The Great Depression was caused by farmers and factory workers losing money due to increased competition from European farms and a tariff on imported goods that led other countries to retaliate. There was also too much buying on credit in the 1920s and people borrowing money to invest in stocks, which then crashed. President Hoover tried to lend money to banks and businesses to stimulate the economy but did not help the unemployed. President Roosevelt created the New Deal, passing laws to regulate Wall Street and banking and creating programs to insure bank deposits, provide social security, and employ people in public works projects.

2. 1919-1929 Great Years
1929-1941 Great Depression

3. Causes of the Great Depression
1) Farmers started to lose money b/c
European farms were back in operation
2) Factory workers started losing money b/c
the Smoot-Hawley Tariff put a huge tax on
imported goods
a. Why did the US govt tax imports?
To protect US jobs
b. Why didn’t the tariffs work?
European countries taxed US goods sold
there b/c we were taxing their goods

4. 3) Buying on credit had been too high in the 1920’s
a. people stopped buying new goods to pay off old
debts

5. 4)People were borrowing money to buy stock:
a. people thought stock values were going to increase
instead stock values went down
b. people couldn’t pay off the bank loans they got to
buy the stock
c.people who lost jobs went to withdraw their savings
d.banks didn’t have money to give them b/c it had all
been lent out.
e. banks declared bankruptcy
f.25% of Americans became unemployed

6. Solutions to end the Great Depression
President Herbert Hoover said to:
a. lend money to banks, business and ins
companies to get the econ. Moving
b. gave no aid to those who were unemployed

7. FDR’s plan to end the Great Depression was to create a
New Deal in which:
a. Glass-Stegall Act regulates stock market,
investments, and banking
b. insured bank deposits
c. created Social Security to help old people
d. put people to work building roads, dams,
bridges,post offices, parks and other government
projects
**Under Roosevelt’s term in office the govt took an
active role in the economy that is still with us