The 1920’s was a time of great prosperity in the lives of most Americans. We had just come out of the Great War and business was booming, along with agriculture and the stock market. The outlook for the future was great, but people failed to understand that economies can’t be on the rise forever. All of the signs of a depression were there; the farmers were producing too much, the uneven distribution of income, easy credit/huge debts, and imbalance of foreign trade. In 1928 and 1929 the average price of st

ocks rose over 40 percent. The stock market was totally unregulated. Margin buying in particular proceeded at a “feverish pace” as customers borrowed up to 75 percent of the purchase price of stocks. That easy credit lured more speculators and less creditworthy investors into the stock market. The Federal Reserve board warned member banks not to lend money for stock speculation because if prices dropped, many investors would not be able to pay back their debts. No one listened. The stock market began sliding in the early September, but people ignored the warning. Then on “black Thursday” (October 24, 1929) and again on “black Tuesday” (October 29, 1929) the ball dropped. More than 28 million shares changed hands in hysterical trading. Overextended investors, suddenly finding themselves in heavy debt, began selling their stocks. Many found that no one would buy anything at any price. Overnight, stock values fell from a peak value of 87 billion dollars to 55 billion dollars.

The election of 1932 made it clear that the American people were unhappy with Hoover. Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the election on the Democratic ticket by a landslide.

Some topics in this essay:
Delano Roosevelt, Tuesday” October, Americans War, Industrial Revolution, President Hoover, Federal Reserve, Bank Act, United America, Thursday” October, stock market, “new deal”, Hoover Dam, price stocks, president hoover,