I understand that AskHistory requires questions regarding events that took place over 20 years ago. To be clear, my question isn’t at all directed at the most recent recession.
I’m curious as to an insight into the frame of mind of Americans, and if possible, even International peoples concerns at America’s resolve to withstand such a crisis back in the 30s. Did experts fear for the country’s future during this time, like they did in 2008? Or was there an expectation that times were very tough at the moment, but it was pretty certain that the country would recover later?
The fear of economic/political collapse was real and palpable, but its reach was limited. The number of Americans who identified as members of communist or fascist parties (who did commit to a new economic system) were never enough to sway an American election or hold on to even a mayoral seat. The bottom of the Great Depression occurred in 1932-1933, so even though recovery was anemic up until 1945, the presence of recovery led to a basic amount of hope that the country would survive.
There was also a prevailing economic belief in the market cycle. Andrew Mellon, Herbert Hoover, and others believed that recovery was just around the corner, that once the economy bottomed out assets would become so cheap that they would be irresistible for investors and hiring would pick back up. That idea only began to break down circa 1932, which as I mentioned before was the bottom of the economic decline. Then, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal injected capital along with hope into the economy and the political system. The country avoided a crisis of legitimacy that plagued countries like Germany and even France and Britain to a certain degree. (In Britain, future fascist leader Oswald Mosley introduced a proto-New Deal that was rejected. Britain did not recover as quickly as the United States did.)