The Depression: The Causes Of The Depression In 1929

On October 29, 1929, also known as “Black Tuesday”, was a day in history no one will ever forget. It was the day the stock market crashed.

The stock market collapse was one of the most important events, in the country economy during 1929, which led the Great Depression. Before October 29, 1929, most Americans believe that stock was the key to success and fortune. John T. Raskob affirms his belief that everyone could be

Many people believe the Stock Market crash and the Great Depression are one in the same. In the nineteen twenties the Dow Jones went from sixty to four hundred. People became instant millionaires. Trading became America’s favorite pastime and a quick way to get rich. There were Americans mortgaging their home and investing their life savings in stock such as ford. However, there were many fake companies that formed to deceive the inexperience investors. Many investors did not believe that a crash was possible; they all thought the market would always go up.

During the 1920s Wall Street was representing the decade of expanding economic opportunity for every American. During 1927 some American banks failed due to bad investments and low prices for agricultural products. On Thursday October 1929 American stock market failed and millions of investors are plunged into bankruptcy. Over 12,894,650 shares changed hands, many at fire. About two months after the crash in October, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. The slump was made worse by the share-buying fever that infected the country in the 1920s. Everyone wanted to make quick fortunes, therefore they bought company shares on margin. Competitive buying of the shares drove share prices high above their actual value. Then, when cautious

The book Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen recounts all the events leading up to the stock market crash in 1929, beginning with the end of World War I in 1918. The story, told chronologically, contrasts the changing social and political views of the American people throughout the “Roaring Twenties,” as the time period came to be known. Allen makes history enjoyable, vividly describing the creases in Al Capon’s shirt and the painted faces of the young generation.

The United States signaled a new era after the end of World War I. It was an era of hopefulness when many people invested their money that was under the mattresses at home or in the bank into the stock market. People migrated to the prosperous cities with the hopes of finding much better life. In the 1920s, the stock market reputation did not appear to be a risky investment, until 1929.First noticeable in 1925, the stock market prices began to rise as more people invested their money. During 1925 and 1926, the stock prices vacillated but in 1927, it had an upward trend. The stock market boom had started by 1928. The stock market was no longer a long-term investment because the boom changed the investor’s way of thinking (“The Stock Market

“’Blackest Day on Wall Street in Many Years. Selling orders Swamp New York Market. Billions quoted. Values Fade’” (Shreve 133). Similar headlines most likely splashed across most newspapers on October 30, 1929, the day after the stock market crashed. From this date, the United States entered the Great Depression, the time period where the economy was at its lowest. Although signs were present, this era came as a shockwave to most citizens because the 1920s were times of extreme economic prosper. People’s lives were completely torn from their roots. They were left without any method to make a living, but used drastic measures to survive. The people became desperate and did whatever they could to buy food on the table. Anita Shreve depicts

October 24, 1929 would soon become a day that would be etched in history as Black Thursday. Although there is no one true cause or event that can take blame for the fall of our nation’s finances, the stock market crashing is indisputably the root of the problem that we now call the Great Depression. Prior to this day, the economy and national profits seemed to be on an endless spiral being pushed to the top. The occurrence and aftermath of World War One contributed to our advancement of a seemingly perfect financial state as a country and as individuals. However, after the crash, businesses began to close, including banks and other financial establishments. This, in turn, left no producers or processors for farmers and ranchers to bargain with,

This sort of market economy seemed to work quite well in the 20’s, and soon the stock market began to see quite a rise. All was good for a time, then, shortly after, the booming economy in 1929 led to business inventories backlogs that were three times their size the previous year. Production began a journey to slow declination, thus resulting in the stock market crash beginning October 24, and finally ending on Black Tuesday October 29.

In the 1920s, American economy had a great time. The vast majority of Americans in 1929 foresaw a continuation of the dizzying economic growth that had taken place in most of the decade. However, the prices of stock crested in early September of 1929. The price of stock fell gradually during most of September and early October. On “Black Tuesday” 29 October 1929, the stock market fell by forty points. After that, a historically great and long economic depression started and lasted until the start of the Second World War. The three causes of the Great Depression are installment buying, uneven distribution of wealth and the irrational behavior in the stock market.

First signs of economic trouble were shown when steel production, house construction, and car sales went down in early 1929, but very few people noticed this as a problem at the time. In March of 1929, the stock market did have a small crash, but Charles E. Mitchell essentially stopped the crash by continuing to loan out money even though many broker were issuing “margin calls. After Mitchell’s actions the stock market began to climb once more. Some economists were giving warning of a possible crash in the future, but they were all dismissed as many people did not want to believe it, especially with the price of stocks soaring shortly after the small crash. However these few economists were right about a future crash, throughout the month of September stock prices fluctuated and eventually crashed on Black Thursday (October, 24, 1929).

In October 29, 1929, the fate of the United States and the rest of the world completely shifted as one of the biggest economic downfalls in American history. An unstable banking system led to many Americans attempting to retrieve their money from the Stock Market until the overload eventually crashed the economy Tuesday, October 24 1929. Due to the impact of World War I , the Stock Market’s Black Tuesday brought many Americans during the 1920’s, years of worldwide economic downfall, as well as strong backflash that eventually led to World War II.

The stock market crash of October 27, 1929, marked the turning point in America’s economic history. The prosperous nature of the 1920’s was no longer as America suffered its longest and most severe depression in its existence. Despite actions taken by the government to counteract the economic collapse; inevitably, the depression left 25% of America’s population unemployed and millions hungry as agricultural stocks plummeted. The practice of “Buying on the margin” exposed the flaws in America’s economic system and the consumer mindset which once was the driving point for the prosperity of the United States, now became its demise, as overproduction and under consumption occurred. Despite Hoover’s best efforts to reinvigorate the economy, it was his actions that ultimately prolonged the depression and contributed to its extent. Ultimately it was for these reasons that the Wall Street crash can be considered the catalyst for the great depression.

This became the stock market crash. This day, October 24, 1929, became known as Black Tuesday. In the crash, people lost ten times as much as they put in. After all that everyone lost there trust in the economy. Many people wanted to take their money out of the bank. Banks were running out of money. Because of the cash shortage many banks got closed down.

The third reason given was the bad banking structure which was in place in the 20's and into the 30's. Banks at this time were run individually, thus, when a bank failed or went belly up because of aggregate deposits, it started a domino effect. In 1929 alone, 346 banks closed their doors, leaving people out in the cold, with no money, money which they had trusted in the hands of these banks. This of course left the people with a bad taste in their mouths, and caused them to stop putting money in banks, relying instead on the bottom side of their mattresses. The bad running of banks ties into corruption also. The men who ran banks, men like Charles E. Mitchell, were more interested in keeping the stock market boom going rather then the health of the banks which they ran. These men kept interest rates low and gave bad loans to people who mostly had no hope of ever paying back.