a) The Stock Market Crash of 1929 is considered one of the major causes of the Great Depression. It triggered a chain reaction leading to bank failures, widespread unemployment, and a severe economic downturn. The Dust Bowl and World War II were also significant factors that exacerbated the crisis, but the initial trigger was the Stock Market Crash. World War I occurred more than a decade before the Great Depression, and its impact had largely dissipated by the late 1920s.
