Changes

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a global event that derived in part from developments in the United States and U.S. financial policies. As it lingered through the decade, it influenced U.S. foreign policies in such a way that the United States Government became even more isolationist.

The origins of the Great Depression were complicated, and scholars have debated the causes for decades. The initial factor was the First World War, which upset international balances of power and caused a dramatic shock to the global financial system. The gold standard, which had long served as the basis for national currencies and their exchange rates, had to be temporarily suspended to recover from the costs of the Great War. But the United States, European nations, and Japan put forth great effort to re-establish it by the end of the decade.