The Great Depression was one of the hardest times in history for many people. The biggest cause that leads to the hardship was “the stock market crash of 1929” (National Recovery Act). During this time, the stock market underwent a four-day collapse of stock prices, which is also known as the worst decline in U.S. history. Many workers, unfortunately, lost their jobs. Many others couldn’t even afford to eat three filling meals a day. Several mistakes could have been easily fixed to prevent this hard time. One, for example, was when “American firms earned record profits during the 1920s and reinvested much of these funds into expansion” (National Recovery Act). Workers no longer were able to fuel further expansion, so a deceleration was unavoidable. Corporate profits skyrocketed, and wages increased tremendously spreading the wealth for many people. So many actions were made without thinking such as purchasing automobiles and household appliances, causing many middle-class people to fall into debt. 

Structural weaknesses in the American economic system became present. Many banks operated without guarantees to their customers, and “Few regulations were placed on banks and they lent money to those who speculated recklessly in stocks” (National Recovery Act). Agricultural prices had already been at a low, leaving farmers without any hope in recovering from the privation. The economy continued to worsen the problem and after President Hoover was elected, everything became much shakier and his popularity decreased. The economy shrank every year his presidency went on, and relief was unable to be provided for many Americans.

The Great Depression caused different events to happen. One of the major effects of the Great Depression was the “Values (of items had) shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen ... the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). The Great Depression affected everyone because everyone's money was gone. Because everyone lost their money, it caused prices from food to taxes to rise. The prices of items rose because the country was trying to make up for the lost money and gain it back. Even though the prices for items raised, the values of items also went down. Because the value of items went down and the prices raised, it caused the Great Depression to become worst. People and businesses were losing money, so the employment rate also started to drop very quickly. People had to start to work harder and beg people for jobs just to get a little amount of money. 

One of the biggest problems that were caused by the Great Depression was unemployment. The United States began to have an abundance of “unemployed” people, who “faced the grim problem of existence” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Unemployment became a problem for many people because they did not have a job. Because they did not have a job, it caused them to lose money. Many people had to start to beg for jobs that they hardly got paid for just to get a little money. Many people struggled at this time because there was not a lot of ways out of the Great Depression. Even though most people were struggling during the Great Depression, many of them could not help. Most people were losing money faster than they could gain it. 

Multiple resources were available during the Great Depression. One of the ways that the states tried to help people that were struggling was “after any individual becomes entitled to any payment … no other payment shall be made under this title in any manner measured by wages paid to him” (social security). This shows the state tried to help people that needed money. They tried to make it easier for people to pay taxes and other expenses. Even with their best efforts, many of the people in the United States did not have money. There also was not a lot of jobs available for people who were in need. So it became harder and harder for people to gain more money. Unemployment was also a problem because owners were losing money. This caused people to lose more money because they were losing their jobs.

During the Great Depression, not everyone had a fair advantage. Most elders were not working at their age. This caused them to not gain as much money as working people. So the Secretary of Treasury came up with a plan that they “shall pay to each state … an approved plan (for) old-age assistance” (Social Security). The government was trying to help people that were struggling the most: the elders. Most of them did not have jobs and they could not get them. The government realized this and tried to help out. But even with the government's help, it was hard for elders and people who were not working to gain a lot of money. This caused many elders to continue to lose money throughout the Great Depression.