<P> Uncertainty was a major factor, argued by several economists, that contributed to the worsening and length of the depression . It was also said to be responsible "for the initial decline in consumption that marks the" beginning of the Great Depression by economists Paul R. Flacco and Randall E. Parker . Economist Ludwig Lachmann argues that it was pessimism that prevented the recovery and worsening of the depression President Hoover is said to have been blinded from what was right in front of him . </P> <P> Economist James Deusenberry argues economic imbalance was not only a result of World War I, but also of the structural changes made during the first quarter of the Twentieth Century . He also states the branches of the nation's economy became smaller, there was not much demand for housing, and the stock market crash "had a more direct impact on consumption than any previous financial panic" </P> <P> Economist William A. Lewis describes the conflict between America and its primary producers: </P> <P> Misfortunes (of the 1930's) were due principally to the fact that the production of primary commodities after the war was somewhat in excess of demand . It was this which, by keeping the terms of trade unfavourable to primary producers, kept the trade in manufactures so low, to the detriment of some countries as the United Kingdom, even in the twenties, and it was this which pulled the world economy down in the early thirties .... If primary commodity markets had not been so insecure the crisis of 1929 would not have become a great depression...It was the violent fall of prices that was deflationary . </P>

What were the factors leading to the great depression