When the Market Crashed
1920's - 1930's
In the 1920's
This was the time at the end of World War I. The people were full of enthusiasm, optimism, and confidence. It was a new era. New inventions had started to take place. The airplane and radio seemed as though anything could be possible. Flappers had become the model for the new woman. Prohibition had given confidence to the common man in this day and time.
The Stock Market Boom
The stock market had always been a risky investment, but it seemed different in the 1920's. Stock prices began to rise as more people started investing more and more money into the stock market. Through 1925 and 1926, the stock market was bouncing around from higher to lower. As 1927 came around, the stocks had a growing trend to them. The more people saw the stocks rising, the more people invested into them, and that's exactly what happened. 1928 was the start of the stock market boom. Everyday people thought that they would become rich. The stock markets were all that people talked about everywhere they went. People such as: teachers, chauffeurs, and maids were making high amounts of money. Even though many people wanted to invest into the stock market, not alot of those people had the money to do so.
Signs of Trouble
By early 1929, even companies were buying into the stock market. The banks were also investing the money they were holding for other people into the stock market. On March 15, 1929, the stock market had a mini crash. Later in the Spring of 1929, steel production went down, house construction slowed, and car sales waned. Many people had warned that there was going to be a big downfall, but as the months passed by, others thought of those warnings as pessimistic and they ignored everybody who tried to warn them. When the big boom happened, people were more than surprised.
Summer Crash
By summer time, both of the mini crashed had been long forgotten. The stocks had finally reached it's highest point at 381.17. People had thought nothing but high hopes for the stock market. On September 5, 1929, the stock market started to drop. At first, they hadn't drop very much, but as the days went by, the stock market was dropping lower and lower.
October 24, 1929 - Black Thursday
On the morning of October 24, 1929, also known as Black Thursday, the stock market crashed. Vast numbers of people who had invested were suddenly selling their stocks. Things were becoming so bad that people had been recieving stories about other people commiting suicide. Numbers of people gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. To the relief of many, the shock of the boom died down by that afternoon. When a group of bankers invested a large sum of their money back into the stock market, others willingness to invest their own money in the stock market stopped others from selling their stocks. The morning was a shock, but the recovery was amazing!