The Bottom Falls Out

The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of October 1929, but the crash itself was merely the trigger. The underlying economy had been weakening for months as speculation reached absurd levels.

Over the next three years, the US economy shrank by roughly a quarter to a third. Banks failed by the thousands, wiping out the savings of ordinary families. Unemployment soared to 25%. Bread lines stretched for blocks in every major American city as the world's richest country watched its prosperity evaporate.