
When did the Great Depression start and end?
August 1929 – 1939The Great Depression / Time period
What started the Great Depression in 1930?
The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of 1929 and was made worse by the 1930s Dust Bowl. President Franklin D.
In what decade of the 20th century was the Great Depression?
1930sThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations; in most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
What decade was the Great Depression quizlet?
-The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.
What were the 4 main causes of the Great Depression?
However, many scholars agree that at least the following four factors played a role.The stock market crash of 1929. During the 1920s the U.S. stock market underwent a historic expansion. ... Banking panics and monetary contraction. ... The gold standard. ... Decreased international lending and tariffs.
What were the 5 causes of the Great Depression?
of 05. Stock Market Crash of 1929. Workers flood the streets in a panic following the Black Tuesday stock market crash on Wall Street, New York City, 1929. ... of 05. Bank Failures. ... of 05. Reduction in Purchasing Across the Board. ... of 05. American Economic Policy With Europe. ... of 05. Drought Conditions.
Will a Great Depression happen again?
For many years, ITR Economics has been forecasting that a second Great Depression will occur in the 2030s. The road to the Great Depression will be consequential in and of itself, with many opportunities and changes presenting themselves.
How did Great Depression end?
Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defense jobs. World War Two affected the world and the United States profoundly; it continues to influence us even today.
Who is to blame for the Great Recession of 2008?
The Biggest Culprit: The Lenders Most of the blame is on the mortgage originators or the lenders. That's because they were responsible for creating these problems. After all, the lenders were the ones who advanced loans to people with poor credit and a high risk of default. 7 Here's why that happened.
How long did the Great Depression last?
120The Great Depression / Duration (months)
When and why did the Great Depression start quizlet?
Many economists agree that the Great Depression began with the Stock Market Crash in October of 1929. Stock values plummeted, stockholders were wiped out, banks and factories shut down, and millions of Americans were left jobless and penniless.
When did the Great Depression end quizlet?
It lasted for about 10 years (1929-1939).
What were the 7 Major causes of the Great Depression?
The speculative boom of the 1920s. ... Stock market crash of 1929. ... Oversupply and overproduction problems. ... Low demand, high unemployment. ... Missteps by the Federal Reserve. ... A constrained presidential response. ... An ill-timed tariff.
Who was responsible for the Great Depression?
Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover (1874-1964), America's 31st president, took office in 1929, the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression. Although his predecessors' policies undoubtedly contributed to the crisis, which lasted over a decade, Hoover bore much of the blame in the minds of the American people.
What major events happened in the 1930s?
1930 Major News Stories including first year of the great depression, Prohibition Enforcement is Strengthened, Graf Zeppelin Airship Completes Flight From Germany to Brazil, Mahatma Gandhi begins 200 mile march to the salt beds of Jalalpur to protest British Rule, 1350 banks in the US fail, Smoot-Hawley Tariff bill ...
Why is it called the Great Depression?
Previous economic downturns were generally known as "panics," but Hoover deliberately chose the word depression because he thought it sounded less alarming, according to historian William Manchester in his book, The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972.
What was the Great Depression?
The Great Depression, which began in the United States in 1929 and spread worldwide, was the longest and most severe economic downturn in modern history. It was marked by steep declines in industrial production and in prices (deflation), mass unemployment, banking panics, and sharp increases in rates of poverty and homelessness.
How did the Great Depression affect the economy?
The economic impact of the Great Depression was enormous, including both extreme human suffering and profound changes in economic policy.
What was the downturn in 1929?
The downturn became markedly worse, however, in late 1929 and continued until early 1933. Real output and prices fell precipitously. Between the peak and the trough of the downturn, industrial production in the United States declined 47 percent and real gross domestic product (GDP) fell 30 percent.
When did Japan's price decline?
Virtually every industrialized country endured declines in wholesale prices of 30 percent or more between 1929 and 1933. Because of the greater flexibility of the Japanese price structure, deflation in Japan was unusually rapid in 1930 and 1931.
What were the factors that affected the economy in the 1930s?
Four factors played roles of varying importance. (1) The stock market crash of 1929 shattered confidence in the American economy, resulting in sharp reductions in spending and investment. (2) Banking panics in the early 1930s caused many banks to fail, decreasing the pool of money available for loans. (3) The gold standard required foreign central ...
Where was the worst depression in the world?
