Black Tuesday (2024)

FAQs

What exactly happened on Black Tuesday? ›

A crowd of investors gather outside the New York Stock Exchange on "Black Tuesday"—October 29, when the stock market plummeted and the U.S. plunged into the Great Depression. On October 29, 1929, the United States stock market crashed in an event known as Black Tuesday.

Black Thursday (October 24th, 1929) saw the largest amount of stocks sold in history, and the market lost up to eleven percent of its value. Black Tuesday (October 29th, 1929) saw investors trade approximately 16 million shares that would prove worthless, bringing the crash to a conclusion.

Black Thursday, Thursday, October 24, 1929, the first day of the stock market crash of 1929, a catastrophic decline in the stock market of the United States that immediately preceded the worldwide Great Depression. That stock market crash (also called the Great Crash) is still considered the worst one in history.

Many investors—both institutional and individual—had borrowed or leveraged heavily to buy stocks, and the crash that began on Black Thursday wiped them out financially, leading to widespread bank failures. That, in turn, became the catalyst that sent the United States into the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also oversees bank operations and insures depositor's' money to prevent bank runs that became an iconic image in the 1930s. While a drop like 1929 could potentially happen again, it wouldn't have the same the consequences today as it did 90 years ago.

Approximately 3 million shares were traded in the first 30 minutes alone, wiping out $2 million of people's money! That was the same number of trades as would occur in a whole day, and this day had just gotten started! Western Union sent three times as many telegrams as usual that day, and phone lines were jammed.

Black Tuesday marked the beginning of the Great Depression, which lasted until the beginning of World War II. Causes of Black Tuesday included too much debt used to buy stocks, global protectionist policies, and slowing economic growth.

Despite all the President's efforts and the courage of the American people, the Depression hung on until 1941, when America's involvement in the Second World War resulted in the drafting of young men into military service, and the creation of millions of jobs in defense and war industries.

By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931.

Howard Hughes grew up rich and got even richer during the Great Depression. In fact, the seeds of his eventual billion-dollar aerospace and defense empire were sown during this time.

What was the worst economic crisis in history? ›

The Great Depression of 1929–39

The Depression lasted almost 10 years and resulted in massive loss of income, record unemployment rates, and output loss, especially in industrialized nations. In the United States the unemployment rate hit almost 25 percent at the peak of the crisis in 1933.

Several individuals who bet against or “shorted” the market became rich or richer. Percy Rockefeller, William Danforth, and Joseph P. Kennedy made millions shorting stocks at this time. They saw opportunity in what most saw as misfortune.

On October 24, "Black Thursday", the market lost 11% of its value at the opening bell on very heavy trading. The huge volume meant that the report of prices on the ticker tape in brokerage offices around the nation was hours late, and so investors had no idea what most stocks were trading for.

Investors panicked, and rushed to sell off their stock in droves, concerned with recouping their finances. With a massive excess of stock available for purchase, prices plummeted. This date became known as Black Tuesday, the beginning of the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors.

What Were the Causes of the 1929 Stock Market Crash? There were many causes of the 1929 stock market crash, some of which included overinflated shares, growing bank loans, agricultural overproduction, panic selling, stocks purchased on margin, higher interest rates, and a negative media industry.

Five days later, on October 29, or “Black Tuesday,” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (with borrowed money) were wiped out completely.

Wednesday, October 23, 1929

Market tumbles. The Times headlines (October 24, p. 1) said "Prices of Stocks Crash in Heavy Liquidation." The Washington Post (p. 1) had "Huge Selling Wave Creates Near-Panic as Stocks Collapse." In a total market value of $87 billion the market declined $4 billion — a 4.6% drop.