the great depression
...of their high expectations of the American market, as well as the market around the world. The Germans, French and even the Germans all disregarded the possible threat of any type of economic trouble, as many were enjoying the prosperity that the years following the war had brought. Each country looked to pass of the blame to each other, and soon Hoover became a target. He too was at fault for passing off responsibility for the Depression, and continued to attribute it to poor interest rates, his personal enemy, Coolidge, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, making himself look foolish. The Depression, as said by MacDonald, was not the result of poor politics or the Versailles Treaty, rather a combination of bad timing, the Great War and poor trade relations. Soon, Hoover, Roosevelt, and the leaders of many other countries were forced to take action. By the early 30s, countries began putting their ideas and schemes to work. Hoover began by passing a less than encouraged Hawley-Smoot protective tariff, which was not overly successful, yet remained a good move on the part of Hoover. It was widely discouraged due to it’s restraint on international trade, yet, despite the advice of thousands of economists, helped to keep the U.S. out of foreign economic troubles. Soon, other countries began preaching of fiscal responsibility and the necessity to remain within the confines of national budgets. The British socialists, the French, and even Prime Minister King of Canada were advocates for financial care with national budgets, yet not all could properly follow through with their ideas for replenishing the deficit. Soon, political leaders were hiring economists to advise them in economic handlings, and Roosevelt began to employ ‘New Deal’ policies, which had been sweeping Europe and improving social welfare. Other countries had been using administrations much like our National Recovery Administration for years before the US began our own. Unemployment insurance, “fair” business proceedings, and other public welfare systems were beginning to be utilized and the Work Progress Administration, the New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration were formed to aid in the efforts. However, regardless of the efforts made, the deficits were immense, and production was still too high to maintain a steady economy. The formation of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 seems to have gained the most recognition for it’s ...