The Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis that began with the crash of the New York Stock Exchange on October 25, 1929, although its root causes are much debated. In the West, the depression was marked by falling prices; the ruin of many banks, insurance companies, trading companies, and farming companies; and massive unemployment. The declining demand for goods in the West caused large-scale economic stress in colonial and other dependent countries that relied on Western markets. Most world economies remained stagnant through the 1930s.
The Great Depression in United States History by 
