The Great Depression Essay -- American History

The Great Depression was a period from October 29, 1929 to around 1940, close to when the U.S. entered World War II. This period was an economic depression that was started by the Stock Market crash. Such a catastrophic time span has many different causes that can all relate and combine. The Great Depression had many underlying causes that started originated after World War I. A series of events, including the economic boom of the 1920’s were contributors to the Great Depression. World War I came to an end in November of 1918, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This treaty ended the fighting and of many other results, it put the blame on Germany for the war. This resulted in Germany having to pay major reparation fee’s and put Germany in a financial hole. The treaty took away parts of Germany’s land and made it impossible for them to use their natural resources to profit from. The amount that Germany had to pay back was more then they could, and this started a chain reaction for the transfer of money. In 1924, The Dawes Plan was signed into action and the U.S. became a creditor nation. Germany owed around 32 billion in war reparations. They were unable to pay this, so the U.S. loaned Germany money, with that Germany paid European countries War Reparations, and with the reparation money they received, U.S exports were able to be bought. This benefited the U.S. because the loans would have to be paid back with interest, and it let the econ omy experience a boost because goods were able to be exported. The Dawes Plan boosted the American economy, while facilitating other European countries’ attempts to reestablish a stable financial state after World War One. This time period in the 1920’s is referred to as the ‘roaring twen... ...ted to drop on the Stock Market. Investors’ worries were little at the beginning, but as it continued to drop, many investors started selling their shares. Eventually on Tuesday, October 29, the stock market crashed, as no buyers could be found at any prices for shares. This marked the beginning of the Great Depression (Gusmorino). The Great Depression was marked by the Stock Market crash, but in reality, its origins were able to be traced back to World War One. Many actions by the U.S. government, done to boost the economy, worked temporarily and gave America a period of great economic success. During this time, many underlying problems were ignored, and actions done to protect the U.S. economy, eventually ruined it. The Great Depression was not something that could have started as a result of one action, but it was a result of more than a decades worth of actions.