What Caused The Great Depression Essay

The Great Depression began with the famous stock market crash known as “Black Tuesday” and later went on to rapidly develop into one of the most dramatic economic declines in the history of Westernized society. Two of the main causes of the Great Depression were the abuse of the stock market and the general distrust of banks instilled within the American public, which led to the decline of the American economy. President Herbert Hoover, elected in 1928, was a firm believer of rugged individualism and that the economy has natural cycles, which prompted him to employ a “wait and see” approach with the American people when the Depression hit. Soon after, President FDR won the 1932 election by a landslide and enacted a collection of programs

The context of the great depression is world war 1 the great world was fought in europe leaving the us economy untouched this allowed the u.s to become a trading giant as they began to mass produce everything. After evaluating and weighing the evidence installment buying and the stock market crash were the major causes of the great depression. Before the great depression having debt was no longer shameful because of this people kept buying and buying, 3 out of 4 radios were on installment plans and 60 percent of automobiles and furniture were also on plans. They were buying faster than their income was expanding. As time went on it was only a matter of time before purchases would slow down, with these purchases slowing down the cutback slapped the whole economy (doc 6).

Government policies and their lack of intervention are also responsible for the strike of disaster. A report sent to Roosevelt by the Great Plains Drought Area Committee about the causes of the dust storm disasters concluded that the public homesteading act was greatly at fault (267). The homesteading policy and the stimulation of war time demands “led to over cropping and over grazing, and encouragement of a system of agriculture which could not be both permanent and prosperous “ (Egan, 267). War time demand was sought to drive up prices that stimulated record production. But by 1930 prices plummeted and led farmers to plow even more land in attempt to break even.

Farmers were struggling greatly after the Great Depression because nobody could pay for their crops, and their land was too expensive for them to pay for it. Although, the Federal government created the Agricultural Adjustment Act which stated, “They paid farmers to reduce the amount of crops they planted, in order to cut excess production”(Kantor’s Website). They used the method of supply and demand to help build back up the world of farming. The government would help them pay for the amount of time that they were having to miss farming, but the prices on the crops would increase drastically. These financial crises were lifted off of the

The 31st United States President: Herbert Hoover Introduction Even though 31st President of the United States Herbert Hoover was a good man in some ways, he made some choices that weren't the smartest ones. Herbert Hoover’s presidency went on from March 4, 1929, to March 4, 1933. His one term that he served was famously noted for the massive stock crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Early Life Herbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1879.

On October 29th 1929, the United States of America fell into an all consuming state of fear. The crash of the stock market and the economic tribulations that rural United Statians were facing resulted in the Great Depression. No matter where one would he or she would encounter a plague of despair and people looking for the same jobs that no longer existed. People left their homes hungry for opportunities but would end up with starving for not only a small sum or money but a morsel of food as well.

The Great Depression hit the citizens of America in 1930 and created havoc on farmer’s crop profits (Tarshis 8). The banks began to close and lose money. Wheat prices dropped and life for the settlers of the Great Plains became harsh. There was no money circulating throughout the economy given that no one in the region had any to spend without the sales of their crops (Henderson). Families became poor and could no longer manage their farms.

The wealth during the 1920s left Americans unprepared for the economic depression they would face in the 1930s. The Great Depression occurred because of overproduction by farmers and factories, consumption of goods decreased, uneven distribution of wealth, and overexpansion of credit. Hoover was president when the depression first began, and he maintained the government’s laissez-faire attitude in the economy. However, after the election of FDR in 1932, his many alphabet soup programs in his first one hundred days in office addressed the nation’s need for change.

In 1929, the U.S. was hit with the worst economic crisis in the history of the country, the Great Depression. The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and cost millions their life's savings. The Depression lasted for ten long years for the American people. Since the Great Depression ended, people have studied it, trying to figure out what happened that started it all. The problem was, in fact, the poor economic habits of the people at the time, such as speculation, income maldistribution, and overproduction.

The Great Depression was a major turning point for the United States’s economy because it changed the relationship between the government and the economy. Before the Great Depression, the economy was a Laissez-faire style market where the government had no influence on private party transactions and businesses. After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the people of the United States sought for reliefs from the government. The Government responded by creating tax reforms, benefiting the stock market, wheat prices, employment, and the number of bank suspensions, and providing comfort for the people. As a result of their disparity, the people put their trust in the government in hopes that they would repair the broken economy.

During the Great Depression the unemployment rate went up, they were forced to eat at soup kitchens or go through garbage cans for food, and they even had to build shelter out of cardboard. The first underlying cause of the Great Depression was underconsumption and overproduction. Many things contributed to the underconsumption of goods. The production line kept producing goods even when people could not afford to buy them.

During the depression, agricultural product prices continued to drop. When Roosevelt became president, one of the first issues he addressed was the “farm problem.” He would go and visit these poor farmers and promise some type of change. Roosevelt created the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, which brought immediate change and provided crop reduction. This Act paid farmers not to plant, in exchange for cash payments.

The industrialization of America led to lots of new technology for farming being developed, which further drove farmers into debt. New plows and tools were created and although they made farming significantly easier, they were also very expensive. Farmers were forced to buy these tools by their landlords and they struggled to find cheaper ways to compete with larger farms. Unlike farmers earlier in the century, these farmers did not grow many crops, even for sustenance. Instead, they grew only a couple cash crops, which could bring a lot of money, but also could bring in none if there was a drought or other problem.

Beginning in 1929 a worldwide economic downturn the Great Depression began. It was the longest depression ever experienced lasting until about 1939. The Depression started in the United States, however because of the drastic declines in productivity, unemployment, and deflation the Great Depression was felt in almost every country around the world. Only the Civil War ranks ahead of the Great Depression as the gravest crisis in the history of the United States of America.

Nishat kazi (Muniya) 11th grade The Great Depression was one of the worst downturn of economy in the history that took place during the 1930s. It had a catastrophic effect in countries on both rich and poor. Though there are a lot of causes behind the Great Depression,the main three causes were-1.Bank failure 2.Stock market crash 3.laissez faire.