Economic Depression

A crowd gathers outside the New York Stock
Exchange after the Stock Market Crash of 1929

Have you ever heard of the expression "the Roaring Twenties?" This phrase describes the period of sustained economic prosperity that many people experienced in North America and parts of Europe in the decade following WWI. During this time, stock markets grew rapidly, and many of the investors, including common people, grew rich. After living through the brutality of the war, many people immersed themselves in consumerism, jazz music, and night clubs. Although this prosperity was not shared by all, the image of the rags-to-riches story came to dominate the American consciousness along with the trappings of modern life.

The Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end with the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the subsequent worldwide depression that lasted throughout the 1930s. The Great Depression weakened the Western democracies, as economic collapse and deprivation made it difficult for them to challenge the threat of totalitarianism. These challenges would ultimately come to a head in World War II as the world's great powers once again lined up across the battlefield.

Essential Questions

• Why did the world experience depression in the 1930s?
• What political changes resulted from the worldwide depression?