1. The most devastating stock market crash in the history of modern economics, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 signaled the start of the 12 years long Great Depression that would only end with the start of the Second World War
Between October 24 to October 29, 1929, known colloquially as “Black Thursday” and “Black Tuesday”, the New York Stock Exchange plummeted collapsed in historic fashion. The most devastating collapse in economic history, in the opening hours of trading on Black Thursday the market lost 11 percent of its value. Decreasing faster than could be responded to, some financiers, including the Rockefellers, attempted to buy stocks in an attempt to shore up confidence. Ultimately unsuccessful, stocks continued to fall dramatically, dropping 13% on October 28 and 12% on the 29th, with a total of $30 billion wiped from existence across just those two days.
Crippling the financial industry, businesses were rendered without access to capital, beginning to falter, and by 1931 an average of 133 companies ceased operations per day. The consequences of the Wall Street Crash laid the foundations for the Great Depression. Lasting until the late-1930s, the worldwide gross domestic product fell by approximately 15%, international trade decreased by more than 50%, and unemployment rose above 25% in the United States. The financial ruin wrought by the crisis undercut any positive gains since the First World War, whilst the instability and turmoil caused created the political conditions for the rise of Nazism in Europe and onslaught of the Second World War.
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