Great Depression

The Great Depression, [blank] began in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s, was the most severe and prolonged economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. Its causes [blank] complex and multifaceted, reflecting a combination of domestic and international conditions that conspired to undermine economic stability and confidence. One of the primary causes was the over-speculation in the stock market, which had [blank] disconnected from the real economy. Throughout the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, after a decade of roaring growth. This speculative bubble was partly fueled by the widespread use of margin buying, [blank] investors borrowed money to buy stocks, betting on continued increases in stock prices. However, when the market began to decline in late 1929, panic set in, leading to a catastrophic crash in October.