Black Tuesday

Black Tuesday is the commonly used term for the catastrophic stock market crash of October 29, 1929 on Wall Street. But due to the hard downfall on the economy it was later known as Black Tuesday which was the onset of the great depression. Numerous circumstances caused Black Tuesday such as the following: excessive use of credit, weak farm economy, and overproduction of consumer goods. Automobiles, appliances, and radios were many of the goods that made an up rise in the 1920s. Using the installment plan many paid a small percentage down payment and the rest over periods of months or even years. By purchasing many items on credit each year Americans faced debt. The stock market began showing a speck of downfall on September 3, 1929. On October 23 the Dow Jones average dropped 21 points in one hour; many investors thought the boom was over. With so much confidence but lack of knowledge on October 29, 16 million shares were sold and speculators who bought stock on credit lost everything causing that day to be known as Black Tuesday. During the 1920s American farmers faced difficult times especially only making up one forth of the workforce. Many farmers saw several opportunities for increasing their production by buying an increase of harvest yields and land to put under plow in order to meet the demands created by World War 1. Farmers also bought expensive tractors and other merchandize farm equipment and by doing so led farmers into huge debt and additional mortgage payments. Later, demands fell nearly hitting rock bottom and hitting it hard. But in spite of the drop postwar production remained high due to increasing merchandise of farm equipment and methods. However, failing to sell off crop surpluses and pay banks and other institutions created more problems. Through the mid 1930s farmers faced additional problems and looked for the governments help. Dust storms and droughts hit hard through the Great Plains and the high plains, regions of Texas, Oklahoma,