The Great Depression

In 1929, the U.S. stock market crashed, and practically overnight, persons of wealth were turned into paupers. Millions of Americans lost their fortunes, their jobs, their homes, and their hope in the years that followed. Although the stock market plummet may not have precipitated the Depression, it certainly contributed to the economic misery of the period. The primary factors leading to the Depression, however, were an uneven distribution of wealth (a small group of people controlling a disproportionate amount of money and power), accumulated war debts from World War I, and the expansion of credit and installment purchasing. Although some relief was offered under the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, particularly in the form of Social Security, welfare, and employment, the Depression lasted until shortly before World War II.

By 1937, the year of Seabiscuit's acclaim, the United States was in the throes of serious...