The Great Depression was caused by the brash approach towards the county’s own stock market and wealth. A political cartoon has depicted what seems to be Uncle Sam resting safely in the luxuries of America, clearly not caring about any possible declines or threats to the nation (Doc O). In the cartoon one can tell that the country was blinded by its pride in the economy that they were not able to prepare themselves for any sort of economic decline, therefore worsening any small detail of future decline. Another case of careless spending by an overly prideful nation can be seen again as the nation’s stock prices went up due to insane amounts of competitive bidding. Harry J. Carman and Harold C. Syrett clearly wrote in A History of the American …show more content…
William E. Leuchtenburg wrote in The Perils of Prosperity, “With debt no longer regarded as shameful, people bought on installment…consumers bought goods on installment at a rate faster than their income was expanding,” (Doc H). American citizens made being in debt the new normal, it has released the stigma of being in debt. This caused the citizens to not care on how much they are spending, they did not realize the damage it would cause in the near future. The American people normalized being in debt, and made it seem as though it was okay to be in debt. This is clearly not true, as more people become debt ridden, it not only affects them but also the economy of the nation. The more debts of the citizens, the deeper the downfall of the American economy. Not only is this completely illogical, it is also not the only case of ignorant and completely unfounded spending of the nation’s wealth. In February of 1930, Fortune advertises a new boat, and the ad states, “One man pays $35,000 for a boat, another $10,000. One has a special design, the other a stock model. Yet each is as fine a craft as the finest materials and the best skill can produce,” (Doc J). The price difference in the two boats, that are nearly identical, is absolutely mind-blowing. It is a clear case in which consumers will overspend to get what they seem is the best. Consumers are pulled into the trap of “special designs” as an excuse to overspend on items that can be sold at a lower market value, but they choose not to. Consumers overspending thus will lead to debt, which stated before, no one cared about being in debt. Not only did they overspend on items that were worth less than they were sold at, the American people would continue to buy until they could no more, causing a bill that could end up being higher than any normal citizen could afford. X Elmer Davis explains in ‘If Hoover Fails,’ in Harpers Monthly in 1929, that, “We,