Anniversary of the Wall Street Crash

Today, is the 79th anniversary of the Wall Street Crash, which happened on 29 October 1929. In the context of what has been happening in the financial markets this month, this blog post is not so much a celebration of the anniversary but rather a remembrance — rather like the remembrance of the Great War on 11th November of each year. Every year, on that day in November, a two-minute silence is observed and we are meant to have learnt something from that terrible conflicts that devastated Europe almost a century ago. But have we? And have we learned anything from the stock-market crash of 1929 that led to a decade of hardship, known in our collective memory as the Great Depression….?

I thought it would be apt to be reminded of what happened leading up to the Wall Street Crash and also, think about what happened afterwards in terms of social upheaval as well as some of the institutional legacies that came out of that period. The following is a link to the podcast of a history lecture by Prof Jennifer Burns of the University of California Berkeley on the Wall Street crash and the Depression.

   Podcast: The Great Depression and New Deal

The podcast is part of her lecture series on American History which was recorded in 2006. It is an excellent podcast series and although part of a university course, very easy to follow as a layperson. I have found it a fascinating introduction to American social and economic history from the American Civil War up through to the present day.

For more information about the Great Depression, you can also check out thegreatdepression.co.uk, where I found the photo to illustrate this post.