The Stock Market Crash of 1929

No one knows when the stock market will crash. Everyone is hoping that they won't see a huge drop like the stock market crash of 1929, again. However, several key factors point towards the fact that it very well could happen. Economists try to remain hopeful but the market seems to be tumbling out of control.

Just after the end of the First World War, the US seemed to be in its heyday. The Roaring 20s ushered in a whole new way of living for most people. The stock market was a gift that no one wanted to stop opening. Thankfully, with the surge of interest, the market was rising continually. More and more families were seeing prosperous times, thanks to wise investments.

Americans learned about the joys of buying stock 'on margin.' This enabled them to make huge profits when there may have been only a slight rise in the stock that they own. It suddenly became realistic for Americans to turn into millionaires, fulfilling their wildest dreams.

No one saw the stock market crash of 1929 coming. It was a black cloud that was hiding in the shadows for quite some time, though. It all started during the second week of trading in September, 1929. In one trading day, the market declined so steeply that it lost 17% of its worth. This caused widespread fear amongst traders and investors. Somehow, things held together and actually the market regained half of it's loses.

Suddenly, though, on Thursday, October 24, it dropped again. Traders were furiously trying to figure out what was going on.

The next day, which is now known as Black Friday, the market continued to decline. Over the weekend, investors met and tried to find ways to help the market rebound but by Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the market had lost thirty billion dollars worth of value, over the course of one short week. This was the great stock market crash of 1929. The great depression soon followed.