How Did The Great Depression Affect The Economy In The 1930s

‘Black Thursday,’ the day the US stock market crashed, resulted in a massive wave of ‘depression’ that swept through the world. As the US market failed, the US looked to other nations to repay their outstanding debts. As a result of the other nations’ inability to pay, the world economy became stagnant (BBC). With the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of a ‘depression’ as “a period of low general economic activity marked especially by rising levels of unemployment” one begins to understand the social and political implications ‘The Depression’ had over the nations affected (Merriam-Webster). In John Stevenson and Chris Cook’s book, The Slump, the 1930s can be straightforwardly summarized with their characterization: “Of all periods in recent British history, the thirties have had the worst press...it retains the all-pervasive image of the ‘wasted years’ and the ‘low dishonest …show more content…
It was these initial deflationary measures that hurt major nations economies including Britain 's (Beloff). As the leader of the British in 1931, the new National Government took action as it increased income tax and cut unemployment pay by 10 per cent. These acts reduced the amount of money in circulation, and in an act to protect British industry, the Import Duties Act of 1932 only reduced trade and injured the economy further (BBC History, ‘Depression). With little money in circulation, the introduction of the Household Means Test put those in unemployment on edge and desperate for government aid. The Second Labour Government and National Government’s responses to the economic crisis made the depression far worse in Britain than it needed to be and is one of the reasons the 1930s is remembered as a time of political and social