Rights and the New Deal
The year 1929 ushered in the Great Depression. The stock market crashed; businesses failed, homes were foreclosed, banks closed, and unemployment rose to unprecedented heights across the nation.
Historians and economists debate the causes of the Great Depression. Some blame inadequate demand from consumers and decreased capital investment by companies; others blame the recently-created Federal Reserve’s monetary policies that led to “easy credit” and inflated prices. Historians and economists also debate whether the national government’s responses helped end the Great Depression, or made it worse.