The Great Depression

In the fall of 1929, the United States economy was devastated by a collapse of the stock market. Now known as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, these events plunged the United States, and eventually many nations throughout the world, into a devastating economic crisis that lasted until the beginning of World War II in 1939. This roughly ten-year period is known as the Great Depression. As a result of the collapse of the economy during the Great Depression, many people were out of work, lost their homes, and lived in abject poverty. Unemployment rates reached as high as 25—30 percent of the employable workforce. In the realm of international economy, the levels of world trade were reduced by more than half their previous volume.

Political measures to address the problems of the Great Depression in the United States were dominated by the leadership of President Franklin D...