The Great Depression free essay sample

An historical analysis of the Great Depression. The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss and analyze the Great Depression from the viewpoint of the most significant global event of the twentieth century. Specifically, it addresses the question of why the Great Depression was so significant, and discusses the remedies and their impact upon the role of the government. The Great Depression began in October 1929, after the crash of the stock market, and lasted almost ten years. It was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world (Gusmorino), which is only one of the reasons it was such a significant global event. An article from the Roosevelt Institute states, over $75 billion in equity capital had been lost on Wall Street, the gross national product had plunged from a high of $104 billion to a mere $74 billion, and U.S. exports had fallen by 62 per cent. Over thirteen million people, nearly 25 percent of the workforce, were now unemployed. In some areas, unemployment was even higher; it rose as high as 50 per cent in some major cities like Detroit and Chicago. The Great Depression free essay sample Niemeyer wanted a Deflationary policy to balance Australia’s budget by reducing spending, wage and social welfare so the country could pay back its debt to Britain. Niemeyer’s plan didn’t work to well and made unemployment rise ten percent. The effectiveness of Sir Otto Niemeyer’s plan was not very good as from the start people doubted that his advice wouldn’t work. Government spending and wages were cut which made unemployment rise from nineteen percent of the workforce to twenty nine percent in one year. Edward Granville Theodore was the Scullin government’s Treasurer and he said instead of cutting spending, they should put in an inflationary policy to increase spending and stimulate the economy. Theodore wanted the government to put and additional thirty six million into the economy to make more employment but the plan failed because the Commonwealth Bank refused the idea of putting more money into the economy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Depression or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The effectiveness of Edward Granville Theodore’s plan was not good because the Commonwealth bank just refused it because they weren’t controlled by the government and didn’t like the idea. The Premiers Plan was made in 1921 at a meeting of state leaders. The federal and state governments wanted to put in something like a deflationary policy to cut spending by twenty percent, including cuts to pensions and wages and taxes were to be increased to give more money to the government. The effectiveness of the premier’s plan was alright because in 1932 there were gradual improvements in Australia’s economy. Wool and wheat beginning to recover and unemployment went down from thirty per cent to fourteen per cent in three years.