How did the stock market crash of 1929 start?
Rachel Hickman
Published Mar 02, 2026
How did the stock market crash of 1929 start?
The main cause of the Wall Street crash of 1929 was the long period of speculation that preceded it, during which millions of people invested their savings or borrowed money to buy stocks, pushing prices to unsustainable levels.
What happened when the market first began to crash?
The stock market crash crippled the American economy because not only had individual investors put their money into stocks, so did businesses. When the stock market crashed, businesses lost their money. Business houses closed their doors, factories shut down and banks failed. Farm income fell some 50 percent.
What caused Black Thursday 1929?
Panic selling began on “Black Thursday,” October 24, 1929. Many stocks had been purchased on margin—that is, using loans secured by only a small fraction of the stocks’ value. As a result, the price declines forced some investors to liquidate their holdings, thus exacerbating the fall in prices.
What caused the 1932 stock market crash?
Among the other causes of the eventual market collapse were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a weak agriculture, and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated. Stock prices began to decline in September and early October 1929, and on October 18 the fall began.
How long did it take the stock market to recover after the 1929 crash?
25 years
Wall Street lore and historical charts indicate that it took 25 years to recover from the stock market crash of 1929.
How could the stock market crash of 1929 been prevented?
Even if stocks were due for a downturn, a more aggressive tightening of monetary supply by the Fed could have deflated the market and perhaps helped avoid the crash, most economists argue. Most also agree that the Fed then blundered by tightening after the crash, exacerbating and extending the Great Depression.
What was the worst stock market crash in history?
The Wall Street Crash of 1929. The stock market began right around 1600, and the first stock market crash was soon to follow. However, the Black Tuesday stock market crash that took place in 1929 remains the worst stock market crash in US history.