The Great Depression was an economic recession that began on October 29, 1929, following the crash of the American stock market. It was a terrible tragedy that put millions of Americans out of work and marked the beginning of government involvement in the economy and society as a whole. It was the stock market crash that ultimately caused this depression. After about a decade of prosperity, the United States was plunged into despair on Black Tuesday as stock prices plummeted. Many people tried to sell their shares, but no one wanted to buy them. The stock market, which was once the surest way to get rich, quickly became an easy path to bankruptcy. During the Depression, life was hard everywhere. Urban life was miserably overcrowded and unsanitary. Many people were homeless because they did not have jobs. These homeless people lived on the streets, squatted in buildings or lived in Hoovervilles. Hooverville was a poorly built city built by homeless people. They were named Hoovervilles in honor of President Hoover, who was widely blamed for the Depression. People stopped buying ...