Which of the following was a major cause of the Great Depression?

The stock market crash of 1929 is widely recognized as a major cause of the Great Depression due to its immediate and profound impact on the U.S. economy. On October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, stock prices plummeted, leading to a loss of billions of dollars in wealth in just a few hours. This crash shattered consumer confidence, leading to reduced spending and investment. As stock prices fell, many banks failed, and businesses closed, resulting in massive unemployment. The collapse of the stock market initiated a chain reaction that ultimately contributed to an economic downturn of unprecedented scale, affecting not just the United States but economies worldwide.

While other factors contributed to the Great Depression, such as the agricultural distress indicated by the Dust Bowl or the economic repercussions of World War I, these factors did not trigger the collapse of the economy in the same immediate and dramatic way that the stock market crash did. The implementation of the New Deal, on the other hand, occurred after the onset of the Great Depression and was an attempt to address the problems caused by it rather than a cause of the crisis itself.