Proceedings of the Great Depression
The great depression was the longest and most severe economic downturn experienced by the western world. It started in the United States in 1929 and lasted for a decade. The great depression devastated United States economy. During this harsh time, half of the banks failed, unemployment rose to 25% and homelessness increased dramatically. But what caused this economic crisis? Well, there is no exact answer, because the great depression happened for several reasons.
One of the causes of the great depression was rapid industrialization, which may seem counter-intuitive. During the 1910s and 1920s the U.S was undergoing rapid urbanization, because of second industrial
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The main trade partners of the U.S, western European states, were undergoing severe crises. After the peace conference of 1919, sanctions were put on Germany which did not allow German state to develop economically. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires crumbled. War debts accumulated in France and UK slowed economic output and all in all, trade in Europe decreased. Economically weak Europe was not able to provide sufficient trade with the U.S, therefore demand for American products …show more content…
American factories started cutting production, lower middle class workers were left without jobs. The amount of people who could afford the produced goods was diminishing as time went on. Desperate, unemployed people, which constituted ¼ of the U.S population, began to form into organized groups and started rioting. The stock market crash of 1929 resulted in major banks filing for bankruptcy and refusing to give out savings of ordinary Americans. Chaos ensued on the streets of major U.S population centers. Far-left and far-right groups amassed previously unheard of amounts of followers and a second civil war was again, a very possible outcome. People started selling immovable property just to afford a meal. Many who could afford it, started living in vehicles; this was in order to move around the country in hopes of finding a job. Slums started appearing in all urban centers and crime was at an all time high. The economic crisis is also affiliated with the resurgence of organized crime. No man or woman was left untouched by this catastrophe. It was not until the presidential elections of 1933 that things started to