Simulic
English

Great Depression and New Deal – shares, output, unemployment and trade, 1920–1941

History20th Century & TodayAges 14–15

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Six linked graphs on one timeline show share prices (the Dow index), money and credit, industrial output, unemployment, bank failures and the shrinking spiral of world trade in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan from 1920 to 1941. Switch on New Deal programmes and other countries' responses (leaving gold, tariffs, rearmament) to see when they began and compare recovery; all data are rounded estimates.

Lesson: The Great Depression and the New Deal; Europe, Japan and the United States between the wars

What it shows

The Great Depression began with falling prices and output in 1929 and deepened after the Wall Street Crash of October 1929. Bank failures shrank money and credit, tariffs and the collapse of lending shrank world trade, and countries tied to the gold standard could not easily cut interest rates. In the United States output fell by almost half and a quarter of workers lost their jobs. Recovery came at different speeds: Roosevelt's New Deal reformed banks, created public works and Social Security, while countries that left gold early, and later rearmament, helped others recover.

How to use

Press Play or drag Year from 1920 to 1941 and watch the six graphs move together. Untick countries to compare two at a time. Then tick Banking reform, Public works (CCC, WPA), Farm aid (AAA) and Social Security to see the New Deal markers and the extra lines, and tick Leaving the gold standard to open the recovery graph. Use the Comparing recovery table to rank the countries.

Parameters you can change

  • Year shown 1920–1941 year
  • Playback speed 1–5 years/s
  • Show the United States
  • Show the United Kingdom
  • Show Germany
  • Show France
  • Show Japan
  • New Deal: banking reform
  • New Deal: public works (CCC, WPA)
  • New Deal: farm aid (AAA)
  • New Deal: Social Security
  • Leaving the gold standard
  • Tariffs and trade controls
  • Rearmament

Questions to explore

  1. Why did bank failures in the USA make the fall in money and credit worse?
  2. Which countries recovered first, and how was this linked to leaving the gold standard?
  3. How much did the New Deal's public works change the US unemployment rate?

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