The United States Economy During The Great Depression

The United States economy has never been as great nor as equal as it was during the late 1940s-1970s, a period commonly known as the Great Compression. It is extremely ironic that the United States economy boomed and strived after only a few years succeeding the Great Depression. One may ask what stirred this dramatic change from a damaged economy to one that was striving and strong in so little time. To answer this question, one must look closely at the history of the United States economy. To be more specific, one must take a close look at how damaged the economy was during the Great Depression and how much the New Deal and other political and social factors impacted society to ultimately create the Great Compression. To begin with, the United States economy during the 1920s, prior to the Great Depression, was one that consisted of individuals pursuing to live the American dream at all costs. The time period of the 1920s was also known as the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age suffered fr om immense inequality. There were rich individuals and many poor individuals, and yet hardly any class in between. Many individuals were consuming immensely in order to live the American dream. Individuals were taking credit. Doing so allowed them to borrow and spend whenever they pleased which is great for capitalism. However, individuals were borrowing much more than they could afford to pay back. Many individuals were in great debt and could not afford to pay it back. Capitalism needs debtShow MoreRelatedThe Real Causes of the Depression1020 Words   |  5 PagesStatistics show right now in the United States the unemployment rate is high. A lot of people are saying that this is bad and the economy is slowly going downhill, but most people forget to think that these things are normal and is nothing worse than the Depression of the 1930s. 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