John T. McCutcheon: “A Wise Economist Asks A Question” Cartoon

The Images, Cartoons, and Other Visual Sources That Shaped America
Table of Contents
John T. McCutcheon: “A Wise Economist Asks A Question” Cartoon
Overview
About the Artist
Document Image
Context
Explanation and Analysis of theDocument
https://doi.org/10.3735/9781935306733.book-part-078

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Abstract

In the early years of the Great Depression of the 1930s, large swathes of the American public were left virtually destitute. The economic collapse began in 1929, when the U.S. stock market crashed and billions of dollars in investments were lost. In the months that followed, people were trapped by unemployment and debt, in large part through a cycle of bank failures. In the first ten months of 1930, more than 700 banks failed. In 1932, the year of this cartoon by John T. McCutcheon, more than 1,400 banks failed, and the number rose to 4,000 in 1933. In all, some 9,000 banks failed during the decade.

Contents