The Depression was particularly long and severe in the United States and Europe; it was milder in Japan and much of Latin America. Perhaps not surprisingly, the worst depression ever experienced by the world economy stemmed from a multitude of causes.
When did the French industrial production drop?
French industrial production and prices both fell substantially between 1933 and 1936. Germany ’s economy slipped into a downturn early in 1928 and then stabilized before turning down again in the third quarter of 1929. The decline in German industrial production was roughly equal to that in the United States.
When did the Great Depression start?
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across the world; in most countries, it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
How did the Great Depression affect the world?
The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor countries. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade fell by more than 50%.
What happened in 1930?
By May 1930, automobile sales declined to below the levels of 1928. Prices, in general, began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930. Then a deflationary spiral started in 1931. Farmers faced a worse outlook; declining crop prices and a Great Plains drought crippled their economic outlook.
How did Iceland's economy end after World War I?
Icelandic post-World War I prosperity came to an end with the outbreak of the Great Depression. The Depression hit Iceland hard as the value of exports plummeted. The total value of Icelandic exports fell from 74 million kronur in 1929 to 48 million in 1932, and was not to rise again to the pre-1930 level until after 1939. Government interference in the economy increased: "Imports were regulated, trade with foreign currency was monopolized by state-owned banks, and loan capital was largely distributed by state-regulated funds". Due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, which cut Iceland's exports of saltfish by half, the Depression lasted in Iceland until the outbreak of World War II (when prices for fish exports soared).
What did economists believe about the Great Depression?
At the beginning of the Great Depression, most economists believed in Say's law and the equilibrating powers of the market, and failed to understand the severity of the Depression. Outright leave-it-alone liquidationism was a common position, and was universally held by Austrian School economists.
How much was unemployment in Britain in 1937?
By 1937, unemployment in Britain had fallen to 1.5 million. The mobilization of manpower following the outbreak of war in 1939 ended unemployment. When the United States entered the war in 1941, it finally eliminated the last effects from the Great Depression and brought the U.S. unemployment rate down below 10%.
What was the effect of the Great Depression on the economy?
economy was the factor that pulled down most other countries at first; then, internal weaknesses or strengths in each country made conditions worse or better.
What was the Great Depression?
PHOTO GALLERIES. The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, ...
What happened in the 1930s?
In 1930, severe droughts in the Southern Plains brought high winds and dust from Texas to Nebraska, killing people, livestock and crops.
How many people were looking for work in 1930?
Despite assurances from President Herbert Hoover and other leaders that the crisis would run its course, matters continued to get worse over the next three years. By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931.
What were the programs of the New Deal?
Among the programs and institutions of the New Deal that aided in recovery from the Great Depression were the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built dams and hydroelectric projects to control flooding and provide electric power to the impoverished Tennessee Valley region, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a permanent jobs program that employed 8.5 million people from 1935 to 1943.
How many people were unemployed during the Great Depression?
By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed.
How many shares were traded on October 29th?
Five days later, on October 29 or “Black Tuesday,” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (with borrowed money) were wiped out completely.
When did the banking panic start?
In the fall of 1930 , the first of four waves of banking panics began, as large numbers of investors lost confidence in the solvency of their banks and demanded deposits in cash, forcing banks to liquidate loans in order to supplement their insufficient cash reserves on hand.
What was the Great Depression?
Key Takeaways. The Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, deemed the worst of its kind in the 20 th century. Black Thursday launched the stock market crash of 1929, which kicked off the Great Depression. A severe drought along with bad farming practices led to the Dust Bowl, worsening the economic outlook of many Americans.
How long did the Great Depression last?
The Great Depression lasted from August 1929 to June 1938, almost 10 years. The economy started to shrink in August 1929, months before the stock market crash in October of that year. 1. The economy began growing again in 1938, but unemployment remained higher than 10% until 1941. That's when the United States entered World War II.
What did Congress do in January?
January: Congress created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to lend $2 billion to financial institutions to prevent further failures. 10 In July, Congress authorized it to lend money to states for relief.
How many bank failures occurred in 1929?
There were more than 650 bank failures in 1929, part of a trend of such failures throughout the 1920s. As banks failed, it reduced the money supply because there was less credit available. That meant each dollar was worth more. As the value of the dollar rose, prices fell, which reduced revenue for businesses.
What was the New Deal?
