AZnomicsThe Great Crash
Wall Street, 1929
Post-WWI boom. Economy growing. Easy credit fuels stock speculation.
🔍 Why Did This Happen?
Ordinary people borrowed 9 dollars for every 1 dollar of their own to buy stocks. When prices fell, brokers demanded immediate repayment. Mass forced selling collapsed the market.
9,000 banks failed between 1930 and 1933. When banks collapsed, savings were wiped out — there was no deposit insurance. Less money in the economy meant less spending, fewer jobs, and deeper recession.
🔄 What Happened Next
Policy changes, recovery milestones, and lasting lessons
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures bank deposits. Bank runs become a thing of the past.
Separated commercial banking from investment banking. Banks could no longer gamble with depositors' money.
Securities and Exchange Commission created to regulate markets and require corporate disclosures. Insider trading becomes illegal.
The U.S. creates its first national retirement and unemployment insurance system — a direct response to the poverty of the Depression.
WPA, CCC, and other programs employ over 4 million Americans building roads, schools, and parks. GDP grows 8–10% per year.
Dow Jones finally regains its September 1929 peak — 25 years and one World War later.