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The Stock Market crash of 1929, while not the only economic depression, before or since, is the one everyone has heard of, and is the one with the longest poverty lines, paper trails, and the one economists' can't quite quit debating the causes. And it is the one that left the most devastation, and the economic depression much expected. Why did it happen and why so suddenly?

The people were having a great time, wages were up and saving accounts were popular and the stock market, the sole economic indicator of a nation's wealth was healthy. It had been so for the past four or five years and in this bull market' people were confident that their ship had come in. The time was right to get rich. So they let go of their money and invested.

No one knew that their ship was nothing more than a reincarnated South-Sea Bubble, where in 1720, British investors rose to the occasion and bought stock that was only speculative. Therefore loosing their hides. Presumably bear and bull hides, thus giving rise to the sage advice, don't sell the hide before you have the bear', or something to that effect. At least it makes, even today, a wink and a nod meaningful, when speaking of the bear' or bull' market.

At the beginning of 1929, it was a fast paced economy and stocks long held were being sold because the price was right and new investors bought because they could and manufacturers produced and sold and invested in their production and hired more workers and more goods were produced. Soon there were more good to be sold than there were buyers. But speculation continued, and hopes were that buyers could soon be found.

Did not the New York Stock Exchange react and adjust their buying and selling habits accordingly? No. Everyone, the public especially, believed in the power of the Federal Reserve Board, (the federal agency there to loan to banks if they were near failure) and the euphoria continued as the value of stocks climbed. It was almost as if the business world and the public at large thought, how can we fail?

On October 24, 1929, known in the history books as Black Thursday, the bull suddenly turned into a bear. Selling was fast and everyone now fearful of losing money tried to recoup what they could. Panic was the order of the day. The bear was hungry and was gobbling up stock right and left. The crash didn't actually happen officially until Tuesday, October 29. It is known as Black Tuesday, and holds the record of being NYSE's (New York Stock Exchange) worst day. The collapse

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