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.

Thesis: The Wall Street crash was a comparatively minor cause of the Great Depression - other, more major factors, such as economic issues with Europe, a problem in the farming industry, and the over-availability of credit led to the crash, which was simply the catalytic event of the Great Depression.

1) Severe economic strain with Europe upset the economy
a) war debts could not be repaid
i) America was not getting $ back from the Allies
ii) investments in Europe were declining
b) Foreign trade was in shambles
i) Hawley-Smoot tariff had a neg. effect on the consumption of US goods
ii) countries in Europe retaliated with their own tarrifs

2) The agricltural business fell apart
a) Farmers were unable to repay loans
i) farms were foreclosed
ii) banks were forced to shut down
b) crop prices declined
i) less and less demand for goods
ii) loweres the overall US income

3) Credit was vastly over-available
a) too many people bought things on credit
i) unemployment rates rising encouraged this
ii) both businesses and people suffer
b) people blindly invest in stock
i) no one suspected the crash, so everyone over bought
ii) with little money to begin with, putting it all in the stock market only worsened poverty

Conclusion: Though it was the "straw that broke the camel's back", the Wall Street crash was only a finale to a long chain of events - compartively, it is only one of many important causes to the Great Depression.