All my life I’ve heard about The
Great Depression that occurred in the United States after the 1929 crash of
Wall Street. The part I didn’t remember was the domino effect that occurred as
a result. Apparently the American government was in such a panic about the
depression that it called in loans to other countries and put up customs
barriers to stop imports of foreign goods. This created an economic downturn
across the globe.
In Britain, unemployment skyrocketed
to nearly 25% with over two and a half million people out of work. The industrial
areas in the north of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were most
heavily impacted. In 1936 the residents of Jarrow marched on London to protest
what was happening. The men carried a petition to the House of Commons, but the
issue was never debated. The workers trudged home believing themselves to be
failures.
On the other side of England
families were becoming affluent. In the southeast portion of the country, new
light industries such as chemicals, electrical goods and automobiles were
thriving. The people who still had jobs benefited because prices fell and their
money went further. Local councils built 500,000 council houses which further
served to pour money into the economy.
 |
| Prime Minister Ramsey MacDonald |
Just like the United States, Britain tried a variety of programs to help the country recover from the depression. However, also like the U.S., Britain's problems with unemployment and economic depression were solved with the advent of WWII which got industries back on their feet and booming.
No comments:
Post a Comment