The major event of the year for the United States was the Stock Market Crash on Wall Street, New York, which was to have international effects.
On September 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) peaked at 381.17, a height it would not reach again until November 1954. Then, from October 24-October 29, stock prices suffered three multi-digit percentage drops, wiping out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (10 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government). Panic set in, and on October 24, Black Thursday, a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great blocks of stock, producing a moderate rally on Friday.
On Monday, the market went into free fall. On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39). On December 3rd U.S. President Herbert Hoover announced to the U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash were behind the nation, and that the American people had regained faith in the economy.
There were many causes of the Stock Market Crash, the most influential being middle class men buying stocks on margin. The fad of the roaring 20's was to buy what you could not afford and pay back later. This was done on margin, or credit. Previously, only rich men purchased stocks but now with the new "pay later" policy, middle class men with no experience in the market were now joining the chase for quick cash. Many upper class investors recognized the signs of the market dropping and pulled their money out, including family patriarch and father to the future President of the United States, Joseph Kennedy.
-This was ranked #1 because of the events leading after the crash. The Great Depression's affects are still felt in the present day, through the mannerisms of the now elderly who survived the hard times or even the way the Stock Market is run (a person can not buy stocks through a loan from the bank, they must be his or her own money). The Stock Market Crash also had an affect on other countries especially England, France, and Germany and helped to spark World War II. While everyone was focusing on internal problems, the "Allies" did not recognize the rising of dictator Adolf Hitler.
On September 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) peaked at 381.17, a height it would not reach again until November 1954. Then, from October 24-October 29, stock prices suffered three multi-digit percentage drops, wiping out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (10 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government). Panic set in, and on October 24, Black Thursday, a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great blocks of stock, producing a moderate rally on Friday.
On Monday, the market went into free fall. On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39). On December 3rd U.S. President Herbert Hoover announced to the U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash were behind the nation, and that the American people had regained faith in the economy.
There were many causes of the Stock Market Crash, the most influential being middle class men buying stocks on margin. The fad of the roaring 20's was to buy what you could not afford and pay back later. This was done on margin, or credit. Previously, only rich men purchased stocks but now with the new "pay later" policy, middle class men with no experience in the market were now joining the chase for quick cash. Many upper class investors recognized the signs of the market dropping and pulled their money out, including family patriarch and father to the future President of the United States, Joseph Kennedy.
-This was ranked #1 because of the events leading after the crash. The Great Depression's affects are still felt in the present day, through the mannerisms of the now elderly who survived the hard times or even the way the Stock Market is run (a person can not buy stocks through a loan from the bank, they must be his or her own money). The Stock Market Crash also had an affect on other countries especially England, France, and Germany and helped to spark World War II. While everyone was focusing on internal problems, the "Allies" did not recognize the rising of dictator Adolf Hitler.