There were several factors that contributed to the start of the Great Depression. One of them was the crash of the stock market. It was 1929, and Republican Herbert Hoover had just been recently elected. During the previous few years, the stock market had been steadily rising, and everyone wanted their piece of the profits. By this time, over 1.5 million people owned stock in various companies. People in every kind of financial situation owned stocks. It seemed that it was an easy way to make money, and most investors were getting rich. The stock market reached its all-time high on September 3, 1929. This caused even more people to buy stock. In October of 1929, however, the stock prices slowly began to decrease. This did not bother the stockholders that much because they just figured that the stocks would go back up like they always did. Unfortunately, these predictions were terribly wrong.

The people placed the blame of their predicament on President Hoover. Americans were becoming very angry and discouraged with their situation. In March of 1930, many Unemployment Councils had formed in the nation's larger cities. The Unemployment Council in New York City held a demonstration in the city's Union Square. Over ten thousand unemployed people showed up, and a huge brawl broke out between the police and them. Things were only becoming worse, yet the President still could not understand the extent and seriousness of the depression. While other citizens had to survive on almost nothing, he was in the White House living comfortably with plenty of food for his family and himself. By the year 1932, there were more than fourteen million jobless people in the United States.

The damage from the Great Depression that Roosevelt and his "New Deal" could not fix, the war certainly did. Several insights can be learned from the Great Depression. Perhaps the biggest one is that the United States government can positively influence the economy by creating massive programs. Also, that many Americans have the spirit of compassion that is necessary in order to provide for the less fortunate. Perhaps the greatest lesson taught was that no matter how big the problem, there is always hope for a solution, as long as there is determination, devotion, and a commitment to solving that problem.

The year 1932 was drawing to a close, and that meant that it was time for the presidential election. The Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover to run for reelection. They called themselves the party of prosperity, even though the nation's economy had devastatingly plummeted while Hoover was President. The Democratic nominee was Franklin D. Roosevelt, the crippled governor of New York. Roosevelt had a friendly face and attitude, and when he promised a "New Deal" for the forgotten man, the voters listened. He understood the terrible times that the people were going through, and Hoover did not. Hoover would not change his views on the government giving out aid and relief to the public. He and his team were confident that they would have no trouble at all being reelected, but they were wrong.

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Approximate Word count = 2239
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)