Term paper on Stock Market Crash of 1929

Stock Market Crash of 1929

RESOURCE GUIDE

Between 1927 and 1929, the stock market rose dramatically and, it turned out, dangerously. Prudent investment yielded to speculation as investors bet that they could reap huge profits. Stockbrokers compounded the risk by permitting investors to buy on margin, that is, by initially paying only a fraction of the stock’s cost, with the balance to come from their profits. Fundamental weaknesses that included a slowing demand for goods and a diminished foreign trade resulting from the nation’s own restrictive trade policies put an end to investor euphoria. In September and October 1929 the market weakened, and on October 29, ‘‘Black Tuesday,” the worst day in market history, it plummeted. The great bull market had ended.

Suggestions for Term Papers

1. What weaknesses led to the stock market crash?

2. Could the market crash have been avoided?

3. How bad was Black Tuesday?

4. What were the long-range effects of the market crash?

5. Compare the crash of 1929 with the stock market plunge of October 1987.

Suggested Sources: See entry 32 for relevant items.

GENERAL SOURCES

Beaudreau, Bernard. Mass Production, the Stock Market Crash, and the Great Depression: The Macroeconomics of Electrification . Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1996. Brief history of industrialization and the stock market crash and Great Depression.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Axon, Gordon V. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 . New York : Mason and Lipscomb, 1974. Brief examination of the economic conditions surrounding the crash.

Bierman, Harold. The Causes of the 1929 Stock Market Crash: A Speculative Orgy or a New Era ? Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1998. The most recent analysis of the stock exchanges and the causes of the crash.

———. The Great Myths of 1929 and the Lessons to Be Learned . Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1991. Good description and analysis of the 1929 crash, with comparison and application to the decline in 1987.

Dillon, Gadis J. The Role of Accounting in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 . Atlanta : Georgia State University Press, 1984. An examination of the stock market crash with special emphasis on accounting methods employed.

Feinberg, Barbara S. Black Tuesday: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 . Brookfield , CT : Millbrook, 1995. An easy-to-read, brief description of the conditions leading to the crash, the onset of the Great Depression, and remedial steps taken.

Hiebert, Ray E. The Stock Market Crash, 1929: Panic on Wall Street Ends the Jazz Age . New York : Franklin Watts, 1970. An examination of nine of the most significant days leading to the crash. Similar to the Feinberg book above in being easy to read.

Millichap, Nancy. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 . New York : New Discovery Books, 1994. An easy-to-read description from the publisher’s American Events series.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

‘‘The Crash of 1929.” The American Experience . Santa Monica , CA : PBS Home Video, 1991. Videocassette. 60-minute documentary of the stock market crash and its aftermath.

The Great Depression: 1929–1939 . Mount Kisco , NY : Center for Humanities, 1968. Videocassette. 32-minute overview of the Great Depression; begins with Black Thursday and the panic on Wall Street.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Associated Press. ‘‘Stock Market Crash of 1929, Oct. 29, 1929.” Washington Post . September 1997. http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/biztalk/grassol/102929.htm Reprint of October 30 article describing the stock market plunge the previous day.