Wall Street Crash of 1929 (oct 1, 1929 – nov 1, 1929)

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The Wall Street crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a significant stock market crash in the United States that began in late October 1929 with a sharp decline in prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and ended in mid-November. This event marked the beginning of the worldwide Great Depression, which lasted until 1939 and is considered the most devastating in the country's history. The crash was most associated with "Black Thursday" on October 24, 1929, when a record 12.9 million shares were traded on the NYSE in a single day, and "Black Tuesday" on October 29, 1929, when about 16.4 million shares were traded.

The US economy was showing signs of trouble, with the agricultural sector depressed due to overproduction and falling prices, forcing many farmers into debt. Consumer goods manufacturers had unsellable output due to low wages and low purchasing power. Factory owners cut production and fired staff, reducing demand further. Despite these trends, investors continued to buy shares in areas where output was declining and unemployment was increasing, leading to a significant increase in stock prices.

In September 1929, experienced shareholders realized that prices could not continue to rise and began to sell their holdings, causing share values to stall and fall. The banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) was passed by the United States Congress to separate commercial and investment banking. Stock exchanges introduced a practice of suspending trading when prices fell rapidly to limit panic selling.

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