Cause of the Great Depression by Jason Tomlinson

In September, 1931 a bank panic spreads across the United States. Over 800 banks were closed between September and October of 1929 to 1931. Unemployment reaches 13,000,000 in 1932. Two and a half years after the 1929 stock market crash the U.S. economy was operating at less than half its pre-crash volume. With many banks having their clients’ finances invested in the Stock Market, throughout the 1930’s over 9,000 banks failed led to an extreme decline in the exchange of money. As a result, many Americans lost their life’s saving with the fail of these banks. The surviving banks feared lending money which hampered businesses from being able to operate. With the loss of many American’s savings and the decline in business operations, spending dropped greatly. I believe these are the most paramount factors that precipitated the era known as the Great Depression.