The Great depression was a very critical time for the United States. It was in economic disaster caused by a combination of domestic and worldwide conditions such as the stock market crash, bank failures, unequal distribution of wealth, over speculation in the Stock Market and margin buying. It was different from our recent economic down fall because it was twice as long and more severe.

The stock Market Crashed in October 1929. Many investors had been investing for a long periods of time and lost all their money. The stock market continued to plummet over the course of a few days at that time; the stock exchange typically traded around 4 million shares each trading day. But on Black Thursday, a record 12.9 million shares were exchanged. A great number of investors were purchasing stock on the margin, meaning they put 10% of the investment and borrow the remaining 90%. For example,
if $10 worth of stock was purchased, the investor put in $1, while the
mortgage broker put in the other $9. It was a good deal as long as stocks
were gaining value. However, if the stock lost value, the stockbroker would
issue a margin call requiring the investor to pay back the loan. In the
example above, not only did the investor lose the $1 he invested, he also
had to pay back the $9 he’d borrowed.

Bank failures also contributed to the GD. throughout the 1930s over 9,000 banks failed, Bank deposits were uninsured and banks failed, which meant that people simply lost their savings. The banks that survived closure and failure stopped giving credit and as a result business started failing, and people also had less money to spend

There was over speculation in the Stock Market, which was not regulated. Many Americans purchased stock on credit, because they couldn’t afford to purchase the items up front, kind of like lay a way. This was known as margin buying

The Great depresion lasted lasted about three years, and caused many americans to be unemployedd for a long time. During the GD the rate of uneployment was at its maximum rate. Thankfully we are out of the GD thanks to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" aimed at promoting economic recovery and putting Americans back to work through Federal activism. New Federal agencies attempted to control agricultural production, stabilize wages and prices, and create a vast public works program for the unemployed.