Causes Of The Great Depression Essay - 453 Words

Causes of the Great Depression Many people think that the Great Depression was caused solely by the stock market crash. Anybody who tells you this probably didn’t pass U.S. History in high school. The fact is, the Great Depression was caused many different factors. Four of which were overproduction, uneven distribution of wealth, protective tariffs, and the four â€Å"sick industries† of the 1920’s. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;After World War I, new technological improvements helped factories to produce higher quantities of goods using smaller amounts of employees. Fewer workers meant less money being redistributed to the consumers to purchase products. America didn’t have a necessity for this higher quantity of goods with less people†¦show more content†¦In reaction to this, other nations stopped buying American-made goods and the United States’ economy floundered because of this. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;During the 1920’s, four of America’s leading industries began to struggle. First, railroads had difficulties because of the growing competition from cars, trucks, and busses. Second, textiles floundered because of the foreign competition from India, China, Japan, and Latin America. Furthermore, the revolutionary transformation in women clothing reduced the amount of material needed and thus lowered the demand for cloth. Third, the coal mining industry struggled because of competition from cheaper, more widely available resources such as natural gas, oil, and hydroelectric power. Fourth, America’s agriculture industry staggered chiefly from overproduction. Many farmers borrowed money to expand their operations and couldn’t pay back their loans because the prices of crops dropped about 50 percent due to foreign agricultural competition. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In conclusion, the Great Depression can’t be attributed to just one cause. However, among overproduction; uneven distribution of wealth; protective tariffs; and the struggling of America’s leading industries, the largest contributor to causing the depression, in my opinion, was the unequal distribution of income. I believe this because if congress attempted to redistribute money to the consumers, people would have been able to purchaseShow MoreRelatedCauses Of The Great Depression1319 Words   |  6 Pageshaving classic satisfying life concluded when the Great Depression ushered in the negative trend that would impact the U.S. economy in 1929. Therefore, what happened? In this essay, we will discuss what the Great Depression was for the Americans, the causes of the Great Depression, and the U.S.’s recovery from the Great Depression. The Great Depression One of the terrifying times in the U.S. history is the Great Depression. 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The great depression started in 1929Read More The Cause of the Great Depression Essay552 Words   |  3 PagesThe Cause of the Great Depression The economic expansion of the 1920’s, with its increased production of goods and high profits, culminated in immense consumer speculation that collapsed with disastrous results in 1929 causing America’s Great Depression. There were a number or contributing factors to the depression, with the largest and most important one being a general loss of confidence in the American economy. The reason it escalated was a general misunderstanding of recessions byRead MoreCauses Of The Great Depression And The Great Recession2292 Words   |  10 Pages1. Examine the causes of the Great Depression of the 1930s and consider what similarities and differences can be drawn with the problems from the financial and economic crisis which began in 2008. Introduction 2007-2009 in America has often been described as the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in 1929. There was lots of debate whether the economy was slipping back to double dip recession but there is considerable evidence that the economic crisis in 2008 is worse than the crisisRead MoreCauses of the Great Depression Essay651 Words   |  3 PagesIn the 1920s, American economy had a great time. The vast majority of Americans in 1929 foresaw a continuation of the dizzying economic growth that had taken place in most of the decade. However, the prices of stock crested in early September of 1929. The price of stock fell gradually during most of September and early October. On â€Å"Black Tuesday† 29 October 1929, the stock market fell by forty points. After that, a historically great and long economic depression started and lasted until the start of