Causes of the Great Depression Outline

Prompt: To what extent was the Wall Street Crash a cause of the Great Depression of 1929? Support your argument with specific examples.

The Wall Street Crash was one of the major causes of the Great Depression, Along with over-production, over-use of credit and small wages. These worked in unison to cause the Great Depression of 1929.

The Wall Street Crash
I. People lost great amounts of money
-People who bought stocks using loans because they believed the market would continue to rise lost money and the loaners also lost their money
II. No money to buy products
-Products are being over-produced and so the companies are loosing money because the people do not have the money buy them

Over Production
I. Too many products are being made
-consumers do not need all of them
-Consumers do not have money from stock market crash
II. Soldiers home from war do not need rations
-crops harvested are going to waste because they are not needed and people do not have the money for them

Over-Use of Credit
I. People were using money they did not have to buy things
-Increased the debt
-People were not able to receive payment for things, debts were not able to be payed back because of the loss of money from the Stock Market Crash

Small Wages and Lay-offs
I. People had no money to buy things
-Prices kept increasing but wages did not so people could not afford items
II. People could not pay off stock market debts because of the wages
-Lay-offs because companies are not making money