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Why Did The Stock Market Crash During The Great Depression

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The New York stock exchange saw uproar during the 1920’s. People were making more money than ever as prices for stock skyrocketed. When the stock market reached its peak, it seemed as though the market had nowhere to go but up. People in America didn't expect the stock market to fall and when it did they had no idea what to do so they withdrew all their investments which caused the stock market to crash. The fall of the stock market caused 30% of the nation’s workforce into unemployment and debt, forcing the country into a Great Depression.
During the twenties many people were getting rich using buy and sell methods in the stock market, this caused the stock market to rise, and shares to become more expensive for the average buyer. Most American …show more content…
Everyone had the same idea, to get out as fast as they could. But, this didn't help because; it caused the stock market to fall even further. "The virus seemed to have spread. People were selling shares at any Price they could get, and prices were plunging with a violence never seen before (Blumenthal 14).” In the initial crash of the stock market people were scared that they were going to lose all the money that they had invested into businesses; they thought it was safer to take their money out rather than to keep it in to help the market. This caused the market to plunge even further therefore causing more people to sell their stocks. It seemed as though the stock market had nowhere to go but down, and everyone in the market was fighting themselves to get their money. "A Group of bankers pooled their money and invested a large sum back into the stock market; their willingness to invest their own money in the stock market convinced others to stop selling (Rosenburg).” These bankers invested their money in businesses they believed would rise, once people saw that they're investing their money in the stock market again. They hoped it would cause many people to stop selling their shares and invest their money once again. In the newspaper the next day the journalist commented on whether or not the stock market was going to rise or fall. "The effects on business of …show more content…
The first and middle-class consumers were the first to be affected by the crash. They had a large enough income that they were able to support their family and invest in the Stock Market at the same time. The lower class did not get a large income so they were not able to support their family and invest their money at the same time (Nardo 19). Although all the classes were affected by the crash the first and middle class for the first affected. The first and middle class were able to afford to buy shares in the stock market therefore when the market crashed they were the first ones to lose their money. The third class was affected in a different way; The first and the middle class no longer had a vast amount of money to buy goods which caused overproduction. Businesses weren't making any money from the consumers and had to file bankruptcy because they couldn't afford to make any more products. Businesses had to lay off employees because they were no longer able to pay them, this caused an uneven distribution of wealth which caused the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. The rich were mainly politicians and celebrities so they only got richer as time went by. But, the poor weren't making any money, because they didn't have jobs so they got poorer. As people started to lose money they did

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