David M. Kennedy And The Great Depression

Many economist and historians support the idea that the main cause of the Great Depression was World War I, but there were other actions that triggered the collapse. Consequently, the war hurt every country economically. The author of “The Great Depression,” David M. Kennedy, supports the fact that World War I hurt the “core societies of the advanced industrialized world” (Kennedy 1). The Treaty of Versailles, the document which ended the war, imposed harsh consequences towards the villains of the war. The enemies of the U.S. were overwhelmed with war debt and restoration. This not only hurt them, but it also hurt the United States because of trades. Back in the America, farmers were experiencing “a severe economic crisis,” which did not completely end until the
The American culture was drastically changed. It changed from a religious and moral culture, to a lustful and entertainment filled culture. Large amounts of money were spent daily, and people were out more. Social consequences appeared, like “the rise of premarital sex […} and the breakdown of traditional religious mores” (Zeitz 9). The Jazz age ended when the market crashed. Zeitz argues that the stock market had very little to do with the Great Depression, but the “low wages, high rates of seasonal unemployment, […] and unequal distribution of wealth” were the main causes (Zeitz 7). Like in any story with a problem, a hero arose. President Franklin D. Roosevelt came into presidency after Hoover’s incapability to fix the problem. He proposed “The New Deal,” that made credit and banks more stable, helped the unemployed and elderly, and reduced the unemployment rate. Contrary to Hoover, President Roosevelt helped the people overcome one of the biggest problems in American history. Even though it is not certain the main cause of the Great Depression, it is evident that many actions by the American people and the government caused the economy to