The Great Depression :: American History

The Great Depression was a time period in history spanning the 1930’s that was a dramatic, economic downturn, the worst in U.S. history. Its affect was felt not only in the United States but by people all over the world. This widespread economic condition is now used in reference as the example of the worst that the economy could ever get. It affected so many people from every economic class. It not only affected a company or a few number of people but it affected just about everyone. People’s personal income decreased dramatically, the profit people and companies made decreased, the governments tax revenue decreased as well, the price of things dropped because the value and worth of things dropped as well. Most of these events can be traced back to a number of things. The Great Depression was not a sudden collapse. It was destined to happen by the events that led up to it. Some of these significant events were: the crash of the stock market in 1929, the â€Å"Roar ing Twenties†, â€Å"Maldistribution† or the wide division created between the rich and the poor, the closing of banks, the loss of jobs for the American people, and the halt on international trade. One of the most significant of these happened October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. Black Tuesday, a.k.a. â€Å"The Great Crash,† â€Å"Crash of ’29,† â€Å"Wall Street Crash of ’29,† and many more dreadful nicknames. Black Tuesday was the most destructive and the biggest stock market crash in the history of the United States. It was not a one day event however. There was Black Thursday, and Black Monday that led up to it. The primary crash occurred on Black Thursday. After the crash, the entire United States was filled with worried Americans. Fear and panic quickly spread to everyone. At the time, New York had grown largely and become very wealthy. It had over a half of million people, which made it a metropolis. Also, Wall Street had become the most successful place on Earth. It was one of the top financial centers with the New York Stock Exchange as the center of it. The New York Stock Exchange was the largest stock mar ket in the world. All of these things made it more susceptible to a crash or catastrophic event.