The Great Depression began with the 1929 stock market crash in the United States and spread worldwide. Mass unemployment rose as production decreased without consumers to buy goods, creating a vicious cycle. Governments struggled to respond effectively. Roosevelt enacted the New Deal in the US, including the NRA to regulate prices and wages, and the WPA to employ many. Scandinavia used deficit spending on public works to create jobs. Britain recovered by 1937 as it focused on its national market, while political instability prevented recovery in France.

1. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Eastview High School – AP European History McKay et al, 8 th ed. – Ch28, The Age of Anxiety