Have you heard stories from your parents or grandparents about the conditions and effects of the Great Depression? Many people that suffered through the Great Depression feel that the people of today don’t appreciate all that they have. There were some world wide effects caused by this historical event.

There were signs of economic trouble in many countries including the United States in 1928. The big fall came in October of 1929 when the stock market came crashing down. This date is often referred to as Black Tuesday. The trickle down effect of the money not coming in affected everyone. Companies closed down production as people weren’t able to buy their goods. Stores had to shut their doors locally as well. People all over were out of work and barely able to keep food on the table.

Farmers struggled to make ends meet even though they were still growing crops. They were only about to sell them though for less than what they were used to. As a result many of them lost their land. Those that kept it farmed less land as they couldn’t afford to continue getting the supplies. In many instances they chose only to grow enough to feed their own families for survival.

The effects of the Great Depression continued to become more desperate. It didn’t seem like the world would ever be able to rebound from it. Ironically, it was the amount of jobs created by the emergence of World War II that helped people to get back on their feet. War is seldom considered to be good economically, but it was. People were able to have money again and they started to buy things like they once did.

For the many that lived though the era of the Great Depression they never forgot the impact. They continued to put money away and to expect such a fall to occur again. Many of them saved their money in jars or under bed mattresses. They didn’t want to trust the banks and then not be able to get their money if things in the economy didn’t survive once again.

Today our economy is in trouble. Some are aimlessly going about their everyday lives as if every day is the same as the last – others are preparing for the storm ahead. Are you one that is prepared, or do you believe the governments of the world are going to ‘save’ us?