The Great Depression was the greatest economic slump ever experienced in the western world. The Depression wasn't just in the United States it was also in Great Britain and most of Europe, after World War I. The Great Depression started with the collapse of prices in the New York stock-market. The collapse ruined thousands of individual investors. Banks were forced into insolvency. In 1933 about 11,000 banks out of 25,000 had failed in the United States. People started to panic because so many banks were closing so they withdrew their money causing more banks to close. This made the level of demand and spending go way down.


In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt became President. He tried to get America back together by introducing knew ideas. Many businesses were effected too because of loss of money. Some businesses had to cut workers to stay open but many had to close anyway. Unemployment kept rising, by 1932, unemployment went between 12 and 15 million. Roosevelt's ideas weren't enough to help the economy because unemployment rates were too high. With all of this going on, the Great Depression was coming to an end. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entering into World War II actually helped. Men had to go to war while women worked in the factories. Almost everyone had a job now and the economy was getting better.


http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/p/greatdepression.htm

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm