What happened? : The Days leading
to the Crash of 1929
In the 1920’s people were just going wild and doing everything they could to rebel against the restrictions they had because of the war. With all this going on it made people act impulsively, “in such times of optimism that people take their savings out from under their mattresses and out of banks and invest it…many invested in the stock market” (Rosenberg). Due to people’s impulsiveness in “the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion” (Stock market). What might have contributed to this expansion was this “newspapers reported stories of ordinary people – like chauffeurs, maids, and teachers – making million off the stock market; the fervor to buy stocks grew exponentially” (Rosenberg). So the ticking of the clock started, time would so run out for this reckless time period. The end was so apparent on October 24, 1929. This date “is usually considered the beginning of the stock market crash of 1929” (Schreiber). On October 24, 1929 or Black Thursday, “a record 12.9 million shares were exchanged… By the end… the market had fallen 33 points or around 9%” (Crash of 1929). Even before Black Thursday there were warnings that something was wrong. “On March 25, 1929, the stock market suffered a mini – crash... there were additional signs that the economy might be heads for a serious setback” (Rosenberg). On Friday, October 25, 1929 “Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great clocks of stock” (Stock market). With these actions is made up some of the losses and let people feel that for the time being they were safe for the next two days but by Black Monday, October 28, 1929 investors started to fear that “the market could rebound… trading volumes were near 9.25 million shares…By the end… the market was down another 13%” (Crash of 1929). Things were starting to go downhill and fast. The stock market finally crashed on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 according to Schreiber people were so freaked out that everyone tried to trade or sell the shares that it broke the record from Black Thursday. “Billions more were wiped off stock values, ruining many investors and causing other to lose huge investments. Nearly five times the amount of the United States budget, then $3 billion US Dollars, was erased from the value of the market during the crash” (Schreiber). People in the 1920s hadn’t realized the risks they were putting themselves in. They were only thinking of the moment not the future and as a result it cost them very dearly, both themselves and the nation.
In the 1920’s people were just going wild and doing everything they could to rebel against the restrictions they had because of the war. With all this going on it made people act impulsively, “in such times of optimism that people take their savings out from under their mattresses and out of banks and invest it…many invested in the stock market” (Rosenberg). Due to people’s impulsiveness in “the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion” (Stock market). What might have contributed to this expansion was this “newspapers reported stories of ordinary people – like chauffeurs, maids, and teachers – making million off the stock market; the fervor to buy stocks grew exponentially” (Rosenberg). So the ticking of the clock started, time would so run out for this reckless time period. The end was so apparent on October 24, 1929. This date “is usually considered the beginning of the stock market crash of 1929” (Schreiber). On October 24, 1929 or Black Thursday, “a record 12.9 million shares were exchanged… By the end… the market had fallen 33 points or around 9%” (Crash of 1929). Even before Black Thursday there were warnings that something was wrong. “On March 25, 1929, the stock market suffered a mini – crash... there were additional signs that the economy might be heads for a serious setback” (Rosenberg). On Friday, October 25, 1929 “Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great clocks of stock” (Stock market). With these actions is made up some of the losses and let people feel that for the time being they were safe for the next two days but by Black Monday, October 28, 1929 investors started to fear that “the market could rebound… trading volumes were near 9.25 million shares…By the end… the market was down another 13%” (Crash of 1929). Things were starting to go downhill and fast. The stock market finally crashed on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 according to Schreiber people were so freaked out that everyone tried to trade or sell the shares that it broke the record from Black Thursday. “Billions more were wiped off stock values, ruining many investors and causing other to lose huge investments. Nearly five times the amount of the United States budget, then $3 billion US Dollars, was erased from the value of the market during the crash” (Schreiber). People in the 1920s hadn’t realized the risks they were putting themselves in. They were only thinking of the moment not the future and as a result it cost them very dearly, both themselves and the nation.