The Great Depression
A global economic collapse followed the 1929 stock market crash.
About this topic
The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis of the modern era, lasting from 1929 through the 1930s. In the 1920s the United States boomed, but wealth was unevenly shared, people bought stocks on credit (margin), and farmers and factories overproduced. When stock prices collapsed on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the crash set off a chain reaction.
Thousands of banks failed with no deposit insurance, people lost savings, businesses closed and spending shrank, which cut production and jobs in a downward spiral. By 1933 about a quarter of American workers were unemployed. Shantytowns called Hoovervilles appeared, and a drought created the Dust Bowl on the Plains. Trade fell as nations raised tariffs, such as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, spreading the crisis worldwide, hitting Germany especially hard.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal (relief, recovery, reform) created jobs programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, Social Security, bank deposit insurance (FDIC) and stock market regulation (SEC). Economist John Maynard Keynes argued that governments should spend to boost demand. The war economy finally ended the Depression. The crisis helped extremists like the Nazis win support. Misconception: the crash alone did not cause the Depression; bank failures, policy mistakes and weak demand mattered too.
Key ideas
- Mass unemployment
- New Deal
- Rise of extremism
Quick check
Use cases: where The Great Depression helps
- Homework: review the key idea behind The Great Depression before you start a problem set.
- Exam revision: use the quick check to test whether you can recall The Great Depression without notes.
- Visual learning: play with the interactive lab to see how The Great Depression changes when you adjust its inputs.
- Teaching a friend: explain The Great Depression in your own words, then compare your version with the key ideas.
Studying the past helps explain today’s politics, borders, cultures and institutions.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Great Depression?
A global economic collapse followed the 1929 stock market crash.
What will I learn in The Great Depression?
Mass unemployment. New Deal. Rise of extremism.
Is The Great Depression part of World History?
Yes. It is one of 80 World History topics on LearnViz HighSchoolEdu, with 3 key ideas, a live animation and a quick check.
Does the The Great Depression lab work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The animation resizes to fit your screen and supports touch, so you can drag, tap and slide with your finger.
How should I study The Great Depression?
Read the summary and key ideas first, play with the interactive lab to see the idea in motion, then answer the quick check. If you get a question wrong, go back to the key idea it tests.
Do I need an account, and is my progress saved?
No account is needed. Marking a topic as learned is saved in your own browser, so it stays on that device and is not sent to a server.