Great Depression Timeline

What made the Great Depression so great was the fact that it affected the whole world, irrespective of whether the countries were rich or poor. In many ways, the name, The Great Depression of 1929, was quite incorrect as it was in no way restricted only to that year in American History. The after effects of the Great Depression continued to be felt by the people all over the world for several more years. In fact, most economists date the end of the Great Depression to 1941, the year in which the US entered the World War II. Over these years, the world went through several economic tribulations.

The Great Depression

No one really can name one cause of the Great Depression. It is widely accepted that the Great Depression was caused due to a combination of factors. The economies around the world generally work with the 'what goes around comes around' pattern, there are economic upswings and downswings all the time. The decade before the Great Depression itself saw about 3 instances of economic upswing and then contraction and it is a well accepted facet of the way the economics of a country works.

But the Great Depression is largely credited to a lot of economic and monetary policies that took place over the decade preceding it. Your explanation of the causes of the Great Depression will vary depending on whether you belong to the Keynesian school of thought or the Monetarist school of thought. But the fact remains that the Great Depression was definitely due to a combination of factors, both economic and monetary. Here are some of the noteworthy events that happened during the Great Depression.

Events in the Great Depression

1929
Herbert Hoover becomes the President of the United States and within the first year of his tenure as the President the US goes the Black Tuesday of October 29, 1929 where the Stock Market crashes. Investors lose $16 billion over the month, an astronomical number in that time.

1930
Gross National Product falls by 9.4%. The rate of unemployment goes up from 3.2% to 8.7%. 6000 people of New York City are on the streets selling apples at 5 cents a piece.

1931
Various part of the US are marred by food riots are several grocery stores get ransacked and their food items get stolen. Foreign workers especially Mexicans face the ire of the American workers as they appear to be 'stealing' American jobs. Gross National Product goes down by a further 8.5%. Unemployment now up to 15.9%.

1932
The Depression continues to sap the US economy. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is set up which lends $2 billion to various banks, insurance companies and other institutions. Gross National Product falls by another 13.4%. 23.6% of the people are unemployed as the Government continues its non-interventionist, laissez-faire policy. Stocks had lost 80% of their 1930 values. Riots and discontent spread throughout the country as the World War I veterans march on to Washington and ask for the dues promised to them, during the World War. The Army is called upon to disperse the dissidents.

The Government finally decides to intervene and raises the tax rate for the highest earners in the country from 25% to 63% in order to redistribute wealth. The move is viewed as a little too late and Herbert Hoover is replaced by Franklin Roosevelt towards the end of the year.

1933
Approximately 11,000 banks are shut. The National Industrial Recovery Act is signed creating the national Recovery Administration. The NRA is created to oversee construction of roads and other national infrastructure and boost employment. As a result, the economic contraction goes down a shade, the free fall of the Gross National Product is arrested and with a dip of 'only' 2.1% and a slight rise in unemployment to 24.9%.

1934
The reforms start bearing fruit as the Gross National Product rises for the first time in the 1930s by a healthy 7.7%. The unemployment falls to 21.7%.

1935
The Works Progress Administration, another Government initiative to boost employment is started. Another year of robust economic growth sees the Gross National Product grow by 8.1% and the unemployment rate falls further to 20.1%. The Social Security Act is passed and paid retirement benefits to the senior citizens.

1936
Roosevelt is awarded a second term as President of the United States by the people. The tax rate for the highest earners is hiked up to 79%. Economic recovery continues with an increase in the Gross National Product by 14.1% and the unemployment falling to about 16.9%.

1937
A mini economic recession comes up in the US, but the Gross National Product still goes up by 5% and the unemployment falls to 14.3%.

1938
The recession from the past year springs up as the Gross National Product falls by 4.5% and unemployment rises to 19%.

1939 - 1941
The World War II starts and the US sees an increase in the production of arms and ammunition to such an extent that the Depression is all but eradicated from the economy. The production goes up by a whopping 50% which sees a phenomenal increase in employment and economic activity and hence the Gross National Product as well.

The Great Depression was undoubtedly one of the greatest economic crises ever, and efforts are continuously being made by policy-makers all over the world to avoid such a economic downfall.