We Can Attest To Machiavelli's The Great Depression

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.

The Great Depression was an economic downturn in America that lasted from 1929 until about 1939, making it the longest lasting depression ever experienced by the industrialized world. The stock market crash caused a chain reaction that involved problems such as unemployment, deflation, an increase in debt, and general poverty for lower class citizens. Attempts at escaping the depression weren’t altogether successful. In fact, most of the efforts resulted in high consumer debt as well as over optimistic loans given to the public by banks and business investors. The Depression caused severe political changes in the US as well as its obvious economic failures. After three years of the depression, Herbert Hoover lost the presidential election

The Great Depression of the 1930’s was caused by many problems. They include overproduction, monetary policy, war debt, tariffs, the stock market crash, and unequal distribution of wealth. These each play a specific and intricate role in bringing the U.S economy to its knees.

The Great Depression was a devastating time for many Americans. From 1929 to 1932, the US experienced an economic downturn that was calamitous to the lives of many people. Millions upon millions of Americans lost everything when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. After exiting an era that left people living a life of luxury, the stock market crash came as a surprise. As a result of the stock market crash, many became unemployed and many families were being forced to close their businesses. Although there were many factors that contributed to the cause of the Great Depression, the three main causes were The Stock Market Crash of 1929, high unemployment, a decrease in consumer purchases due to being “stuffed with stuff” during the roaring twenties.

The Great Depression remains to be the worst economic slump ever in American history and one which spread practically all over the industrialized world. The Depression bombarded in late 1929 and lasted nearly a decade. Many factors elemented the depth of the widespread prosperity. However, combined, the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade remain the key of all elements.

In 1929 the Stock Market crashed was said to have “ushered in” the Great Depression. After Wall Street and the Stock Market crash of 1929, the banks began to fail. By 1933 over half of the banks in the United States had failed and went out of business. The economy came to a full stop as businesses could no longer access credit lines to purchase inventory, checks were no longer accepted as currency due to the multitude of failing financial institutions which led to an unemployment rate reported to be as much as 30 percent of the available workforce. (“First measured century: Timeline,” n.d.)

James Tobin had once stated, “The miserable failures of capitalist economies in the Great Depression were root causes of worldwide social and political disasters” (James Tobin Quotes). America has yet to face the dark ages of failing economy when the stock market crashed in the days of October 1929. From a child to a dying old man, everyone’s lifestyles were changed dramatically by the events of this period, the Great Depression. The Great Depression resulted from a combination of both domestic and worldwide conditions. The depression had afflicted every inch it passed by. Every nation, especially the United States, now have to find a way out.

The Great Depression was a time of great economic tragedy during the 1930’s. October 24, 1929 was the day of the stock market crash, causing economical shortage everywhere, even globally, and this scared everyone, including the rich. This day was/ is known as “Black Thursday”, where over 2.9 million shares were traded. On “Black Tuesday”, five days later, more than 16 million more shares were traded in another wave of panic. Many investors then lost confidence in their banks and demanded deposits in cash which forced the banks to liquidate loans in order to supplement their on hand cash reserves. By 1933, around 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. This stopped Americans from purchasing which then led to less production of goods and decreased the amount of needed human labor. In the end, millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks with borrowed money were wiped out completely.

One would say that the Great Depression is one of the darkest times in American history. The Great Depression did not only affect the United States, but also other countries who were heavily invested in the United States, such as Germany and Great Britain. Following the crash of the stock market in 1929, the level of unemployment skyrocketed and economies around the world plunged. The United States faced those dark years until about the later part of the early 1930s, when things start to head in an upward trend. Some of this success could be contributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s implementation of the New Deal in an attempt to restore confidence in the economy, and the political system. Ultimately, it would still take years until the world economy and especially the United States economy was anywhere near its pre stock market crash levels. The success of the New Deal was short lived when the economy started to take a turn downward in the late 1930s, because FDR could not get enough demand to successfully implement his New Deal. In 1939 there was another positive trend with the beginning of World War II. Although the New Deal helped to restore confidence in the economy and the political system, nevertheless it was the spending of World War II that ended the Great Depression, because it lowered the level of unemployment, increased productivity, and helped to boost the United States economy upward, although capitalism still survived.

The Great Depression was the worst period of economic decline in U.S. history. It began on October 29th, 1929, and was officially declared over, in the year 1939, once the second World War was commenced. There were many factors that both influenced, and made the Great Depression even worse. A few examples of this are: During this time period, many Americans had money invested in the stock market, and once they saw that somebody else began to sell their stocks, they sold their own. On October 29th, people began to sell their stocks at an extremely rapid rate. Due to the rapid rate of stocks being sold, people lost countless amounts of money, and eventually ran to the bank to take out whatever they had in there. However, these banks were

The Great Depression is one of the most misunderstood events in not only American history but also Great Britain, France, Germany, and many other industrialized nations. It also has had important consequences and was an extremely devastating event in America. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world. When the New York Stock Exchange crashed in October 1929, the United States dropped sharply into a major depression. The world was in wide demand for agricultural goods during World War I, but they had rapidly decreased after the war and rural America experienced a severe depression throughout most of the 1920's and even on into the 1930's.

The Great Depression was a harsh global economic depression in the decade prior World War II. The Great Depression, while it happened far before the “Great Recession” of 2008, it can be greatly compared. During the Great Depression, all income, tax revenue, and prices dropped. International trade decreased by more than 50%, and U.S. unemployment climbed to just above 25%. Industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh took the heaviest hits. While the recession of 2008 was not as drastic, it affected the world economy and resulted in a global recession more so than ever before. The percent of U.S. citizens unemployed had reached 10% as of 2009. Along with the challenges unemployment presented, consumer

Have you ever heard the saying “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” and “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”? These quotes come from George Santayana and George Bernard Shaw, these men tell how it’s common for people to repeat past mistakes. However, if people learn to look back and understand history, it’s harder to replicate disastrous actions. History is full of wars and brutish words, yet the source of all these problems come from a single issue: power. Leaders seek power in every crevice they can find. In the book, “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, Napoleon is a cruel dictator who successfully takes over a farm after running off its competitors. Major, an old pig, told the farm of a new way of living. However, after he died, Napoleon steadily took over the farm. Therefore, taking the time to understand history’s past and mistakes can be an effective weapon against repeating the same mistakes. Failure to learn outcomes in a repetition of history, as Napoleon proves, as shown in today’s life, learning from history helps resolve futures issues, and only suffering comes from problematic actions of the past.

America’s Great Depression is believed as having begun in 1929 with the Stock Market crash, and ending in 1941 with America’s entry into World War II. In order to fully comprehend the repercussions and devastating effects of the Crash of 1929, it is important to examine the factors that contributed to the catastrophic event which led to The Great Depression. The Great Depression was the worst economic slump in U.S. history, and it spread to most of the industrialized world. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920s, and the

The Great Depression is a defining moment in time for not only American, but world history. This was a time that caused political, economical, and social unrest. Not only did the Great Depression cause a world wide panic, it also caused a world wide crisis unlike any before it. This paper will analyze both the causes and the effects of the Great Depression in the United States of America.