Prof. Antony Davies: 7 MYTHS You Learned in High School About the GREAT DEPRESSION

If you went to high school in America, you were told a lot of things about the Great Depression. Those things were probably wrong. (And they were based on a poor or nonexistent understanding of economics.)

In this video, long-time Learn Liberty favorite, Professor Antony Davies of Duquesne University, debunks 7 of the most common myths that are taught in American high schools and universities. To do so, he relies on well-researched data, his career as an educator, and a lifetime of studying economics.

Are there any important myths we should cover in a future video? Chime in below in the comments!

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
0:18 Myth #1: The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of October 1929.
4:16 Myth #2. President Herbert Hoover's laissez-faire economic policies caused the Depression.
10:39 Myth #3: The Great Depression was a global crisis.
14:39 Myth #5: Bank mismanagement and profiteering were responsible for insolvency and bank runs.
19:14 Myth #6: The Only Thing, as FDR Said, We Had to Fear Was Fear Itself.
20:42 Myth #7: World War II ended the Great Depression.
21:24 Summary: The 5 Things that Caused the Great Depression.

#GreatDepression #FDR #stockmarket #GoldStandard #centralbanks

LEARN LIBERTY:

[ausbare]

Interesting how a government can destroy a economy but never seem to lose money personally.
How many politicians lost money money in the Great Depression?

[wesleytillman]

FDR also allowed high taxes and lots of new government regulation to dampen the business environment. He created the big socialist state we now have growing, and growing, and growing.

[matrixist]

Politicians ALWAYS destroy under the guise of "helping the people ".

[JM-kqle]

We had a depression in 1921 as well... There was no intervention and the market shook it off within 16 months.
Having a Central Bank was one of our greatest mistakes as a free nation. 109 years of pure distortion.

[zarach]

In Latin America we have a colossal amount of natural resources, copper, oil, rubber, sugar, cocoa, coffee, wheat, corn, everything in unimaginable quantities, but that does not benefit the citizens in the least, quite the opposite, that is It is because we do not have a free economy, in all countries the idea prevails that the government must have control of the economy to favor the poor, as a result we have a capitalism of compadres, the government of the day has a monopoly of the natural resources, grants privileges to certain entrepreneurs and deliberately harms others, the success of a company does not depend on its efficiency, it depends on political contacts.

[shaunsteele]

I don't remember even learning about the Great Depression in high school, but I learned a lot about it from my grandparents who lived through it

[rh]

I tend to blame Plankton for all economic downturns.

[davidroach]

Wayne Jett "The fruits of graft" went into detail on FDR and his ilk and how badly they damaged USA it was a great history lesson

[peternorthrup]

My grandfather was a Forman during the depression at Eastman Kodak. He worked 3rd shift his whole life. At that time Kodak built homes for there workers. I remember him telling me his home cost $1500.00 at that time. They took money from his paycheck each week. He raised a family in that home. It's still there. It's nice. Lots of great times visiting each week growing up. Wonderful people. Times have changed.

[markhaseley]

Nice presentation! That being said, he needs to change his bank example. Loans are now created out of thin air and based on the assets put down on the loan, not anyone's savings. That is why they no longer offer competitive rates on any monies held in the bank... your savings/checking is irrelevant to the bank thanks to corrupt new banking laws/policies/etc granted by our corrupt politicians.

[alanhoff]

Mith 1: it was caused by capitalism
Mith 2: the govt saved everyone

[bvoyelr]

My high school great depression education: "buying on margin." Accurate, but incomplete, it seems.

[josephpurdy]

Maybe the whole point was to destroy all the small banks. A newly established central bank does not want or need competition. Banks are permitted to establish monopolies and exempt from anti-trust laws. One bank makes the rules for all the money in existence. One bank sets the interest rates, whom may be eligible for a loan, how much one can borrow, what qualifies for collateral, duration of a loan. When enough regulations are imposed on everyone. When your only choice is comply. You no longer may act independently. Most of the world has only one bank. The same bank you choose to use, because they all coordinate their actions together.

[aidankilleen]

You are a fantastic teacher. Articulate, unbiased, great at simplifying complicated concepts, and your tone is neutral yet serious enough to warrant attention. I've no doubt people like your classes.

[MountainDewComacho]

I remember the press panicking about the '87 crash. It seems that the panic didn't last very long.

[davidmizak]

The remarkable information you provide to your viewers needs to be applauded. I sincerely appreciate your effort to expand your viewers knowledge. A sincere thank you!

[carlindurrant]

My Great Grandmother who lived through this time as she was born in 1919. Said that their life wasn't affected much by the great depression since there wasn't much money to go around in rural Idaho. The only story that I think that took place then was when her house burned to the ground on April fools day.

[connorism]

I think some of this is wrong. The Federal Reserve cannot flood the market with "liquidity"; it simply redistributes liquidity, directing it to the banks (and then to whoever receives loans from those banks). Inflation of the money supply simply redistributes purchasing power and prevents the economy from making the necessary adjustments to weed out the causes of the problem. Praising Greenspan for doing that (i.e., kicking the can down the road and setting the economy up for bigger problems in the future) is silly.

And the account of loans and savings is misleading. Demand deposits should not be loaned out; it should be term deposits that are loaned out. By saying depositors have on-demand access to the entirety of their deposited amounts, while those to whom savings are lent also have access to the same deposits, you have two people with claims on the same money. Insodoing, you have falsely increased the money supply. Fractional reserve banking is not a praiseworthy function of banks; it is an inflationary apparatus that causes long-run problems. Blaming panic and bank runs is completely off-base. In any other context, the bank's looseness would be viewed as what it is. And yet Federal Deposit Insurance adds a moral hazard to this already problematic scenario.

[flotsamike]

One of the reasons the 1987 stock market crash didn't stand out is it happened right when the savings and loan crisis was peaking and the government was picking up a half a trillion dollars in bad debt anyway. In 1987 a half a trillion dollars with some serious money. Now it just 60% of the annual defense budget

[timothysmith]

Interesting to see that about the number of banks that failed in the Great Depression and the 9 percent decrease in the economy for several years (the first 9 percent decrease is greater than the second 9 percent decrease) or around say 30-35 percent is about equivalent to how much the money supply was contracted by the Federal Reserve.