Preview

What Caused The Great Depression Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
601 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Caused The Great Depression Essay
Between 1929 to 1939, one of the most important economic events in American history created an economic slump that occurred in North America, Europe, and other areas around the world - the Great Depression. The Great Depression itself would have been prevented if enough people would have confronted the economic situation by fixing the problems in their minor state rather than waiting for them to intensify. This financial collapse was caused by three things: the credit structure of the economy, the debt structure, and America’s position in international trade.
During the 1930s, the general credit structure further weakened the American economy. Most American farmers went into debt due to the overproduction of crops and the low prices of farm products. Poverty-stricken and desperate, they had to finance the
…show more content…
The loans they owed were too high for the countries to pay back since the European economy was unstable. Even though the European government was in deep distress, America dismissed the idea to lower or forgive the debts. However, the American government did make a proposition to Europe: they would offer to aid them with large loans so that their debt can be paid and done for. Europe found themselves in greater debt than before and a solution to this problem seemed almost nonexistent. Meanwhile, the United States placed high tariffs that made it almost impossible for Europeans to make money selling their products in the U.S markets. Now with no source of income, the European government found it very difficult to repay their loans. The falter in America’s debt structure could have been prevented if they would have not been so persistent on recollecting such large payments from Europe. They could have backed down and allowed the European government to pay back their debt after their economy became stable

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Indeed, this was the Triffin dilemma, which led to the U.S. carrying a large balance of payments deficit. The consequence of any attempts to correct the balance of payments deficits, was the shortage of dollar which stomped the economic growth and destabilized the global economy. On the other hand, if attempts were not made to correct the deficit, a prolonged deficit would result in the dollar glut that eventually led to the erosion of confidence in the value of the U.S. dollar and undermined the dollar’s role in monetary system. Accordingly, as Western Europe, Japan and other countries recovered from the devastation of World War II with the U.S. help, the balance of…

    • 4636 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After World War I, both France and Great Britain demanded that Germany make reparations. They totaled around $32 billion as compensation for war-inflicted damages. With the money they received from Germany, France and Britain hoped to settle their debts with the United States. The problem with this plan was that Germany simply could not afford the debts it owed the Allies. The Dawes Plan of 1924 seemed to be a solution to this economic problem - it created a financial cycle between the United States, Germany, France and Great Britain. U.S. bankers would loan money to Germany, Germany would then pay reparations to France and Great Britain, and the former Allies would pay war debts to the United States. The source of this cycle was the seemingly endless flow of 1920’s American credit. However this flow came to a halt after the stock market crash of 1929. As a result, the U.S. was never repaid it debts in full from its Allies in Europe (except from…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Great Depression, the Stock Market crashed.This caused an economic slump in North America and Europe, which quickly spread to a world wide depression. The government obviously had to respond. The crash caused hardships with the public. There was poverty and hunger and many complications.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During the start of World War I, the United States had loaned Great Britain, as well as multiple other Allied powers, much of its wealth and resources in order to stop German expansionism. The economic affairs that the United States shared with other countries varied based on each nation, yet the US as a whole remained neutral. Britain and France accumulated large sums of loans from the US, but not enough to overcome German forces (who also received economic support from America. German success, though not directly affecting the US, threaten the fact whether the Allies would be able to pay back their large loans, Furthermore, German success in this war would result in an economic loss for the US. As a result, United States…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Americans’ money was turning into nothing, spending in America took a steep decline. Big businesses had huge decreases in profit. Many people also lost their jobs and had no source of income, and no savings. Other countries were also affected. The U.S. was not exporting nearly as much as they used to.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Socialism Dbq

    • 4648 Words
    • 19 Pages

    In the two decades following World War I, most of the world was swept up in economic depression. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, most nations attempted to cope with the problems of the post-war economy and uncertainties, with the U.S. stock market crash exacerbating the problem. The war ravaged nations of Europe had become dependent on financial help from America; however, U.S. economic policies made it increasingly difficult for European nations economies to recover after the war. The Fordney - McCumber Tariff increased the duties on foreign manufactured goods by 25%. Intending to protect American businesses, it ended up causing the Europeans to respond by imposing tariffs of their own. To facilitate…

    • 4648 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the time of this economic boom, the agricultural sector of the US began to decline in growth. More and more jobs were being pushed out towards the cities which led to less people working on farms since most Americans saw big cities as being the best place for opportunity and income. The price of farm products was also on the decline during the 20s and this decline in prices lowered the profits for farmers. Farmers accounted for nearly one-fourth of the nation’s workers and this decline in income, to an average yearly income of 273 dollars, began to weigh down the nation’s economy since the average for workers in other occupations was 750 dollars a year. Agriculture was once the foundation of American economy before industrialization. Without this consistent and solid foundation the American economy became too dependent on industries that had a tendency to fluctuate from profitable to non-profitable.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Starting in the year 1929 and lasting throughout the 1930’s, what would soon be known as The Great Depression, which was a time were many Americans were unemployed, homeless, and even starving to death. Consequently, these events were deprived from phenomenons during the 1920s like the stock market crash, over production, and business failures.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1930’s or as the others know as the dirty thirties came the great depression. The great depression is the longest economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. This happened in North America, Europe, Canada and many more places around the world. People went through a lot during the great depression and lost many people. It also made the employment rate drop in increasingly numbers.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Higher productions were followed by a decline in prices as the supply and demand increased. Instead, farmers continued to produce more as prices dropped, forcing them to become loan defaulters that led to banks closure. The situation worsened by the Dust Bowl which even devastated the farmers more. Overproduction in companies resulted to flooding the market that overwhelmed the people who purchased them. As the companies made their products they continued to lie in the market and made more spending and less returns.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Depression was the toughest and the longest economic recession in the industrialized world, in most of the countries it started in 1929 and lasted till 1939. The Great Depression was the result of many causes; some of these causes are the crash of the stock market, and banks were not able to lend money because huge numbers of people were withdrawing their money. This withdrawal also caused the banks to fail. Another reason is that people were afraid of buying products and services after the stock market crash which lead to a huge decrease in the demand of products and services, this decrease in demands and the unwillingness to spend money made the level of unemployment increase sharply.…

    • 120 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1929, one of the most devastating financial crisis occurred. It was just seventeen years ago when the greatest disaster in the United States financial history occurred. People were fired, the stock markets fell, and people jumped from buildings. The fear and anxiety that was struck into people left them in a shell shock. The Great Crash of 1929 was the United States most devastating era of history and became known as “ The Great Depression.”. It created fear for life, hatred for the Government, and the failure of everyday life. The day the stock market crashed was one of the most memorable times in the financial history of America…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great depression was a very hard time for many people throughout the United States. Cities all over were hit very hard and many people suffered very deeply. The industry was collapsing and over time less and less stuff was being manufactured, the construction business was going into a big decline. Farmers were also having a hard time since most of their crop prices were hit very drastically. Eventually the economy went into a huge depression that left millions of people unemployed and struggling to earn a living.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in US history. The Great Depression began in 1929, and lasted until 1939. That was certainly a tough 10 years for the citizens living in the United States during that time. “By 1933, the unemployment rate had climbed from 3% to 25%. By 1932, over 13 million Americans had lost their jobs.”…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Black Tuesday

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Great Depression was a miserable time period in American history. Emerging victorious out of World War I, American citizens enjoyed an exciting, carefree life during the prosperous Roaring Twenties. The economy was at its all-time high. In this glorious time, the American economy was booming. Since feelings of worry and doubt had largely faded, American citizens found themselves purchasing the finest things in life. Unfortunately, this all came to end when the stock market crashed on October 29th, 1929 (also referred as Black Tuesday). The stock market was at its all-time low, costing investors millions of dollars, contributing to failing banks and industry bankruptcies. This was the beginning the worst economic crisis in United States…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays