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President Hoover's Inaguration
President Herbert Hoover was inaugurated. Nicknamed “The Great Engineer,” He took office amid booming prosperity. During his campaign, he had promised: “We shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” -
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The Stock Market Crash
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The Mini-Crash
A mini-crash began as investors start to sell, revealing the market’s shaky foundations. For the many people that "played the market" with borrowed money that day was a disaster, as margin calls wiped out their money. While the investors sought to borrow more money, interest rates soared to 20 percent. -
Signs of Trouble
The American economy showed ominous signs of trouble. Steel production was declining, construction was sluggish, car sales fell down, and consumers were building up high debts because of easy credit. Yet the stock market continued its upward momentum, regardless of real economic indicators. -
Increase
The stock market repeatedly reached new heights. -
Rebounding
The market continued to rebound, and stocks hit record levels month after month. -
The Market Reaches it's Peak
After a surge of optimism, the market reached its peak — the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 381.17. A newspaper headline read, “Public Demand for Stock Appears Insatiable" -
Babson Break
Roger Babson gave a speech, saying, “Sooner or later, a crash is coming, and it may be terrific.” For the first time, investors listed as the market took a severe dip, which will be called the “Babson Break.” The next day, prices stabilized, but the collapse had began. -
The Market Fluctuates
The market occasionally fluctuated up and down. -
Black Thursday
“Black Thursday” The economic 'bubble' finally burst. Stock prices fell sharply on a day of heavy liquidation. Ticker tape ran four hours later than normal at a volume of 12.9 million shares. Headlines reported that the market’s paper loss at $5 billion. A pool of bankers acted to stem the drop by putting more money into the market, and President Hoover reassured Americans that U.S. business is sound. -
Black Tuesday
“Black Tuesday” Panic set in as investors all tried to sell their stocks at once. Over 16 million shares of stocks were sold, setting a record — and the market records over $14 billion in paper losses. At the end of the day, the market was down 33 points, more than 12.8%. Some of the nation’s financial elite, including General Motors’ William C. Durant and the Rockefeller family, showed confidence by buying stocks, but their efforts failed to revive fallen the market.
