Causes of the Great Depression

1. Causes of the Great Depression 8-6.3

2. I. Agriculture Decline • During WWI, SC made money from cotton and crops. • When the war ends, the prices drop. • The boll weevil destroyed much of the cotton. • This actually helped one year because it lowered the supply. • Like rice, cotton was no longer a viable staple crop. • Lowcountry farmers began growing peaches or raising livestock.

3. II. Economic Decline • During WWI, farmers borrowed lots of money to buy land, equipment, & pesticides to kill boll weevils. • Lower prices made it impossible to repay those loans. • Banks began to foreclose on homes and farms. • Even after taking the property, banks were closing b/c they had no money even before the stock market crash.

4. II. Economic Decline • Ex-farmers either became sharecroppers or emigrated out of SC. • White farmers tried to get jobs in the mills. • The textile industry also declined b/c: • War demand was over. • Synthetic fibers were replacing cotton. • International competition. • Lowering tariffs.

5. II. Economic Decline • More mills actually opened here b/c the mills were closing in the North. • SC offered cheap, non-union labor. • Mill villages improved by adding electricity & water. • They tried to make more money by using “speed-up” and “stretch-out.” • Run the machines faster. • Use less people to do the same amount of work.

6. II. Economic Decline • Wages stayed low. • Factories overproduced cloth as workers were laid off. • They now made less money so they could buy less stuff.