The Great Depression Standard 7-5.3

Following World War I Many nations of the world experienced great economic growth. Unfortunately, this period of economic growth ended in an economic collapse was known as the Great Depression.

The Great Depression After World War I, people in the United States were excited about getting back to normal way of life. They began to buy more products so, manufactures began to send more items into the market. Eventually the demand for products decreased. Warehouses and stores had too many products, but manufactures continued to produce more.

The Great Depression The Government placed high taxes on foreign products. This made it harder for foreign countries to sell their goods to the United States. Since they could not sell their products, they could not afford to buy American products, adding to the problem of overfilled warehouses.

In October 1929 The American stock market crashed. During the economic boom, many people had invested their money in the stock market. When the market crashed, the investors lost most of their money. It simply disappeared.

Stock Market Crash continued… The stock market crash did not only affect the United States. It ruined the economies of nations everywhere. Banks and factories closed. People lost their jobs. The demand for raw resources from other nations decreased.

The Great Depression By the early 1930s, the world economy was destroyed; trade declined and unemployment was at an all time high The world was in a complete depression.