The Great Depression through World War II: Causes, Events, and Solutions

During the 1920's America experienced an increase like no other. With the model T car, the assembly line, business skyrocketed. Thus, America's involvement in World War II did not begin with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Starting in October 1929, the Great Depression, the stock market crashed. It awed a country used to the excesses of the 1920's. These are the events that lead up to the crash.

Furthermore, a narrative of the Depression: "It was always cold in the house; the only warmth was a wood burning stove in the corner. We used to sit and listen to Gracie and Burn's on the 7 o'clock show. Dinner was watered down onion stew with a slice of bread. "We worked in the fields, maybe 9, 10, hours per day, maybe more. Pay was two dollars a week. We were lucky. We had a roof over our head and food in our bellies, even if it were onion stew, most days." Now, it's 1974 and I ask my granddaughter for a pop at the lumber yard. "50 cents for a 16 ounce bottle of pop. What's wrong with prices these days? I can remember 10 cents a pop."

I still remember. Things started changing on a Thursday.“Three or four days before the Depression, on Thursday, October 24, 1929 12.9 million shared traded, in excess of 7.9 million shares. The system could handle 4 million, but not 12.9 million so people got frightened they would lose their money. People panicked and started selling. The ticker tapes were an hour and a half behind the market. By the end of the day, the market had fallen 33 points around 9%.On Monday, the market bounced back a bit, just enough for people to feel a sense of security, until the end of the day when high trading volumes also put too much pressure on the market. Down spiraled the market another 13%. On Black Tuesday, October ...

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Stock Market Crash of 1929(2011). retrieved on 5/13/2011 at http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-Crash-of-1929/

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