Great Depression

Paper Summary:

In this paper, the writer examines the causes of the Great Depression. US government policies in response to the crisis are discussed, including those of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The role of the gold standard and the currency crisis is also analyzed. The final section of the paper deals with approaches used by FDR to resolve the depression, such as the New Deal. The New Deal and its long term effects on American economic and social policy are discussed. The author concludes that New Deal programs, policies, and ideologies changed American core values. What was once a nation characterized by libertarian ideals became a nation inextricably intertwined with the global market economy.

From the Paper:

"Speculation artificially inflated the US and global economy throughout the 1920s. Investors pumped up stock prices on borrowed funds, a short-sighted approach that would lead to an enormous production surplus. With too many consumer goods and not enough consumer purchasing power, almost all the key industries faced collapse including technology and agriculture. The prevailing economic doctrine presumed that all booms and busts were inevitable and that the crisis would subside on its own. However, the Great Depression forced economists and politicians to rethink the role of the market economy and global trade."

Sample of Sources Used:

• America's Great Depression." Retrieved Oct 25, 2006 from http://www.amatecon.com/gd/gdcandc.html
• Gupta, P. & Lee, J. (1996). "The Great Depression and the New Deal." Retrieved Oct 24, 2006 from http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/depression/
• Gusmorino, P.A. (1996). "Main Causes of the Great Depression." Retrieved Oct 25, 2006 from http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/greatdepression/
• "The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum." Retrieved Oct 24, 2006 from http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/Hooverstory/gallery06/gallery06.html

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