One of the worst economic recessions the world has ever seen, the Great Depression lasted for 10 years and changed the country forever. The stock market crash on 'Black Tuesday' in 1929 is seen as the start of the recession and the beginning of WWII is often seen as the end. In America, the unequal distribution of wealth in society, the stock market speculation, the increased factory and farm production, and the consumer society all helped cause the depression. In 1932, as many as 15 million people were out of jobs, which was nearly 20% of the population, and thousands of banks had closed by 1933. FDR and the government tried to help people as much as they could by offering as much government aid as possible to every person who needed it. America was changed permanently from the Great Depression, as people and the economy would have much more government security in the future than ever before.