Worst Consequence of the 1920s Banking Collapse

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I do not agree with the statement that the collapse of the banking system was the worst consequence of the depression. Personally I believe the worst repercussion of the depression was the social effect on the ordinary people of that time. The rise of poverty, joblessness, homelessness and violence showed how atrocious living through the depression was. The depression led to a mass of banks closing. From 1930 to 1930 over 10 000 banks failed. This magnitude of banks failing led to 6.8 billion dollars to be lost. Due to inflation, in today's money that would be around 60 billion dollars. This meant the money in the banks had disappeared, and so had people's life savings and investments. This life changing experience shows how extreme the depression was. One day you had money in the bank, you had a job and your house. Then the next, the banks fail due to the loss of money on the stock market, as companies couldn't get loans and people had no money, industries were failing and they had to dismiss mass workers at their factories and offices. Due to the bank losing your money then not having a job, you had no income. This meant the house you was buying or renting, would be repossed as you couldn't keep up the payments. This domino process happened to many people, as millions of people were not part of the normal housing market. Many people moved in with relatives, putting stress on their close family. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in the form of squatting, or living in vacant buildings. Yet, many took to public land and set up camp. This is where the birth of hoovervilles happened. Hoovervilles were shanty towns built in cities and towns all over the face of America. Hordes of people vacated to Hoovervilles, as in 1933 a quarter of people were unemployed, this is over 15 million people who have no constant income. This has a great affect on the sociality
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