ABSTRACT
In the first half of 1929 there was little indication that the world was poised on the threshold of one of the worst slumps in history. Though there were signs of a slackening of activity and prices in some countries in Europe and along the periphery, partly as a result of the cutback in American long-term lending after the middle of 1928, the international economy by and large was still in a reasonably healthy state. The origins of the world-wide slump are usually located in the United States. Recovery was temporarily interrupted in 1937-1938 when several countries experienced a mild recession, but this was reversed because of the influence of rearmament for war. Recovery from the depression was slow and patchy and even by the end of the 1930s many economies were operating at less than full capacity. America assumed that role and with fateful consequences in the depression.
