The Great Depression Essay

The Great Depression is probably one of the most misunderstood events in American history. It is routinely cited, as proof that unregulated capitalism is not the best in the world, and that only a massive welfare state, huge amounts of economic regulation, and other interventions can save capitalism from itself. The Great Depression had important consequences and was a devastating event in America, however many good policies and programs became available as a result of the great depression, some of which exist even today.

After coming out of the Great Depression the United States could not afford to be in anymore debt. From purchasing guns, ammunitions, aircrafts, and warships, the debt was rising dramatically. While the American public supported the troops, the cost of the war would affect America for years to come.

It is a known fact that war causes inflation which makes the prices of everything go higher as well as taxes. After World War I instead of going back down the prices continued to rise which helped to contribute to the deep depression felt during the Great Depression.

If the emotional effects of the war were not enough, the war also hit the US economy. All wars throughout history have had a transformative effect on the economies of the participating nations. The Vietnam War severely impacted the United States’ economy due to the amount of product that the war required. A factory that would normally produce a consumer good would instead be used to produce bullets, uniforms, artillery, etc. all for the war effort. The GDP of the United States was altered from it's growing state in the early 60’s. The change in factory production from consumer goods to military goods caused controversy in the eyes of the people over the government’s use of economic policy. Money was going out, but no money was coming in. The US progressively saw more and more change to its economy. War brings on, debt and bills in large

When World War I ended the United States was in a recession and millions of veterans were looking for jobs and it was weighted on the war contracts. There was also a shortage in food and products that were not being produced which caused high prices and inflation. The cost of living also doubled and that caused major stress for all Americans. The Americans had little patience for what was happening with the economy. They just wanted to forget about the war and start over. The majority of the American believed that the business sector was going help the recession. The Americans were afraid that the communists might be able to succeed and come into America.

The great depression was a period of unpredicted decline in the economy. It occurred between 1929-1939 when the stock market crashed. During this period prices skyrocketed so high that many were forced out of business or had to sell to make a profit to provide for their families. As well as many farmers faced harsh times due to the weather being so dry they were unable to harvest crops to make profit to sell to support their families. The biggest cause of the Great Depression was the banks which played a huge role in the depression because they oversaw the money and interest rates.

WWI made business boom in America. The European countries were at war, farms over there were torn up. They couldn't grow their own food, so the U.S. grew it for them. For big bucks too. People who grew the food used the money to expand their land and ways to farm it. When America was brought into the war, prices for a bushel of wheat jumped from 93 cents to $2.20. The wheat growers took this as an opportunity to get rich. In order to do that first they had to borrow money from the bank. If they could not pay back the money by the agreed upon date, the bank could take the land and machinery the people took the money to pay for. At first it worked. More money than ever flew in, then the war ended, peace returned, and in time Europe's agriculture

This marked the beginning of the twelve year long Great Depression which had a devastating affect on most of the countries. After World War I, America had a rise in wealthy people and industrialized products. There was a big overproduction of agriculture, many businesses started to slow down, and people started to build up many debts. Despite all these signs of trouble the market still seemed to keep thriving fast. America was very unprepared for the crash when it happened because its economy was crucial for the rest of the world to survive. Most of Europe and Asia depended on America’s good economy. So after America’s economy crashed the whole world went after with very little signs of recovery.

The Great Depression is one of the darkest periods in America’s history. It was a time of despair for all Americans. The Great Depression was caused by various reasons. It also had many effects which left an impact on America still up to this day. At that time, there was no abundance of anything: not jobs, not food, and certainly not an abundance of money, but there was surely an abundance of sadness. America had no hope since the money was a thin, green line. The Great Depression impacted the economy, unemployment rate, other foreign countries, and the many lives of the people. The monstrosity officially began on October 29, 1929.

The Great Depression was one of the darkest economic times in American history, that ultimately helped the nation reinvent itself. The three main cause of the Great Depression were Uneven wealth distribution, Major consumer debt, and Speculation by many investors.

The World War One is simply referred as the “European War”. It was mainly the conflict between two opposing forces (England, France, Russia versus Germany, Austria…etc). At first, the World War One was in fact beneficial for the American Economies. The States sold a lot of weaponry and machinery to the competing countries (like Europe). However, the major consuming countries like England and Germany weren’t able to afford all those materials, so the U.S. sold the products on credit. Eventually, the war abruptly ended and there was the result of an enormous International debt that cannot be repaid. Many European countries owned a lot of debt to American banks. Unfortunately, the U.S. government refused to lower neither the loan rate nor the amount of debt. That is the point when all the economic and financial foundation began to collapse.

The years before the Great Depression were full of economic prosperity among people in both the United States and Great Britain. The 1920s was an era of extreme wealth amongst a number of people. Wall Street took over the role of the financial capital of the world, a title that previously belonged to London. The confidence that many stockbrokers held caused market speculation, insane increase in share prices, and

World War I also effected the economy of United States and the World economy. Stock market crashed in October 1929 in United States, and it marked the beginning of the great depression. Thousands of banks and businesses failed during this time. Agricultural production fell, and unemployment rose quickly. Unemployment commonly exceeded twenty five percent. In 1933 one out of every four American workers was out of a job. Since World War I effected the economies of almost all the countries, the world trade fell off and countries turned to nationalist economic policies that only provoked the problem. Prices of everything were so high that money sometimes was more useful to burn than to spend. Counties had over 280, 000 million dollars in expense during war. The costs of World War I was too big to pay for the world, and the economy of almost all the countries fell down.

Coming out of the Great Depression, production for the war effort stimulated the economy. Draftees-cum-GI's left for war, and women took over factory jobs. Prosperity was returning. And, most importantly, the War was Over There.

The world would go through what is classified as one of the most devastating events throughout history, from 1929 – 1939. During that time period, the world experienced the Great depression. The Great Depression was a time of severe economic downturn, which had a worldwide effect. It was by far the most devastating thing that the civilized world had ever seen. The depression began in within, the United States of America as a recession in the very beginning of 1929. As 1929 continued, the prices of goods and items began to fall at a consistent rate. This went on for about 4 years. There are several reasons why the Great Depression was caused such as; the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, reduced amount of consumers making purchases, the American economic policy with Europe, and sever drought conditions.