HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE WALL STREET CRASH AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Causes of the Great Depression- the Keynesian View Keynes argued that the government could stimulate the economy by spending money – Public works projects – Taxation By spending money the government can create jobs; workers with jobs created by the government spend money; this creates more jobs and so on

Causes of the Great Depression- the Monetarists The key monetarist is Milton Friedman Monetarists argue control of the money supply is important Failure to control the supply of money in the economy can create economic depression

Debates surrounding the New Deal Did the New Deal solve everyone’s problems? Was Roosevelt really saving the interests of capitalism? Did the New Deal or World War Two solve the economic problems Roosevelt faced? Did policies like the NRA stop workers getting jobs because of higher wages? Did Roosevelt’s conservative stance cause the Roosevelt recession? Was Roosevelt not prepared to be radical enough in 1933 when the American people were ready for radical solutions to solve the Great Depression?

The Liberal View The New Deal was a success, it worked! The Revisionist View The New Deal kind of worked It was a half way revolution Roosevelt-perhaps inadvertently-was protecting the views of capitalism Revised Liberal View The Conservative View The New Deal worked to an extent It faced constraints-for example-the lack of government bureaucracy The opposition of conservative politicians The New Deal didn’t really work Roosevelt’s policies did more harm than good!