Causes of the Great Depression

Causes of the Depression During the 1920s, the USA went through what seemed like an endless era of prosperity. The economy boomed. People could afford things like cars, radios, and many other things that were once considered as elite goods. The stock market was skyrocketing. Everything seemed to be going so well for the USA, but then in October 1929, the bull market crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression, a period of dramatic economic decline. In this essay, we’ll look at what causes the Great Depression. First, let’s look at some background. During the twenties, it was a Republican decade. Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, two Republican presidents, watched the country grew more and more prosperous. Republicans took credit for that, and most Americans agreed. So, in 1928, when Republican candidate Herbert Hoover ran for the White House, he easily won. He declared that he would put an end to poverty and that there would be ‘chicken in every pot.’ He and Americans were in a sea of confidence. However, all over the country, there were troubling signs in the economy. During the Roaring Twenties, farmers didn’t enjoy the country’s prosperity like other Americans. During WWI, they worked hard and bought more land and machines to meet the demand for their crops. They borrowed money to do that, so they were in debts. Then, after the war, the demand dropped sharply, leading to overproduction. Farmers couldn’t sell their crops, so they had no money to pay their debts and to buy things they needed. They lived on credit month by month, making more and more debts. During that time, farmers made up about one-fourth of the country’s workforce. Plus, they were also the one making food for everybody. So, to have them in such a situation surely wasn’t good for the country. Apart from farmers’ struggle, there were also many other factors that led to the Great Depression. They were the credit system, uneven distribution of wealth, overproduction of goods,