The stock market crash on October 24, 1929, marked the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States. The day became known as "Black Thursday," Many factors had led to that moment. World War I, changing American ideas of debt and consumption, and an unregulated stock market all played pivotal roles in the economic collapse.
World War I transformed the United States from a relatively small player on the international stage into a center of global finance. American industry had supported the Allied war effort, resulting in a massive influx of cash into the US economy. As the war interrupted existing global trade relationships, the United States stepped in as the main supplier of goods, including weapons and ammunition. These purchases left European countries deeply in debt to the United States.
After the war, the United States began a period of diplomatic isolation. It enacted and raised tariffs in 1921 and 1922 to bolster American industry and keep foreign products out.
In the 1920s (the “Roaring Twenties”) many American consumers, assuming economic prosperity would continue indefinitely, took on large amounts of personal debt, sometimes at extremely high interest rates. Factories depended on these consumers continuing to purchase their goods.
Finally, the stock market, based on Wall Street in New York City, was loosely regulated. There were few rules to ensure invested money was safe. Speculators began to deliberately manipulate stock prices, buying and selling in order to increase their returns. Only a small number of Americans purchased stock directly, most believing that the market values would continue to increase. Many investors, comfortable with debt, bought stocks “on the margin,” using a small personal investment to pay a portion of the actual share value while borrowing the rest from a bank or other lender. They assumed the stock price would rise and they would be able to repay the balance of the loan from their investment profits. This system worked well, until the stock decreased in value.
