Answer to Question 1
A
Answer to Question 2
The Great Depression started in 1929, coinciding with a crash in the U.S. stock market. From 1929 to 1933, the crisis deepened as stock markets around the world continued to fall. At its bottom in 1933, the U.S. stock market was about 80 percent below its peak four years earlier. Millions of U.S. farmers and homeowners went bankrupt. Real GDP fell 26.3 percent below its 1929 level, and unemployment eventually rose from 3 percent in 1929 to 25 percent in 1933. From 1929 to 1933, the number of banks in the United States fell from 23,679 to 14,207. This decline was driven by failing banks that either went out of business altogether or were acquired by stronger competitors. Similar events occurred in almost all developed countries around the world, though the U.S. contraction was among the most severe.