The Great Depression was one of the most important historical events to happen in the last century that impacted the lives of every American in one way or another. There were many factors that could explain why the Great Depression occurred, but there is no definitive list of reasons for what caused the Great Depression. It was a set of events in the United States and outside of it that likely led to this time period. The main reason everyone could agree on was the Wall Street Crash event of 1929. Because of the crash, people went into a bank run that forced thousands of banks to close because they simply didn't have all the money for everyone. people who want to withdraw their savings. As everyone tried to withdraw their savings, most people were rejected by the bank and essentially lost their savings in the bank. The banks were failing and because they had no more money, this prevented the banks from having available credit for people to use, which made things even worse for people. This drives people into poverty and they are left with nothing. Because people were poor and afraid to spend their money, this caused people to stop buying extra things that were not essential for living. This was the cause of the unemployment rates during this time period because if no one was buying anything, there was no reason to retain extra workers for things people weren't buying. On top of everything happening in the United States of America, the Tariff Act of 1930, or Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which increased tariff rates on almost everything imported from other countries to an extremely high percentage which led to less trades between... half the card. .....involve everyone. They could walk away from all the problems and turbulence they face with the economy. Another way the family could come together for fun was through the radio. If someone could afford the radio, it would be worth it, because then there would be an almost endless supply of entertainment. With the radio there was always music but there were also other programs on the radio that people could listen to. There were comedians playing on the radio for everyone to see. The women could listen to soap operas and the rest of the family could listen to famous stories like The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. And the men listened to the sports games. Works Cited Gup, Ted. A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness and a Treasure of Letters Revealed the Hidden Story of the Great Depression. New York: Penguin Press, 2010