ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Great Contraction

Great Contraction is when the economy gets very bad and people do not have enough money to buy things. This often happens when there is a lot of unemployment and people do not have enough money to pay for the things they need, like food and rent. People get less money from their jobs and have to save money instead of spending it, making it harder to buy things. The economy gets smaller and businesses close down because not as many people are buying things.