What Caused The Great Depression Essay

Introduction

The Great Depression was a worldwide economic recession, considered the worst downturn in the economy of the industrialized Western world. Both its duration, lasting from 1929 until 1939 or 1941, when the United States (US) got involved in World War II; and its severity meant the acquisition of fundamental changes in the economic and political spheres of the modern world (History.com Editors, 2009b).

Even though this recession originated in the US, its consequences reached overseas shores. Not only was the American economy and society affected, but also many other countries, including European ones, experienced drastic declines in inputs coming from the US, a severe rise in unemployment, and acute deflation.

Moreover, the countless

The 1920s was a decade highly influenced by the recent end of the Great War and the arrival of the second Industrial Revolution to the US. Both events contributed to the establishment of the US as a global economic power, leading to a period especially marked by economic prosperity, quick social and cultural changes, and a popular optimism.

Even though the Great World had deteriorated the economy of every country involved in the conflict, the late entry of the US in the conflict and the fact that the fighting had taken place in the European continent left the US in a better position than other European powers, regarding not only economy, but also material damages and human casualties (Cunningham, 2023). In the 1920s, the country’s wealth expanded incredibly quickly, more than doubling its total value, increasing the gross national product by about 40 percent (History.com Editors, 2010), and maintaining a low unemployment

Regarding relief, the reforms focused on providing temporary aid to those Americans who were in need and looking for a job. One of the most relevant measures taken in this regard during the “first” New Deal was the set up of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which provided federally funded jobs on government lands for young, single men.

In terms of recovery, the New Deal attempted to revert the economic situation with measures such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) or the National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA). The AAA consisted of several measures that arrested the fall in agricultural prices in an attempt to relieve the hardship that had been striking the country’s farming industry. In order to achieve that, the government negotiated restrictions on production and compensated farmers with funds raised by a tax on food processing. On the other hand, the NRA tried to stimulate the production of the American industries and improve competition by drafting corporate codes of conduct and limiting the production to drive up