Summary In 1930 the senate passed a law called Smoot-Hawley Act. This act led to the increase of taxes on over 20,000 imported goods. Some say that act was a major cause of the depression. Another cause was the bank failures prior to the crash of the stock market in 1929. During the 1930's banks started to sell their assets in a panic. By late 1930 608 banks had failed. One of those failing banks was the Bank of the United States. That failure of fhat bank in particular had detrimental effects os the economy because when I failed the bank lost 1/3 of all deposits. By January 1932 1,860 bankes had failed. Analysis Most people believe the crash of the stock market was the sole cause of the Great Depression. In fact, it may not have been the crash that truly sunk America into the depression. Another thought was the copious amount of bank failures. The 1930's served as a devastating time for Americans duel all the bank failures. By 1932 1,860 banks had failed leaving people penniless. Citation Ferguson. (2008, October 2). The end of prosperity?. Time Magazine , Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1846792, Question Do you think the bank failures played a big role in the Great Depression?