What Caused The Great Depression Essay

There were many factors that caused the Great Depression, with the crash of the stock market bringing chaos, but not necessarily causing the entire Depression. The ‘start’ of problems, which would later cause this severe economic crisis, dated back to the early 1920s. Some of these problems included the shrinking of farm incomes and industries, overproduction of goods, the gap between the rich and the poor, the credit crisis, and many more. As the Depression grew closer and jobs became unnecessary, many Americans were laid off from work, resulting in poverty for many families. Luckily, President Roosevelt came into office and tried to address these problems with his program called the New Deal.

Before this New Deal was proposed, however,
President Hoover was in office. The government became ready for change because of his failure to act and the new candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt's, promised solution to the Depression. Once in office, FDR proposed his solution to the problems, called the New Deal, which affected, and helped regulate banking, the stock market, agriculture, public works, relief for the poor, industry, and the conservation of resources. The New Deal originated from the Hundred Days, which was a hundred day period of proposals to help the economy. It later became known as the New Deal because of the extended period of time of even more proposals. The New Deal brought several changes to the many problems that were urgent to be fixed.

Several new organizations and acts were passed by Congress to help rebuild what the Depression ‘destroyed’.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was passed to help bring the jobless and poverty back to work, which was one of the first things FDR fixed. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration brought relief to those who were less fortunate, trying to help them begin work again. Also, the Agriculture Adjustment Act was passed to help raise farm prices and and control the production of goods helping the prices of these goods to stay level for many years to come. The Tennessee Valley Authority brought hydroelectric power to different areas near the Tennessee River, resulting in cheaper and more efficient electricity. The National Industrial Recovery Act helped boost the economy, and in FDR’s opinion, was one of the greatest acts passed. The Public Works Administration proposed many public work projects to help create even more jobs. The Security Exchange and Commissions helped regulate the stock market so that it would never crash as severely as it did again. The New Deal helped improve the terrible conditions, but did not end them completely. There were still many factors, such as unemployment, hardships, etc., that were still going
on.