Answer:
The Great Depression spread rapidly from the U.S. to Europe and the rest of the world as a result of the close interconnection between the United States and European economies after World War I. What happened to the U.S. economy during the 1920s? It crashed and every investor in the stock market became flat broke.
Main cause:
However, many scholars agree that at least the following four factors played a role.
The stock market crash of 1929. During the 1920s the U.S. stock market underwent a historic expansion. ...
Banking panics and monetary contraction. ...
The gold standard. ...
Decreased international lending and tariffs.
What started the Depression:
It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid-off workers.
How did we get out of the Great Depression:
GDP during the Great Depression fell by half, limiting economic movement. A combination of the New Deal and World War II lifted the U.S. out of the Depression.
How long did it take to recover from Great Depression:
HISTORICAL stock charts seem to show that it took more than 25 years for the market to recover from the 1929 crash — a dismal statistic that has been brought to investors' attention many times in the current downturn.