Which event is often cited as the beginning of the Great Depression?

The stock market crash of 1929 is often cited as the official beginning of the Great Depression due to its immediate and profound impact on the U.S. economy and public confidence. On October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, the stock market experienced a dramatic decline – billions of dollars were lost, and investors saw their wealth evaporate almost overnight. This event did not simply serve as an isolated financial crisis; it triggered a chain reaction of economic decline. Consumer spending plummeted, banks failed, and businesses closed because the crash undermined public confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole.

Moreover, the crash had a ripple effect that contributed to widespread unemployment and led to a significant decline in international trade. The impacts of the crash were felt globally, setting the stage for a decade-long economic downturn characterized by high unemployment rates, poverty, and intense hardship. While events like the Dust Bowl, the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the end of World War I played important roles in shaping the context and responses to the economic challenges of the time, they did not mark the abrupt onset of the Great Depression in the way that the stock market crash did.