| At the start of the Great Depression, there was | | | | government spending which, in turn, led to even |
| no welfare system in place. Lower industrial | | | | lower demand for consumer goods. Construction |
| production led to mass unemployment and many | | | | projects around the world came to a virtual |
| unemployed found themselves without a home or | | | | standstill. In the United Kingdom, large-scale |
| food for their families. Job insecurity was on | | | | unemployment was a problem in the industrialized |
| everyone's mind and wage cuts were always | | | | cities of the North-East where up to 70% of |
| threatening, as were a reduction in working hours. | | | | workers were unemployed due to the collapse of |
| Shantytowns were a common sight as families | | | | the ship-building industry. |
| lived in basic shelters and ate from soup kitchens. | | | | In the United States, the lasting effects of the |
| For many, these hardships changed their outlook | | | | Great Depression were the New Deal programs |
| on life after the depression years. For some, | | | | introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The |
| building up security through material possessions | | | | industry and agricultural sectors received the |
| became an obsession, where as other people did | | | | most support with work-creation schemes having |
| the exact opposite. They became very frugal and | | | | high priority. The US government became much |
| were very careful with their savings so as to | | | | more closely involved in social concerns and laid |
| protect their families from similar hardships in the | | | | the foundation for the larger role of the Federal |
| future. Many wealthy people were affected by | | | | government in both the economic and welfare |
| the Great Depression as well. Stock market | | | | areas. There was an upheaval in United States |
| investors had substantial losses and those living a | | | | politics as well with farmers, labor unions and |
| good lifestyle on goods bought on hire purchase | | | | ethnic minorities giving more support to |
| had to be careful to avoid getting behind in their | | | | Roosevelt's Democratic Party. The Great |
| payments. | | | | Depression ended in 1939 as the world increased |
| The whole industrialized world was affected by | | | | the production of war materials with the outbreak |
| the Great Depression. Global trade deceased | | | | of the Second World War. War production |
| significantly when countries introduced trade | | | | increased jobs and hence large amounts of |
| tariffs to protect their own domestic economies. | | | | money were reintroduced to circulate in the |
| Reduce tax revenue resulted in lower | | | | economy. |