Facts about the Great Depression

1. 12

   International trade collapsed by 66 percent between 1929 and 1933, as countries raised tariffs and global commerce nearly halted during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicstrade1930s
2. 11

   Savings deposits in American banks fell from $48.8 billion in 1929 to $39.9 billion by 1933 as panicked citizens withdrew their money during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicsfinance1930s
3. 10

   Automobile production in the United States plummeted 75 percent between 1929 and 1932, collapsing the auto industry and triggering mass layoffs during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicmanufacturingdecline
4. 09

   Bread lines in major cities during the early 1930s sometimes stretched for several blocks, with desperate families waiting hours for free meals provided by charities and municipal governments.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicssocial1930s
5. 08

   Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs employed 3.3 million workers through the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1942, addressing mass joblessness during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicsgovernmentemployment
6. 07

   Dust Bowl conditions destroyed 100 million acres of farmland across the Great Plains during the 1930s, forcing approximately 2.5 million people to migrate westward during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareenvironmentalagriculturemigration
7. 06

   Suicide rates in the United States increased by 22 percent between 1929 and 1932, reflecting the psychological toll of the Great Depression on American society.

   the Great DepressionMay 14sharehistoryeconomicshealth
8. 05

   Bank failures surged to 9,000 institutions between 1930 and 1933, wiping out the life savings of millions of Americans during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 14shareeconomicshistorycrisis
9. 04

   Stock market losses totaled approximately 90 percent from 1929 to 1932, erasing roughly $30 billion in wealth during the Great Depression.

   the Great DepressionMay 13shareeconomicsfinancehistory
10. 03

    Agricultural prices collapsed by 60 percent between 1929 and 1933, devastating American farmers during the Great Depression and triggering massive rural migration westward.

    the Great DepressionMay 13shareeconomicsagriculturehistory
11. 02

    Hoovervilles, makeshift shanytowns named after President Herbert Hoover, housed hundreds of thousands of homeless Americans throughout the 1930s Great Depression.

    the Great DepressionMay 13sharehistoryhousingeconomy
12. 01

    By 1933, unemployment in the United States reached 25 percent during the Great Depression, leaving roughly 13 million Americans without jobs.

    the Great DepressionMay 13sharehistoryeconomicsmeasurement