Question

How did the United States go from the prosperous "Roaring 20s" to the Great Depression? Summarize the causes of the Great Depression and determine why President Herbert Hoover's actions did not restore the ailing economy. Then, evaluate President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's policies dealing with the Great Depression.

Answer 1

Causes include: people buying on credit, Black Tuesday, construction halted, international trade decreased; Hoover approved of limited government involvement in the economy; Roosevelt started New Deal, which strengthened banking and provided jobs for millions of Americans; the depression continued, however.

Answer 2

The main reason why the United States went from the prosperous "Roaring 20s" to the Great Depression was because people speculated too heavily in the stock market, causing values to be greatly inflated which led to a "bubble" that burst in 1929--leading to the Depression. Hoover was far too "hands off" and refused to inject the government into the economy, which is exactly what FDR did.