What Caused The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a time of great economic crisis during the 1930s. It began in the United States, but quickly spread throughout much of the world. During this time, many people were out of work, hungry, and homeless. In the city, people would stand in long lines at soup kitchens to get a bite to eat. In the country, farmers struggled in the Midwest where a great drought turned the soil into dust causing huge dust storms. The Great Depression began with the crash of the stock market in October of 1929. Historians and economists give various causes for the Great Depression including drought, overproduction of goods, bank failures, stock speculation, and consumer debt.
There wasn't one event or a single factor that caused the Great Depression. It took a number of conditions all happening at once to make the economy go so bad. The start of the Great Depression is usually considered the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The market crashed from "over speculation." This is when stocks become worth a lot more than the actual value of the company. People were buying stocks on credit from the banks, but the rise in the market wasn't based on reality. When the economy began to slow, stocks began to fall. In October of 1929, people panicked and began selling stocks like crazy. The stock market crashed and many people lost …show more content…
Most historians point to World War II. When the war began, factories went back to full production building war supplies such as tanks, airplanes, ships, guns, and ammunition. Unemployment dropped as young men joined the army and people went to work in the factories. Other people give credit to the New Deal programs of the 1930s for ending the depression. No doubt, there were a lot of factors that helped to get the U.S. economy going again. World War II, government regulations, a new banking system, and the end of the drought in the Midwest all contributed to the recovery of the