Great Depression Dbq

Although there are many aspects to the Great Depression, this essay will focus on five important points. First, an in depth look at the cause of the Great Depression will be examined. Then, how it affected the American people will be discussed. Next, an observation of how President Roosevelt’s administration worked to fix the Great Depression will be addressed. Also, the effectiveness of the programs put in place by the government will be presented. The changing role of the government during Roosevelt’s presidency will be investigated. Finally, a conclusion and final thoughts will be discussed. Because the Great Depression was one of the most devastating events in American history, it should never be forgotten. If America’s leaders today would

This dark time in history began with the collapse of the stock market in October of 1929. Wall Street became unstable and in turn wiped out millions of investors, which caused the United States to fall into the longest and deepest economic crisis in its history. Although the stock market crash of 1929 started the chain of events, other events also fueled its decline. First, firms in America earned record profits during the 1920s and reinvested much of those funds into expansion. By 1929, companies had expanded to the “bubble point”. Because they could no longer continue to expand, a slowdown was inevitable. While profits went up, wages increased – which widened the distribution of wealth. Because banks didn’t have guarantees with their customers, a situation was created causing most people to panic when times got hard. Very few regulations were placed on banks, enabling people to spend money recklessly in the stock markets. This series of events set off the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world (History.com, par.

They came up with The New Deal. These plans concentrated primarily on three areas. Relief, which provided jobs and food to those who needed it the most. Recovery, which preserved the major industries and economic sectors we would need to survive the depression and rebuild the economy. This would include the banking system, agriculture/farming, and housing for those who lost their homes during the depression. Reform, which changed the laws and made the economy stable so that future depressions would be prevented. The programs were effective and did help the economy improve. However, the depression did not reach a complete end until the U.S. entered World War 2 (Riggs,