Competition for jobs is intense.
High tariffs such as the Hawley Smoot Tariff & War Debt
Banks have no regulation, make unwise investments with customers' money
People lose their jobs
Overproduction in industry & agriculture
Laissez faire economy means government is hands off
Poor farming techniques & natural disaster cause the Dust Bowl.
Southwest needs jobs and electric power.
Speculation in the stock market & buying on the margin
Hoover believes the economy will fix itself
Stock Market Crash 1929
Without jobs, people can no longer pay their mortgage and the banks foreclose on their homes. Many people are homeless
Americans panic, run to the banks & withdraw their money. Banks collapse
As the Great Depression gets worse, the government is unable to provide adequate support for people
Mexicans & Mexican Americans are sent back to Mexico (repatriation).
Hoover becomes very unpopular as the Depression gets worse. FDR is elected.
Prices drop, workers are laid off or fired
Farmers called "Okies" move West
Europeans cannot afford US goods, profit plummets, businesses are forced to lay off workers
The Hoover Dam is built.
