Editing Farm Security Administration (section)

==The Great Depression==

The [[Great Depression]] began in August 1929, when the United States economy first went into an [[Recession|economic recession]]. Although the country spent two months with declining [[gross domestic product]] (GDP), the effects of a declining economy were not felt until the [[Wall Street crash of 1929|Wall Street crash in October 1929]], and a major worldwide economic downturn ensued.

Although [[Causes of the Great Depression|its causes]] are still uncertain and controversial, the net effect was a sudden and general loss of confidence in the economic future and a reduction in living standards for most ordinary Americans. The market crash highlighted a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits for industrial firms, [[deflation]], plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2007/1/2007_1_23.shtml|title=10 Moments That Made American Business|last1=Gordon|first1=John Steele|work=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420194514/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2007/1/2007_1_23.shtml|archive-date=20 April 2008|issue=February/March 2007|author-link=John Steele Gordon}}</ref>