Great Depression - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_DepressionPrivate View Unemployed people lined up outside a soup kitchen in Chicago during the Great Depression. The Great Depression (1929–1939) was a severe global economic downturn that affected many countries across the world. It became evident after a sharp decline in stock prices in the United States, the largest economy in the world at the time, leading to a period of economic depression. [1]