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How Far Was the Wall Street Crash the Main Cause for the Great Depression?

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RESEARCH QUESTION: How far was the Wall Street Crash the main cause for the Great Depression?

A. Plan of the Investigation 1

B. Summary of Evidence 1

C. Evaluation of Sources 3

D. Analysis 5

E. Conclusion 7

F. Bibliography 8

A. Plan of the investigation

The investigation considers the extent to which the Wall Street Crash was the main cause for the Great Depression that hit the Unites States throughout the 1930s, whose effects were spread worldwide. For this purpose the investigation assesses the significance of the crash in the stock market in relation to other factors that were also relevant. Through the selection and summary of relevant written sources, the investigation examines the 1920’s the domestic and international problems during the “prosperous” years that triggered the crisis. In order to reach a conclusion two of the sources: The Great Depression by Lionel Robbins and The Great Depression and The New Deal by Robert F. Himmelberg are evaluated for their origin, purpose, values and limitations.

Word count: 120

B. Summary of evidence

By the time the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the USA was the world’s biggest economic power[1]. Its role in providing extra equipment and a supply of fresh soldiers was instrumental in the final Allied victory[2]. The artificial prosperity of the war years was followed by an inevitable collapse[3]. After a short recession between 1920 and 1922, the USA began a long period of uninterrupted prosperity and economic expansion[4]. By the end of 1922 many industries were again recording capacity business[5]. When weekly wages were insufficient to purchase personal goods, credit was available to the consumer. For the businessman and the investor the twenties offered golden returns. Never

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