Buying on the margin - Investing with borrowed money Overproduction of agriculture - Prices go down Stock market crack in 1929 American protectionism - High tariffs Canada supplying 40% of the world wheat and 65% of the worlds newsprint International markets tied - Exports go down
Unemployment - Riding the Rods
Factories and businesses closed creating unemployment People were evicted because they had no money to pay rent Thousands of people lived off of 'Pogey payments' i.e Government payments People had to wait in line to publicly declare their financial failure Recieved vouchers for food Soup kitchens were set up to help feed the poor and homeless Many people committed suicide, giving up completely Men hopped on freight trains 'riding the rods' in order to get a place to sleep and to get another town. Shanty towns were coming up near all the major cities.
Drought on the Praires
Collapse of the wheat market, leaving many farmers particularly poor A drought started in 1928 for eight years which inflated problems Top soil began to blow away in dust storms therefore making it unable to farm in 1935 the Government passed the Prairies Farm Rehabilitation Administration Act to build irrigation and reservoirs
The cause of the great depression can be narrowed down the several major things: People were buying on the margin and then the stock market crash of 1929 happen, causing many people to lose all of their money, their jobs, their homes etc. Many factories and businesses closed causing many people to lose their jobs. Americans raised their tariffs and then there was a drought on the prairies and with Canada producing 40% of the worlds wheat this inflated problems. The dust storms blew the top soil away, making land unable to farm on. Many people lived off of the 'Pogey Payments' and many committed suicide after declaring financial failure.