MAJOR STOCK MARKET CRASH!
By: Megan Tate:)
Stock Market Crash
Many people were very interested in the stocks, til it took a wrong turn down a very dark path. People were buying stocks more and more, all seemed well and the majority of people were having a great time. Wild parties, crazy spending, they thought they were on top of the world. Later on investors would start to buy stocks on margin, which is buying the stock by putting a little money into it then paying the rest off later. But that didn't always work you see, it could either benefit you or not. Sometimes the stocks would drop and you would owe more then you used to. Soon enough, stock markets were Americas favorite thing, almost an obsession. But people got carried away, thinking the stock market would always go up, boy were they wrong. After a while of everything going well the Federal Reserve decided to raise the interest rates several times to try and calm down the heated economy, this startled the investors. By October 24th 1929 everyone was in a panic, as there stocks took a turn for the utter worst. October 28th-29th millionaires went bankrupt almost immediately, more then $5 million worth of market capitalization had disappeared from the stocks that were trading in the New York Stock Exchange. That wasn't even the worst of it, by the end of the crash $16 billion worth of market capitalization from NYSE was completely gone. Banks were crashing because they were invested in stocks as well, people scurrying trying to get their savings from the bank as fast as possible. Causing major crowds all over, riots starting, it was all a big mess. This horrific stock market crash caused a major economic slum/despression. Many lost their jobs, many lost their homes, because of the crash about one third of the American population were living in poverty.
The Great Depression!
Will it ever end?!
This depression was the worst Americas ever seen, would it ever end? Many farmers lost their land and the ones that didn't only made half of much money as they used to. Many lost their jobs, women had to give up their jobs for the men many times. People were left homeless, waiting in breadlines for sometimes their only food. Herbert Hoover was no help. He didnt believe in hand outs, he thought America should pull themselves up my their boot straps. This didn't please the people, they mocked him calling the shabby boxes and shacks people would live in Hoovervilles. They also called peoples empty pockets hooverflags. But when FDR came into the picture he gave people a sense of calm. He lowered himself more to our level and would talk on the radio and give people hope. Many African Americans switched to being democrats because of FDR, they believed because he was a democrat and he was actually helping people they should be on his side. He helped out a little but the main reason America got out the the Great Depression was World War II. This basically ended the Great Depression because the government needed people to build the tanks and things like that. It got to a point where they would go door to door asking if anyone needed a job, which was definitely a good thing. This is what helped America out of the horrific thing that is the Great Depression.