There was also FDR outlawing child labour (which the economy, particularly factories and coal mines) greatly depended on. The Gold Standard which was used to back up the money in case of such an event was never actually used during the depression. It is believed that some rich businessmen and economists in the U.S. knew about the depression before it happened and that is why the vast majority of them withdrawed their stocks before the collapse of the economy, essentially devaluing the stocks.