1. Great Depression

2. Causes German reparations (war payments)
Overproduction – high supply + low demand = low prices for farm goods and manufactured goods

3. Causes
Protective Tariffs – countries passed tariffs (taxes on imports) to make people buy goods produced and food grown in their country (foreign goods were more expensive)
Buying on credit (buy now and pay later)

4. Causes Stock Market Crash (October 1929)
a. Eager investors (people who buy stock in
companies) bought stocks on the “margin”
– paid only part of the cost and borrowed
the rest from brokers

5. Causes Stock Market Crash (October 1929)
b. Stock prices began to fall 
Brokers (people who help others
buy and sell stock) called in loans
(wanted investors to pay back the
money that they borrowed to
buy stocks)

6. Causes Stock Market Crash (October 1929)
c. Investors were unable to pay back
loans – value of stock had decreased
dramatically ($300 to $30 a share)
d. People lost most if not all of their
money

7. Collapse of the Banking Industry
Banks close – banks also invested in the stock market and lent money to people who could not repay them (millions of people lost their money and accounts) Run on a Bank

8. High Unemployment/Businesses Closed
Collapse of banking industry causes people to buy less (people do not have a lot of money)
Many people are jobless, homeless, and penniless
Low demand = low supply of products – factories reduce production and layoff more workers (high unemployment)

9. Great Depression Longest and worst economic crisis
Personal Accounts of the Great Depression

10. Great Depression

11. Great Depression

12. Great Depression

13. Great Depression

14. Rise of Dictators
Growth of Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler in Germany – blaming German Jews for the Depression
Growth of Fascists Party and Mussolini in Italy
Tojo’s rise to power in Japan and growth of militarism
Mussolini Speech