The Great Depression

The Great Depression

The Great Depression, as it is widely known as, could very possibly be the worst economic catastrophe of all time. It was a time that followed a very prosperous decade. During the Roaring 20’s, the decade of 1920, there was peace and prosperity in America, and much of the world. Being wealthy became common, and people loved living the high life. Movies were being made and thousands of new songs were being sung for the first time. It was a glittering chapter in US history. But, the chapter after the 20’s was almost the darkest the US had ever seen. Because in any great story; there is always a lowest point. The Great Depression was most certainly the United States worst hour.
So what did cause the Great Depression? It must have been something big to result in such a horrible time as the 30’s. Well, honestly, there were many reasons why the Great Depression occurred. The most popular and widely known event that sparked the Great Depression was; most definitely, the Stock Market Crash of 1929. You see, during the 1920’s many people had heard about things called “stocks.” It was a brand new idea, many did not understand it, but for the ones who did it was simply a way for your current money to make more money, overnight. Once people began to realize there was a fortune to be made, they all rushed to buy as many stocks as they could. And, as stocks were being sold, more and more money was being poured into the system, like water into a balloon. It was only a matter of time before the balloon would pop.
2 months after the Stock Market Crash on October 29th, 1929, stockholders across the country had lost, in total, more than 40 billion US dollars. When that much money is taken away, it upsets the system tremendously. And, not only had stockholders lost a fortune, but to add to the injury, there was a drought occurring in the Mississippi valley area. Farmers could not make money, and food was not being produced. Many Farmers had to sell...

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