What Are The Underlying Causes Of The Great Depression

America had experienced other depressions or “panics,” but none were like the Great Depression. The Great Depression began on October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, with the stock market crashing. Most people believe that the cause of the Great Depression was the stock market crashing. Although that is what triggered the Great Depression there were many underlying causes that lead up to the stock market crashing. Some of the underlying causes include under-consumption/over-production, uneven distribution of wealth, loose banking and corporate regulations, tariffs policies, and the stock market. During the Great Depression the unemployment rate went up, they were forced to eat at soup kitchens or go through garbage cans for food, and they even had to build shelter out of cardboard. The first underlying cause of the Great Depression was underconsumption and overproduction. Many things contributed to the underconsumption of goods. The production line kept producing goods even when people could not afford to buy them. This created extra goods lowering the prices of the goods. The skills of the

Unrestrained speculation and margin buying were the two big things in the Stock Market. Speculators bought stocks with money they borrowed. They would used those stocks as collateral to buy more stock. So if that person could not repay the loan, they would forfeit their stocks. Margin buying was a way of attracting the less wealthy to buy stocks. It allowed investors to purchase a stock for only a fraction of its price and borrow the rest. Brokers charged high interest and could demand payment of the loan at any time. If the stock went up, you could pull your money out to pay off the loan and interest charges and still make money. This contributed to the Great Depression because the majority of people were not wealthy. So when the market high, everyone pulls out to make money and pay off loans, it sends the market