The Turnaround Point

The Economist: The Great Depression Article

During this time of unparalleled suffering, efforts were made by an inspired populus to try and find the root causes of these problems and make their findings public to the world. One such example of this comes from the British newspaper “The Economist”, which at the time provided an extensive report on what they believed were the causes of their economic turmoil. The paper goes in-depth into some specific details about what economic factors could have led to it, but what is fascinating is a certain excerpt from near the end of the article. When referring to the findings of British economist Professor Robbins, they state that he “bluntly criticises the American banking authorities for their failure.” From this statement, we can see that there was a sense of hostility that Britain had towards America, because to them it seemed that all of their problems were the results of America’s ignorance to their own problems. Whether or not the accusations the British made toward the Americans are actually true, their criticisms still provide the insight that there was quite a lot of blame being given toward America at this time from other countries for their problems.

As more time passed and the American and British people began to adapt to the conditions of the Great Depression, the understanding of the root causes of this event also became more apparent. Various findings produced by numerous economists, the article here being one such example, and even discoveries provided by individuals enthusiastic to help allowed for the government to get a comprehensive idea of what was causing the Great Depression, which meant that they could begin to address it through legislation that would positively affect the American people. After all, it is widely regarded that "the single most notable and painful feature of the Great Depression was not its depth, but its duration" [2]. So the sooner that the country could begin addressing the causes, the sooner the people could begin to see an improvement in their lives.

One such program that proved itself influential was the Works Progress Administration, commonly referred to as the WPA [3], which served to directly combat the prevalence of unemployment at the time by hiring unemployed Americans to address demands for a variety of tasks across the country. This program had an immediate and positive effect on the American working class, as it allowed many families to once again get a source of income, which meant that many families saw much less stress.

Another program that was implemented which gave people a great deal of relief was the National Labor Relations Act [3], which helped to prevent workers from being abused and manipulated by their employers, something all too common at the time because of how many people were available to hire. This act provided immediate relief to those who had managed to retain their jobs through the Great Depression, as it meant they could resume usual work and receive proper compensation for it, which reduced much of the stress they had to face at the time.