Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Crash of ’29 or the Great Crash, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full and longevity of its fallout. Three phrases—Black Thursday, Black Monday, and Black Tuesday—are used to describe this collapse of stock values. All three are appropriate, for the crash was not a one-day affair. The initial crash occurred on Black Thursday (October 24, 1929), but it was the catastrophic downturn of Black Monday and Tuesday (October 28 and October 29, 1929) that precipitated widespread panic and the onset of unprecedented and long-lasting consequences for the United States. The collapse continued for a month.

Economists and historians disagree as to what role the crash played in subsequent economic, social, and political events. The crash in America came near the beginning of the Great Depression, a period of economic decline in the industrialized nations, and led to the institution of landmark financial reforms and new trading regulations.

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After an amazing five-year run when the world saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increase in value fivefold, prices peaked at 381.17 on September 3, 1929. The market then fell sharply for a month, losing 17% of its value on the initial leg down. Prices then recovered more than half of the losses over the next week, only to turn back down immediately afterwards. The decline then accelerated into the so-called "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929. A record number of 12.9 million shares were traded on that day. At 1 p.m. on Friday, October 25, several leading Wall Street bankers met to find a solution to the panic and chaos on the trading floor. The meeting included Thomas W. Lamont, acting head of Morgan Bank; Albert Wiggin, head of the Chase National Bank; and Charles E. Mitchell, president of the National City Bank. They chose Richard Whitney, vice president of the Exchange, to act on their behalf. With the bankers' financial resources behind him, Whitney placed a bid to purchase a large block of shares in U.S. Steel at a price well above the current market. As amazed traders watched, Whitney then placed similar bids on other "blue chip" stocks. This tactic was similar to a tactic that ended the Panic of 1907, and succeeded in halting the slide that day. In this case, however, the respite was only temporary.

Over the weekend, the events were covered by the newspapers across the United States. On Monday, October 28, more investors decided to get out of the market, and the slide continued with a record loss in the Dow for the day of 13%. The next day, "Black Tuesday", October 29, 1929, 16.4 million shares were traded, a number that broke the record set five days earlier and that was not exceeded until 1969. Author Richard M. Salsman wrote that on October 29—amid rumors that U.S. President Herbert Hoover would not veto the pending Hawley-Smoot Tariff bill—stock prices crashed even further."[6] William C. Durant joined with members of the Rockefeller family and other financial giants to buy large quantities of stocks in order to demonstrate to the public their confidence in the market, but their efforts failed to stop the slide. The DJIA lost another 12% that day. The ticker did not stop running until about 7:45 that evening. The market lost $14 billion in value that day, bringing the loss for the week to $30 billion, ten times more than the annual budget of the federal government, far more than the U.S. had spent in all of World War I.[7]

Anybody else worried this is the end of world as we have known it in America since the mid 80s and really since 1946?

anyone check out their 401K's this morning?!?!?!?

"Gee, look at this mess we're in because of the Republicans removing regulations. You'd think they would have learned after the first stock market crash, wouldn't you? Wow, we really need to clean things up. I know! Let's vote in that old guy who agreed with the removing of regulations and who voted with the President 90% of the time and who belongs to the same party that got us into this mess!"

I swear, sometimes I just cannot figure out people.

Admittedly all my investments are in entertainment -- Disney stock and market funds for entertainment. I figure no matter how bad the economy, people will still invest. Disney fell a bit yesterday, but not hugely, and in fact, within standard rises and falls.

Maybe we'll get some good public works of art out of this...

Orange flags in Central Park.

I said good public works of art.

It was neither good, nor public (financing-wise). Hence the joke


What works of art did we get out of Great Depression?

Maybe we'll get some good public works of art out of this...

Shilling for the commie art league again are you Dolce?

What works of art did we get out of Great Depression?

Some of the greatest films of all time were made in the 1930's.

Some of the greatest films of all time were made in the 1930's.

I know, I was continuing the joke. :-P

As to your question, all of it. If its from the 30's and its still around, its likely WPA. Big stuff includes, like, any mural you've ever seen (not kidding). Smaller works are everywhere. List is infinite. My Library even had a giant canvas hanging in the Art Library wing that was from the WPA. Not to interest any of you budding young art theives, but museums are so not where its at if you want easy access to fairly valueable art. Its everywhere

Hate to use Wiki, but its got convenient lists, etc.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Art_Project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WPA_artists

Its not comprehensive. Every hole in the USA got at least one artist (either his/her work or local funding) during the era.

...I kind of like El Lissitzky...

Maybe we'll get some good public works of art out of this...

WASHINGTON—The National Endowment for the Arts announced Monday that it has begun construction on a $1.3 billion, 14-line lyric poem—its largest investment in the nation's aesthetic- industrial complex since the $850 million interpretive-dance budget of 1985.

And in related news...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/na ... r_the_arts

That's cheap. A great 14-line poem is worth more than all of America's economy.