A growing number of homeless people was not a cause of the Great Depression.
Explanation:
The Great Depression was a period of severe economic downturn, which began with the fall of the stock market on October 29, 1929, better known as the Wall Street Crash: the Republican government's policies of boosting US industry, by applying a laissez-faire policy and curtailing foreign products, were one of the major causes of the 1920s economic bubble, but this led to overproduction and reduced product demand. As companies' profits fell and the amount of unsold stock increased, people rushed to sell their shares, thus generating the crisis.
It began in the United States and spread rapidly to Europe and almost all of the world, with shocking results in the industrialized countries and their dependent countries for the export of raw goods. International trade went down rapidly, as did personal earnings, tax revenues, prices and profits. Many cities around the world were hit, especially those that depended on heavy industry. Construction had almost stopped in many countries. Farming and rural areas also suffered as crop prices fell by 40 to 60 per cent. The impact was particularly severe on the coal and mining industry as the demand for their products fell dramatically and most workers did not have an alternative job.
Aid and renewal programs have been instituted by many countries (such as the New Deal in the United States of America) but one consequence of the economic crisis was the political instability it brought, with great growth in extreme right and left wing parties, strikes, protests, and civil wars. The foundations of democracy were under threat and dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, Franco and Mussolini saw power and world politics - especially in Europe - became polarized, setting the stage for World War II in 1939.
