want Beer" Parade. It was led by New York City Mayor James J. Walker in 1932. The parade, one of the greatest demonstrations in the City's history, demanded that the Eighteenth Amendment (which prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, and export or alcohol) be repealed to help balance the federal budget and decrease the unemployment rate. This movement, along with protests across the nation propelled the passage of the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition in 1933.
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Whitestone Bridge icon

Whitestone Bridge

While the Great Depression caused immense suffering for countless New Yorkers and Americans, its effects have left a lasting influence on the city and nation. The WPA and other relief efforts are collectively known as the New Deal. This package of relief funding and spending permanently shaped New York City. The very infrastructure on which countless New Yorkers now depend on each day were built with federal funding. The Whitestone bridge, which connects Queens to the Bronx is just one example. Other major projects include the RFK (Triborough) Bridge, the FDR Drive, and the Lincoln Tunnel. These all originated with New Deal efforts to put people back to work. Additionally, countless parks, playgrounds and other infrastructure projects, like sewer upgrades resulted from the Great Depression. The legacy of this era lives on in New York!
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