FREE ESSAY ON THE HUNGRY YEARS

THE HUNGRY YEARS

Book Report
Paradis, Adrian A. The Hungry Years. Philadelphia. 1967.
There were few changes that could be seen; for the most part the revolution was 
quiet. Never before had so many people of the United States held in their hearts despair,

panic and want. Yet out of the fear of the Depression came social reforms that have 
strengthened America and its people.
The Depression was the worst economic decline ever in the United States history 
that spread to practically all of the industrialized world. It began in late 1929 and
lasted 
for about ten years. There were many factors that played a role in causing the
depression, 
but the main cause was the unequal distribution of wealth during the 1920's, and the 
wide stock market speculation that happened toward the end of the 1920's. These 
factors, along with others, caused the American economy to turn upside-down. The 
"roaring twenties" was a time that the United States prospered greatly. The nation's
total 
income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929. However, the benefits of 
the prosperity of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans, and the 
maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 
decade. Two major reasons for the gap between the rich and the working class were the 
increased manufacturing output throughout this period and because the federal 
government favored business, which included the wealthy who put their money into these 
businesses. The growing gap between the wealthy and the middle class made the United 
States economy unstable. For the economy to function properly, total demand must equal 
total supply. In an economy with such an unequal distribution of income, it wasn't 
always likely that the demand would always equal the supply. Basically what happened 
in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the products 
were not wanted, but that those who needed the products, simply could not afford more; 
whereas, the wealthy's needs were met by spending only a little amount of their income. 
Unfortunately, the gap between the two only began to grow wider. In contributing to the 
Depression, the federal government favored the new industries instead of agriculture. 
During World War I, the federal government had subsidized farms, and paid very high 
prices for wheat and other grains. The government had encouraged farmers to buy more 
land and to update their farming methods with the new technology, and to produce more 
food. However, when the war ended, the United States stopped its policies to help 
farmers. Farmers then fell into debt and the farm prices and food prices dropped. To 
make a long story short, farmers were left out in the cold by the government. One other 
reason for the instability of the American economy was the international wealth 
distribution problems. While American was prospering in the 1920's, European nations 
were trying to rebuild after the damage from the war. During World War I, the United 
States government lent European allies $7 billion, and another $3.3 billion by 1920. Of 
these and other funds, 90% were used to purchase U.S. goods. When the United States 
lent money to the nations in need, they expected to be reimbursed, but the nations were
in 
no position to pay off the debts. Now the depression began to set in. Prices had been 
drifting downward, but on October 21 prices started falling quickly. Prices stabilized a

little on Tuesday and Wednesday, but then on Black Thursday, October 24, everything 
fell apart again. Partial recovery was made on Friday and Saturday. Then on Black 
Tuesday, stocks fell so much that at many times no buyers were available at any price. 
The resulting stock market crash acted as a trigger to the unstable United States 
economy. Because of the halt of purchases of the industrial production, it also crashed,

putting many people without jobs. To protect America's businesses, the United States 
made higher trade barriers. Foreigners stopped buying Americans products. More jobs 
were lost, more stores were closed, more banks went under, and more factories closed. 
the country had then entered catastrophe--The Great Depression. 
This book was very interesting and it gave great insight on the most important 
parts and factors of the depression. It is recommended that anyone who claims the 
United States as their home country should read this book. It is a vital part of
America's 
history, and the citizens owe it to their country to learn of its background. The history
of 
one's nation is the history of oneself. 
Bibliography
Paradis, Adrain A. The Hungry Years. Philadelphia. 1967.