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Climbing to incredible highs, the year 1929 was a time of optimism. The New York Stock Exchange reached record highs as late as September 3rd of that year. Some selling began after that, but it was not until the very end of October 23rd, where selling in the last hours dropped the NYSE dramatically. Then, on October 24th, Black Thursday, the NYSE fell. Bankers met at mid-day to determine how to stabalize the market, and they went about that afternoon buying shares.  It worked, and the market held. It held for days, until October 29th, Black Tuesday. 16.4 million shares changed hands that day.The most devastating drop in a market that would continue to drop for months.

View this video about trading on Wall Street from 1929.

Information from: Burg, David F. "Fateful Year on Wall Street: 1929." The Great Depression, Eyewitness History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=EHGDEssay02&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 4, 2009).

The Aftermath

Starting in 1929 and not ending until 1941, the Great Depression was devastating to the American People. Hitting its peak in the winter of 1932-1933, brief recovery was stemmed by the recession of 1937-1938.Caused in part by the Stock Market Crash, it was also a result of declining industries, particularly automobiles and construction, and a depression in American agriculture, which had already been occuring. Unemployment, at its worst, rose to 25%. Incomes were cut in half. Homes and farms foreclosed. People couldn't find decent food, clothing, or shelter. Shanty-towns and bread-lines appeared everywhere, and farmers suffered; there was no one to buy their crops.

Jeffries, John W. "Great Depression." In Jeffries, John W., Katherine Liapis Segrue, and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: The Great Depression and World War II, 1929 to 1945, vol. 8. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHVIII127&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 4, 2009). 

The Resolution

With the war in Europe, America started slowly building its armed forces. While initially declaring neutrality, there was also a national emergency called so that President Roosevelt could build his peace-time army. His investment into the United States, mostly in manufacturing defense supplies for our army and for the Allied forces overseas, helped bring the United States out of the Depression. Unemployment began to fade and the economy recovered.

Burg, David F. "The Emerging War: 1939–1941." The Great Depression, Eyewitness History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=EHGDEssay07&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 4, 2009).

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For more information, try the History Online database from Facts On File. This is their Learning Center on the Great Depression. 

To learn about the WPA and the Great Depression, try The WPA and America from the library at Social Science and History Department at the Enoch Pratt Free Library

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Other important events of the 1930s (dates represent New York Times articles following the events):

• Lindbergh baby is kidnapped (March 2, 1932)
• Roosevelt Inaugurated (March 5, 1933)
• Prohibition Ends (December 6, 1933)
• Jesse Owens wins at the Berlin Olympics (Aug 5, 1936)
• Prince Edward abdictates the throne (December 11, 1936)
• Hindenburg burns (May 7, 1937)
• Amelia Earhart goes missing (July 3, 1937)
• Hitler take power
  • Hitler Annexes Austria (March 13, 1938)
  • Kristallnacht destroy Jewish homes and business in Germany (November 11, 1938)
• Joe Louise defeats Schmeling (June 23, 1938)
• Orson Wells shocks New York City (October 31, 1938)
• 1939 World's Fair Opens (May 1, 1939)

Images taken from the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection 

About the Soul of the People

Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story is a major documentary television program about the Federal Writers’ Project produced by Spark Media, Washington, D.C., and broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel HD. Soul of a People programs in libraries are sponsored by the American Library Association Public Programs Office with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.