The causes of the Great Depression were stock market speculation. “ stock Market Speculation was when exchange became a better ring where people gambled on stocks in much the same fashion that gamblers wagered on roulette horse races.”(Douncument C)It was a big deal because many people lost their stocks and people lost their stocks in auction that is one reason why the Great Depression started. The Depression was caused by three main things buying on margin ,unemployment and stock speculation. Other reasons why the Great Depression started was because of buying on margin. Buying on margin was “The additional money needed to cover the purchase was supplied by the broker who obtained these funds from a bank with which he had deposited his consumer