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was an economic recovery plan that instituted programs for relief and reform.
What was the Dust Storm in 1935?
A dust storm approaches Stratford, Texas, April 1935. George E. Marsh Album/NOAA. Signs of economic depression begin around the world. After struggling with low growth and recession in the late 1920s, Great Britain sinks deeper into a drastic depression.
What happened on October 24th 1929?
The market goes into a free fall, and a wild rush to sell stocks begins. On October 24, known as Black Thursday, panicked investors sell a record 13 million shares of stock.
What was the WPA in the 1930s?
Museums in the United States were among the beneficiaries of Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs during the 1930s. The WPA was an agency of the New Deal. Great Museums Television ( A Britannica Publishing Partner) Recovery in the United States begins.
What is the Great Plains drought?
In the United States at this time, the Great Plains suffers a severe drought that lasts several years. Conditions in this region—referred to as the Dust Bowl —worsen when heavy dust storms hit, carrying the soil into the air and creating “black blizzards.”.
What was the New Deal?
President Roosevelt’s New Deal establishes programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), to provide federal aid and temporary jobs. Other agencies are established to revitalize business and agriculture.
When did the banking panic start?
Fall of 1930. The first of four banking panics begins. A banking panic occurs when people who had deposited their money in banks lose confidence in the security of the banks and withdraw their cash. The United States experiences three more banking panics, in the spring of 1931, in the fall of 1931, and in the fall of 1932.
Where was Hooverville located?
1930–31. Hooverville. A shantytown, also known as a Hooverville (named for U.S. President Herbert Hoover), was located in Seattle, Washington, during the Great Depression. The photograph dates from about 1932 to 1937. Washington State Archives/Digital Archives.

Summary
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression between 1929 and 1939 that began after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September 4, 1929, and became known worldwide on Black Tuesday, the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. The economic shock transmitted across the world, impacting countries to varying degrees, with most countries experiencing the Great Depression from 1929. The Great D…
Overview
After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped from 381 to 198 over the course of two months, optimism persisted for some time. The stock market rose in early 1930, with the Dow returning to 294 (pre-depression levels) in April 1930, before steadily declining for years, to a low of 41 in 1932.
At the beginning, governments and businesses spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the co…
Causes
The two classic competing economic theories of the Great Depression are the Keynesian (demand-driven) and the Monetarist explanation. There are also various heterodox theories that downplay or reject the explanations of the Keynesians and monetarists. The consensus among demand-driven theories is that a large-scale loss of confidence led to a sudden reduction in consumption and investment spending. Once panic and deflation set in, many people believed they could avoid fur…
The gold standard and the spreading of global depression
The gold standard was the primary transmission mechanism of the Great Depression. Even countries that did not face bank failures and a monetary contraction first hand were forced to join the deflationary policy since higher interest rates in countries that performed a deflationary policy led to a gold outflow in countries with lower interest rates. Under the gold standard's price–specie flow mechanism, countries that lost gold but nevertheless wanted to maintain the gold standar…
Turning point and recovery
In most countries of the world, recovery from the Great Depression began in 1933. In the U.S., recovery began in early 1933, but the U.S. did not return to 1929 GNP for over a decade and still had an unemployment rate of about 15% in 1940, albeit down from the high of 25% in 1933.
There is no consensus among economists regarding the motive force for the U.S. economic expansion that continued through most of the Roosevelt years (and the 1937 recession that inter…
Socio-economic effects
The majority of countries set up relief programs and most underwent some sort of political upheaval, pushing them to the right. Many of the countries in Europe and Latin America that were democracies saw them overthrown by some form of dictatorship or authoritarian rule, most famously in Germany in 1933. The Dominion of Newfoundland gave up democracy voluntarily.
Australia's dependence on agricultural and industrial exports meant it was one of the hardest-hi…
Literature
The Great Depression has been the subject of much writing, as authors have sought to evaluate an era that caused both financial and emotional trauma. Perhaps the most noteworthy and famous novel written on the subject is The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the work, and in 1962 was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers who are forced from the…
Naming
The term "The Great Depression" is most frequently attributed to British economist Lionel Robbins, whose 1934 book The Great Depression is credited with formalizing the phrase, though Hoover is widely credited with popularizing the term, informally referring to the downturn as a depression, with such uses as "Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement" (December 1930, Message to Congress), and "I need not recount to you that th…