''America's Great Depression'' is a 1963

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

on the 1930s

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and its root causes, written by

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian scho ...

economist and author

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

. The fifth edition was released in 2000.

Brief summary

Rothbard holds the interventionist policies of the

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

administration responsible for magnifying the duration, breadth, and intensity of the Great Depression. Rothbard explains the Austrian theory of the business cycle, which holds that government manipulation of the money supply sets the stage for the familiar " boom-bust" phases of the modern market. He then details the

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

ary policies of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

from 1921 to 1929 as evidence that the depression was essentially caused not by

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

, but by government and central bank interference in the market.

Publishing history

* 5th Edition: Auburn, Ala.:

Ludwig von Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). It ...

, June 15, 2000. Hardcover. 368 pages. . (With an introduction by Paul Johnson"Rothbard Revises the History of the Great Depression"
/ref>) * 4th Edition: New York: Richardson & Snyder/E.P. Dutton. 1983. Hardcover. 361 pages. . * 3rd Edition: New York: New York University Press. Co-sponsored by

Institute for Humane Studies The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...

. 1975. Paperback. 361 pages. . Hardcover . * 2nd Edition: Menlo Park, California:

, 1972. 361 pages. . * 1st Edition: Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand, 1963. Hardcover. 361 pages.

References

External links

''America's Great Depression''
at Mises Wiki
''America's Great Depression'': Complete Text in HTML format(also in PDF format)
{{Rothbard books 1963 non-fiction books Books by Murray Rothbard Non-fiction books about the Great Depression