---
id:"kb-2026-00363"
title:"Great Depression"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"history"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The Great Depression: A Diary (Benjamin Roth)"
    type:"book"
    year:2009
    url:"https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/benjamin-roth/the-great-depression/9781586489014/"
    institution:"PublicAffairs"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
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---

## TL;DR

The Great Depression (1929-1939) was the worst economic downturn in modern history. Trigger: US stock market crash (October 1929). Global unemployment reached 25-33%. Bank failures, deflation, dust bowl. FDR's New Deal (1933) provided relief, recovery, reform. WWII ultimately ended the Depression through massive government spending.

## Core Explanation

Causes: stock market speculation, bank failures, reduction in purchasing power, drought (Dust Bowl). Hoovervilles: shantytowns of homeless. New Deal programs: CCC (jobs for youth), WPA (infrastructure), Social Security (1935), FDIC (bank deposit insurance). Keynesian economics: government spending stimulates demand. Global impact: trade collapsed, gold standard abandoned. Unemployment in US: 3% (1929) → 25% (1933) → 15% (1940).

## Further Reading

- [The Great Depression: A Diary (Benjamin Roth)](https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/benjamin-roth/the-great-depression/9781586489014/)