A Country in Crisis

What set off the Great Depression, and why did it continue for so long?

More than one event caused the Great Depression. Many things occurred that eventually led to this economic crisis. Think of dominoes. When one domino falls, it knocks over the next one until they all fall down. In the same way, one event triggered the Great Depression, and then other negative events began to happen. As a result, the American economy crashed.

Click on the icon in the chart below to learn the causes that led to the Great Depression.

	Stock Market: Stocks were worth more than the value of the companies, which led to people losing money and eventually crashing the stock market.
	Banks: Banks closed and lost millions of dollars. This left people with no money.
	Over-production: This means that too many goods had been produced, and not enough people were buying them.
	Debt: People were borrowing too much money that they couldn't pay back.
	Drought: With no rain, farmers were unable to grow crops for food, nor could they support their own families.