What was the Great Depression?
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn of the 20th century. It began with the US stock market crash of October 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s.
After the boom of the 1920s, stock prices crashed in late October 1929, wiping out fortunes. Banks failed, businesses closed and spending collapsed. In the United States, unemployment reached about 25 percent by 1933, and many families lost their homes and farms.
The crisis spread worldwide through trade and finance. Prices for farm goods and raw materials fell, and many countries raised tariffs, which made world trade shrink even more. In parts of Europe, economic hardship helped extremist political movements rise.
Recovery
In the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal created jobs programs, banking reforms and Social Security. Recovery was slow, and full employment returned only when spending for World War II boosted industry.
Did You Know?
The Dust Bowl, a series of severe dust storms on the American Great Plains in the 1930s, made the hardship even worse for farmers and inspired John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath.