As I recall from many years ago the Europeans started raising tariffs in anticipation of the passage of Smoot Hawley and that hurt U.S. exports and caused the stock panic.
So now you're blaming the Depression on protectionism in a pathetic effort to keep us from protecting our industries today.
Anyone who knows anything about the Depression realizes that the stock market had far outstripped its value in 1929. There were junk stocks selling at prices beyond what blue chips should have sold, and blue chips were in the stratosphere. Also, the impact of WW1 and the problems surrounding the valuation of currency were related. The Depression started when people realized their stocks were useless, and continued when they realized that the economy couldn't easily be revived.
Today, we're outsourcing and offshoring even the services that we were promised would replace our "dirty" manufacturing industries that were lost in the 1970s and 1980s. America's economy is being hollowed out. If we don't reverse the trend, our fate will be entirely in the hands of foreigners. The equity on Wall Street is already more than 50% owned by foreigners and foreign interests.
If we don't ensure that the outsourcing and offshoring trend is reversed, what could follow might make the Great Depression look like a Monopoly game that went wrong.
If we don't reverse the illegal immigration trend, more taxes will be spent on services for illegal aliens, more Americans will lose their jobs to illegal underbidding, and more educational resources will be drained for remedying their children's pathetic English skills.
It's clear to me that illegal immigration and our loss of service and manufacturing segments are bad for America's economy. I remember when automobiles were made here. I remember when televisions were made here. I remember when a few foreigners accentuated the high tech firms, which made their software and hardware right here in America.
I remember when America led the world with its industrial might. Anyone who thinks we should continue giving that leadership up is advocating the weakening of this great country. Anyone who advocates the continued flood of illegal aliens is advocating the weakening of our culture.
If immigration had ever had the impact it's having today, then prove that ever in our history there were as many foreign national flags flying in the streets of any of our cities? Look around in any town that has been invaded by illegals. You'll find Mexican flags everywhere.
This time in our history has no precedent. We are losing our country in new, much more interesting ways. All you need to do is count the Mexican flags to figure that out.
Do you have a source for that? I can't put any stock into the recollection of a nameless person off the internet. That's especially true when that person's prior recollection (that Smoot Hawley was passed before the crash) was incorrect.