The Great Depression of 1929 vs. the Great Recession of 2008
The Great Depression of 1929 Vs. The Great Recession of 2008
In America there have been great economic struggles and triumphs. The many great leaders of this country have foraged, failed, and overcome some very difficult times. Comparing the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 has revealed similarities that by learning from our mistakes in 1929 could have prevented the latest recession. I will discuss the causes of the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and what policies were implemented to reverse the economic downfalls. The Great Depression of 1929 is said to have many causes. In an article on about.com Martin Kelly states there were five main causes of the Great Depression. First is the stock market crash of 1929. October 29, 1929 or Black Tuesday, was the fourth day of the stock market crash. For the New York Stock Exchange it was the worst day in history because it signaled the start of the Great Depression. Within hours on Black Tuesday the stock market lost all the gains for the entire year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gapped down from the previous day’s close of 260.64, opening at 252.6. It fell to 212.33, closing a bit up at 230.7, an eleven percent loss. Over sixteen million shares were traded, beating the record of almost thirteen million traded on Black Thursday. That was worth fourteen billion, or one hundred eighty five billion in 2011 dollars. As bad as the losses were they were not what made Black Tuesday so devastating. The crash set the direction of the stock market, and then the economy, for the next decade. In just four days the stock market dropped twenty five percent, which was forty percent in market value or thirty billion dollars. In 1929 this was ten times the Federal budget. By November 13, the day when stock prices hit their lowest point in 1929, over one hundred billion dollars had disappeared from the American economy. Today that would be worth over one trillion dollars. Black Tuesday is widely
In America there have been great economic struggles and triumphs. The many great leaders of this country have foraged, failed, and overcome some very difficult times. Comparing the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 has revealed similarities that by learning from our mistakes in 1929 could have prevented the latest recession. I will discuss the causes of the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and what policies were implemented to reverse the economic downfalls. The Great Depression of 1929 is said to have many causes. In an article on about.com Martin Kelly states there were five main causes of the Great Depression. First is the stock market crash of 1929. October 29, 1929 or Black Tuesday, was the fourth day of the stock market crash. For the New York Stock Exchange it was the worst day in history because it signaled the start of the Great Depression. Within hours on Black Tuesday the stock market lost all the gains for the entire year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gapped down from the previous day’s close of 260.64, opening at 252.6. It fell to 212.33, closing a bit up at 230.7, an eleven percent loss. Over sixteen million shares were traded, beating the record of almost thirteen million traded on Black Thursday. That was worth fourteen billion, or one hundred eighty five billion in 2011 dollars. As bad as the losses were they were not what made Black Tuesday so devastating. The crash set the direction of the stock market, and then the economy, for the next decade. In just four days the stock market dropped twenty five percent, which was forty percent in market value or thirty billion dollars. In 1929 this was ten times the Federal budget. By November 13, the day when stock prices hit their lowest point in 1929, over one hundred billion dollars had disappeared from the American economy. Today that would be worth over one trillion dollars. Black Tuesday is widely
Cited: Deskins, Donald et al. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008: County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 2010. Print. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encylcopediabritannica.com: The Great Recession of 2008-2009: Year In Review. web. Dec. 10, 2012. Murrin et al. Libery, Equality, Power: A History of the American People. Volume 2: Since 1863. Wadsworth, Boston, MA 2012. Print. Rosen, Elliot A. Roosevelt, The Great Depression, and the Economics of Recovery. University of Virginia Press. 2005 Print.