You might be interested in some previous threads on the causes of the Great Depression:
Causes of the Great Depression
What caused the Great Depression to be so severe? What role could the federal reserve had, in preventing the full fledged depression? - 24 comments, over 2 years old.
A flaired user gives a detailed overview of the banking, agricultural, stock, and government trends which caused and/or contributed to the Great Depression.
I'm reading Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom. He claims that it was actually government interference that caused the Great Depression, not lack of oversight. How true is this? - 31 comments, over 5 months old.
This thread goes into detail on two major economic interpretations of the Great Depression as well as the then contemporary policies founded on these interpretations.
What caused the Great Depression in the United States? - 1 comment, over 1 year old.
The lone comment discusses the gold standard in context with stock issues and other commonly cited causes of the Great Depression.
What were the main causes of the Great Depression, and what brought it to an end? - 4 comments, over 4 months old.
Two users in this thread offer different interpretations of the Great Depression's causes.
How much blame could we actually give to Herbert Hoover for the Great Depression? - 25 comments, over 1 year old.
Commenters here discuss how the main economic interpretations of the Great Depression approach the issue.
Related Topics
How did the Great Depression affect so many different countries? - 11 comments, over 3 months old.
Commenters here discuss various ripple effects of the Great Depression with one flaired commenter also discussing the effects of various gold standards on the crisis.
How did the Great Depression affect Russia and Japan? - 10 comments, over 2 years old.
This thread mostly discusses the Soviet side of the matter with only a brief summary devoted to Japanese performance during the period.
were general living standards in the US higher in 1923 (before the depression) or 1947 (after world war 2)? - 22 comments, over 1 year old.
A flaired commenter does a breakdown of both periods in terms of standard of living, economic growth, working conditions, infrastructure, and other factors.