Causes of the Great Depression Essay

One economic policy was that “the Federal Reserve had raised interest rates in hopes of slowing the rapid rise in stock prices” (Romer, 3). At the time the “stock prices had risen more than fourfold from the low of 1920”

The Great Depression started in 1929 and lasted up until 1939. It happens to be the worst economic downturn for the United States and the the rest of the world. It caused companies and corporations to eventually go bankrupt as well as workers to be laid off. Another effect of The Great Depression is that factory production was reduced, and the banks started to shut down. In the lowest point of The Great Depression in 1933 nearly 15 million workers in America were unemployed and one half of the banks started shutting down.

There are some main causes The great depression, first in 1934 per week They made $ 4.80 per week and They paid $ 3 by The incomes of Their Homes, all that happened to Birmingham Alabama in 1934, in Chicago everything rises for The men and The women for the food , And then spent $ 1.10 that was spent on food in stores, The three cases are The three cases were The financial downfall, low wages, and unemployment.

The majority of individuals trust that the stock exchange crash that happened on October 29, 1929 is the main source of the Great Depression. The stock market accident was not the sole reason for the Great Depression, but rather it acted to quicken the worldwide economic breakdown of which it was additionally a symptom. Numerous components prompted the Depression. One of which being bank failures, another the global downturn, and dry season conditions.

The great Depression was a major crash in the history of the United States. The crash of the stock market in October 1929 was the significant cause of the great depression. People began to panic and big businesses were not able to handle the outcome. As a result, many companies dismissed workers, which left the workers with no money. People halted to purchase goods and businesses were running in loss. Furthermore, after the world war one, many European nations owed huge amount of money to the United States. The economy of these nations was shattered and had no way of paying back the

There are many beliefs and reasons why the Great Depression happened and when did it occur. Overall the strongest belief of what caused the Great Depression was the crash of the stock market. Along with the the crash of the stock market other reasons of why the Great Depression happened were suggested to do overproduction, buying installments, and purchasing stocks.

The Great Depression was a dreadful worldwide economic depression that occurred in the 1930s and it was the most profound and longest depression in the American History, which lasted from 1929-1939. Although the Great Depression began soon after the crash of the stock market in October 1929, it is too straightforward to say that that was the major cause of the Great Depression. This crash did not by itself cause the Great Depression. Even before the year 1929, signs of economic trouble had become evident. (Give Me Liberty! An American History, 5TH Edition, Eric Foner, Pg 811).

Schweikart and Allen cite the Federal Reserve Policies and acts such as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act as the only reasons for the

economy, people began buying stocks on the margin. They would borrow most of the stock’s price from a stockbroker and only pay a little bit of the price. If the stock prices kept rising, this system would work well, but if the prices fell, people could not pay the loan back. Near the end of the 1929 year, prices were too high, so people wanted to sell their stocks. They thought the prices would lower soon. Stock prices did go lower and people were not buying. They all wanted to sell their stocks. Prices went even lower on October 29, where 16 million stocks were sold. This caused the collapse of the market.

<br>Stock prices had been rising steadily since 1921, but in 1928 and 1929 they surged forward, with the average price of stocks rising over 40 percent. The stock market was totally unregulated. Margin buying in particular proceeded at a feverish pace as customers borrowed up to 75 percent of the purchase price of stocks. That easy credit lured more speculators and less creditworthy investors

Secondly, speculators would buy short-term loans to purchase stock and would quickly resell their shares at a higher price to pay off these loans. Thus, many debts went unpaid. Third, the lifesavings of many Americans disappeared because investors were speculating with their money (Keene, 661). Beginning on October 21 and ending on October 29 in 1929, stock prices plummeted drastically. The economic elements during this time caused a lot of panic.

In the 1920s, American economy had a great time. The vast majority of Americans in 1929 foresaw a continuation of the dizzying economic growth that had taken place in most of the decade. However, the prices of stock crested in early September of 1929. The price of stock fell gradually during most of September and early October. On “Black Tuesday” 29 October 1929, the stock market fell by forty points. After that, a historically great and long economic depression started and lasted until the start of the Second World War. The three causes of the Great Depression are installment buying, uneven distribution of wealth and the irrational behavior in the stock market.

Many people think that the Great Depression was caused solely by the stock market crash. Anybody who tells you this probably didn’t pass U.S. History in high school. The fact is, the Great Depression was caused many different factors. Four of which were overproduction, uneven distribution of wealth, protective tariffs, and the four “sick industries” of the 1920’s.

The first and most obvious known factor in the development of The Great Depression is the stock market crash of 1929. The Money Alert website

The cause was the New York Times headlines made many foreign investors start to panic on the stock market decline, and the widespread fraud in the aftermath. More and more investors began to withdraw from the stock market. The financial invention allowed people to borrow money from the broker to buy stocks. It made the irrational exuberance in 20th century. While