His successor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was elected president in a landslide in 1933 with campaign promises to fix the economy.
In office at the time of the crash, President Herbert Hoover (term 1929–1933) was unable to stop the free fall of the American economy.
This environmental disaster ruined many farmers during a period when the economy was largely agricultural. In addition, a severe drought produced the Dust Bowl-a series of damaging dust storms. The most visible effects included widespread unemployment, homelessness, and a marked decrease in Americans’ standard of living. The severity of the market contraction affected Americans across the country. High stock prices out of sync with production and consumer demand for goods caused a market bubble that burst on October 24, 1929, the famous “Black Thursday” stock market crash.
The Great Depression spanned the years 1929 to about 1939, a period of economic crisis in the United States and around the world. Do you agree or disagree?ĭefine what you think Roosevelt meant by “the democratic spirit.” How do you think art can represent democratic values? Is making art a form of work? Make your argument for why or why not.įranklin Delano Roosevelt stated that art in America has never been the sole province of a select group or class of people.
