The Great Depression

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, although many people believed that the stock market crash was the cause of the Great Depression, many other factors played a role in bringing about this depression. The author points out that one of the causes was the maldistribution of wealth. The paper states that a second factor was a lack of diversification in the American economy in the 1920s. The author stresses that a third major problem was the credit structure of the economy, which put farmers deeply in dept. The paper relates that declining exports and the unstable international debt structure also influenced the coming of the Great Depression. The author underscores that the speculative boom in the stock market was based upon confidence; whereas, the huge market crash of 1929 was based on fear.

From the Paper:

"During the 1920s, the share of the national income going to families in the upper-income increased. Tax policies contributed to this concentration of wealth by lowering personal income tax rates, eliminating the wartime excess-profits tax, and increasing deductions that favored affluent individuals and corporations. In 1929, the poorest forty percent of the population received only twelve and a half percent of aggregate family income, whereas the wealthiest five percent received thirty percent. Moreover, for an economy to function properly, demand must equal supply."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brinkley, Alan. American History: a Survey. Ch. 25New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
• Great Depression. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression> (12/10/07)
• Himmelberg, Robert F. The Great Depression and New Deal. Greenwood Pres., 2001

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