Bryan McAllister’s personal reference notebook
September 11, 2026Short & citedBlog
Civic Viewpoint.
A quiet encyclopedia with a personal desk
Kept by Bryan McAllister — short guides, clear facts, and the Canadian angle when it matters.
Money & Work • Economic Event

The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 in the United States and spread globally.

Updated September 11, 20261 min readCited sources

The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn that started in 1929. It remains the longest and most severe depression in modern industrial history.

Causes

The Great Depression is commonly linked to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, but historians also emphasize deeper structural problems such as weak banks, falling demand, deflation, overproduction, and international financial instability.

Economic and social effects

The downturn brought mass unemployment, business and bank failures, home and farm foreclosures, poverty, and homelessness in many countries. In the United States, unemployment reached about one in four workers at its worst point.

Government responses

In the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration responded with New Deal reforms including banking regulations, public works, farm supports, and social welfare programs. Similar efforts in other countries varied in scope and timing.

In short

  • Began in 1929 with the Wall Street Crash
  • Unemployment peaked at one in four US workers
  • New Deal introduced major federal relief and reform
  • Canada faced severe regional hardship, especially on the prairies
Canadian angle

The Great Depression affected Canada through falling trade, unemployment, and regional hardship, especially in prairie farming communities; it also influenced Canadian social policy and later welfare-state development.

Quick questions

What was the Great Depression?
It was a severe global economic downturn that began in 1929 and affected much of the world through the 1930s.
What caused the Great Depression?
The crash of 1929 was an important trigger, but broader causes included banking weaknesses, falling consumer spending, overproduction, deflation, and international financial instability.
When did it end?
Many countries began recovering by 1933, but sources differ on full recovery timing; Britannica gives about 1939 for the United States, while other sources link broader full recovery to World War II.

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression
    Supports: Global definition, dates, severity, major effects, and recovery timing.
  2. Federal Reserve History — https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-depression
    Supports: U.S. timeline, banking crises, and recovery during World War II.
  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum — https://www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts
    Supports: New Deal response, banking holiday, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and wartime employment recovery.
  4. Khan Academy — https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-7/apush-great-depression/a/the-great-depression
    Supports: Stock market crash, unemployment peak, and bank failures.
  5. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State — https://www.history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/great-depression
    Supports: Global event and foreign policy effects.
  6. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History — https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/great-depression
    Supports: Causes, unemployment, and historical interpretation of roots of the crisis.