# Great Depression
Confidence: high
Last verified: 2026-05-22
Generation: ai_assisted


## 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/)