Honors Essay #3

The 1920's was a significant time in American History, the government and people were experimenting with many different things and the citizens were partying without a care in the world. The 20's of course led to the Great Depression and some gray times. Wall Street is the home of the New York Stock Exchange and has become known throughout the world for it's popular stocks and the area surrounding the Stock Exchange. One of the worst stock crashes of all time was the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

The first sign of the crash was on a Thursday that was named shortly after, Black Thursday. The stock market fell 9%. Brokers thought that the decline could remedy itself since Friday the stock went up slightly. By Monday evening, the stock had fallen an additional 13%. The ticker tape machines that documented where every stock was at, was running behind by nearly 3 hours. By Tuesday, the stock had fallen an additional 12%, resulting in a 34% fall during 5 days. Although the market hadn't fully crashed in 1929, the decline was still happening, it wasn't until 1932 where the Dow had decreased 90% since Black Thursday in 1929. The Stock Market Crash was the first effect of the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to the late 1930's and early 40's.

Americans in the 20's as mentioned earlier were experimenting with many things including alcohol. The Prohibition was the government banning alcohol, the consumption and the sale of alcohol. Some people made their money on stocks, and some people made their money on the sale of alcohol, which was illegal as said in the Constitution. The people who sold alcohol were called 'bootleggers' and 'rum-runners'. These types of people were very popular in the 1920's to the 1930's, and were pretty widely known of in this period. The bootleggers made millions quickly, and it was all together a very risky occupation. American Literature has widely used the Prohibition in popular novels, including the Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby's main character Jay Gatsby is believed to be a bootlegger since he came into new money very quickly in his short life.

The Prohibition and the Stock Market Crash were two of the most influential events that happened within the 1920's. They didn't just last for a month or a year, they lasted for over a decade each. The 1920's was an influential era that saw a few highs, but mostly lows. American History has been widely changed since the Roaring Twenties and has had different effects on many things such as literature, fashion and most importantly, our history books. The 20's has been remembered for the outcome of great cinema and art of that decade. We can look back upon that era and take it as a learning experience, the great 20's will always be remembered.

Resources:
http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-Crash-of-1929/