Grapes of Wrath: The Dirty Thirties, Economy, and the "Monster" (Chapter1-10 A)

Economics         

The 1930s was an era known as the "Dirty Thirties". In 1929, the stock market crashed, leading the U.S. into the worse economic state it had ever been in since seeking independence. This post will focus on the economic tragedies this era faced. The stock market crashed on Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929). However, events that took place before the crash made the depression worse. In 1920s, people were beginning to buy on Margin, meaning people were buying on credit, instead of paying right there and then. This way of buying was really well publicized (Picture source):

So, when the stock market crashed, many people were demanding the money to be paid immediately, but people didn't have the money. This lead to many foreclosures, which made conditions more difficult for the average American. With the scare of the crash, many people rushed to banks in order to get their money, however, this lead banks to fail, which caused many people to lose their money. Also, unemployment rose over 20%. (Click here for source)
    The average American was suffering! People were becoming homeless, not being able to afford so much as food. The drought and Dust Bowl made conditions worse for Americans as life became unbearable.(Click here for source)
    This connects to the book because we discover in Chapter 5 that a few landowners are forcing a family that share crops off their land. They constantly refer to the bank as a monster. (Source: The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinback) (In the 1930s, the banks were unable to pay the money back to the people, depriving people of the few dollars they had left.)