The Great Depression

In October 1929 the stock market crashed, destroying 40% of the paper values of common stock. Even after the stock market collapse, politicians and industry leaders continued to question positive predictions for the nation's market. But the Depression grew deeper, assurance faded and many lost their life savings. Businesses closed their doors, factories shut down and banks were unsuccessful. Farm profits dropped 50 percent. By 1932 around one out of every four Americans were unemployed. The center of the …

…S. economy's original errors, which had been provoked by Republican policies during the 1920s. President Hoover said that the economy was basically sturdy, but had been shaken by the effects of a worldwide depression -- whose causes could be traced back to the war. Behind this argument put a clear suggestion: Hoover had to depend mostly on natural courses of renewal, while Roosevelt was prepared to use the federal government's ability for brave new cures.