The Great Depression

[Redefeatbush04]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

[??????????]

See this informative link.

http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=4013

[minionofmidas]

The Carter Family had this to say on the subject:

Oh hear this heart of many a failing
For these are Latter Days for sure
The Great Depression now is spreading
God's will declared, it would be so

[The Dowager Mod]

The massive reparation payments after WWI

[A18]

The Fed

[patrick1]

Over speculation.

[??????????]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Also, the great depression could never happen again. The stock market has protections in it to stop it from falling that much.

[minionofmidas]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Also, the great depression could never happen again. The stock market has protections in it to stop it from falling that much.

...although quite a few of these have been abolished in the 90s.

[??????????]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Also, the great depression could never happen again. The stock market has protections in it to stop it from falling that much.

...although quite a few of these have been abolished in the 90s.

I'm not sure but maybe so. The stock market however can not fall more then 500 points in one day or trading will automatically cease.

[Bugs]

See this informative link.

http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=4013

Interesting reading.  This reminds me of ecological concerns.  The environment works perfectly in a pure wilderness.  The more artificially imposed disruption, the more the ecosystem is thrown out of balance.  Imposing more artificial measures that are imposed, more new problems surface.  Sounds like a market economy works the same way.   

[Richard]

The Federal Reserve.  It is impossible to have a depression if you don't have a central, non-government agency that controls debt instruments (money).

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

[A18]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

[Redefeatbush04]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

Did signing it help him win reelection Philip?

[PBrunsel]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

No, the Bonus Army killed Hoover's chances for reelection.

[dazzleman]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

No, the Bonus Army killed Hoover's chances for reelection.

The whole bonus army incident may never have happened if the recession of 1929 had not turned into the Great Depression by 1932.

To the extent that Hoover did anything - such as signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Law - that contributed to the downward economic spiral, then it helped lead to atmosphere of economic despair that led, among other things, to the bonus army's march on Washington.

I think Hoover's approval of that ill-conceived law helped lead to his defeat.  Would he have won had he not signed it?  I don't know.  It's one of those "shoulda, woulda, coulda" things.  Nobody knows how bad the recession/depression would have been in the absence of Smoot-Hawley.  Had Hoover been able to turn the economy around so that it was improving by 1932, he probably would have won re-election.  Smoot-Hawley surely didn't help in that regard.

[PBrunsel]

Even FDR said to Harold Ickes that the Bonus Army would elect him.

[J. J.]

Even FDR said to Harold Ickes that the Bonus Army would elect him.

Everybody over reacted on the administration side.  They thought they were Communists.  It was not Hoover's complete responsibility by a long shot.

[dazzleman]

Even FDR said to Harold Ickes that the Bonus Army would elect him.

Conditions were so bad that in my opinion, Hoover would have lost without the bonus army incident.  Surely it didn't help, but I think he was destined for defeat even before the incident.

That's just my opinion.  Unlike you PBrunsel, I'm not a particular aficionado of Hoover, though I think he was given too much blame for the depression.  I think some things are beyond the control of a president, and Hoover was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Roosevelt didn't end the depression either, but he projected a concern for people that Hoover did not, despite his tremendous humanitarian accomplishments at the end of World War I.  Politics is often funny the way - the image is often very much at odds with the reality.

[??????????]

FDR extended the depression. He turned a regular recession style economy into a full blow depression. And thats not even including his horrificly socialist policies and fascist NRA.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

It would have depended on how long the Depression lasted.  If it lasted into 1932, then probably not.  If it ended by 1931, he probably would have been.  Without Smoot-Hawley, the depression would have been over by '32 at the latest in my opinion.

[Redefeatbush04]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

It would have depended on how long the Depression lasted.  If it lasted into 1932, then probably not.  If it ended by 1931, he probably would have been.  Without Smoot-Hawley, the depression would have been over by '32 at the latest in my opinion.

I believe that the best thing to do during a sever depression is to lower tariffs and encourage people overseas to buy american products, because the american people sure as hell cant afford to buy them, when they can barely afford food and shelter

[minionofmidas]

There were a number of factors, but without a doubt the one that transformed the Depression of 1929 which would have been an ordinary enough recession into the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Do you think Hoover would have won reelection had he not signed that?

It would have depended on how long the Depression lasted.  If it lasted into 1932, then probably not.  If it ended by 1931, he probably would have been.  Without Smoot-Hawley, the depression would have been over by '32 at the latest in my opinion.

I believe that the best thing to do during a sever depression is to lower tariffs and encourage people overseas to buy american products, because the american people sure as hell cant afford to buy them, when they can barely afford food and shelter

A severe depression is likely to be worldwide anyways.

[David S]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Also, the great depression could never happen again. The stock market has protections in it to stop it from falling that much.

Never say never. You may have put the whammy on us with that comment. Hmmm think I better sell.

[J. J.]

What caused the great depression, what was the best way to get out of it, and how can we prevent it from happening again?

Also, the great depression could never happen again. The stock market has protections in it to stop it from falling that much.

Never say never. You may have put the whammy on us with that comment. Hmmm think I better sell.

It couldn't happen in that way again.