US History › Section M · Depression and New Deal › Topic M.1
The stock market crash of 1929
In the autumn of 1929 the New York stock market lost about half its value in a few weeks. The crash did not on its own cause the Great Depression, but it exposed a fragile economy and helped tip it into the worst slump in American history.
In this topic
- A crash and a depression are not the same thing
- Hoover takes office in good times
- Easy credit and a speculative mood
- Buying on margin
- Worked example: a margin call
- The October panic
- The long slide to 1932
- Weaknesses beneath the boom
- How the shock spread
- Worked example: did the crash cause the Depression?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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