The time of the 1920's was known as the Roaring Twenties, or the Jazz Age. It was a time of freedom, debauchery, and financial stability. All was well in the United States, and the stock market grew continuously. However, all good things must come to an end, and this care-free period ended with an enormous crash. The stock market reached its peak in August of 1929, but at this point production of products was already declining and unemployment was rising. The prices on the stock market began to decline and by the time October rolled around, the crash began. People began to panic about losing everything, so they began to trade their shares. On October 24, 1929, known as Black Thursday, almost 13 million shares were traded. Bankers and investors tried to salvage the situation by buying bulks of stock, but the panic of the people had already set in, and that following Tuesday, October 29, known as Black Tuesday, an incredible 16.4 million shares were traded, and the prices on the market fell completely. Billions of dollars were lost on this dark day. After Black Tuesday, the prices were so low they could only get better, and in the few weeks following, they did. However, the stock market prices overall dropped continuously and the United States fell into what we now have named the Great Depression. By 1933, a record 30 percent of the workforce was unemployed, and almost half of the banks in America had failed. .
Growing up in poverty, President Herbert Hoover dreamed of removing poverty altogether from the United States. This dream, however, would be shattered along with the crash of the stock market. Hoover had not even been President for eight months when the market crashed. At first, Hoover wanted to wait the depression out like the government traditionally had in the past. However, this was the worst depression the country had ever seen, and Hoover felt that he needed to do something. Despite the advice from the Treasury Secretary to stay out of the affair, Hoover decided to take action.
