The Crash of 1929 & The Great Depression (PBS) 1of6
Summary
TLDRThe script recounts the 1920s economic boom, culminating in the 1929 stock market crash. It highlights the decade's optimism, with ordinary Americans investing in stocks, driven by the belief in perpetual prosperity. The narrative features wealthy figures like Jesse Livermore and the consumer revolution's rise, including new inventions and credit systems. The script also touches on the power concentrated among a few businessmen, setting the stage for the crash that shattered the illusion of endless growth.
Takeaways
- 📈 The script describes the stock market crash of 1929, which was a pivotal event in financial history.
- 🎉 The 1920s was a decade of prosperity and optimism, often referred to as the 'New Era', where people believed in endless growth.
- 🎵 The mood of the era was captured by the hit song 'Blue Skies', symbolizing the positive outlook of the time.
- 💼 Ordinary Americans began investing in the stock market, which was a new phenomenon leading to widespread participation.
- 📉 Stock values had been rising for almost eight years, creating a false sense of a perpetually rising market.
- 🏛️ The wealthy, like Jesse Livermore, lived extravagantly, setting a standard that many aspired to.
- 💼 The era saw the rise of bankers, brokers, and speculators as celebrities, reflecting the importance of the stock market in society.
- 🌐 The economy was changing with the dawn of the consumer revolution, introducing new products and technologies.
- 💳 Consumer credit became a way of life, allowing the average worker to borrow money and fueling consumption.
- 🗣️ Politicians like Herbert Hoover promised to banish poverty, reflecting the widespread belief in permanent prosperity.
- 🚀 A few wealthy men, like William C. Durant, had immense power over the market, influencing stock prices and the economy.
Q & A
What was the mood of financial leaders on New Year's Eve, December 31st, 1929?
-Financial leaders were celebrating what had been a decade of prosperity and boundless optimism, believing the party would last forever.
What was the term used to describe the economic outlook of the 1920s?
-The term used to describe the economic outlook of the 1920s was 'the new era', which was characterized by optimism and the belief in a perpetually prosperous economy.
What was the significance of the song 'Blue Skies' in the context of the 1920s?
-The song 'Blue Skies' symbolized the optimism and positive outlook of the 1920s, reflecting the general belief that everything was going to be great.
How did the stock market perform in the late 1920s?
-Stock values had been rising for almost eight straight years, creating an atmosphere where it seemed there were no upper limits to growth.
What was unique about the stock market during this period that allowed ordinary Americans to invest?
-It was the first time many ordinary Americans began to invest in stocks, attracted by the rising stock values and the potential for easy wealth.
What was the lifestyle like for those who made fortunes in the stock market during the 1920s?
-Those who made fortunes, like Jesse Livermore, lived extravagantly with multiple homes, private railroad cars, and yachts, enjoying a lifestyle akin to royalty.
What promise did Herbert Hoover make during his presidential campaign of 1928?
-Herbert Hoover promised that with the continuation of the policies of the last 8 years, poverty would be banished from the nation.
How was the American economy described post-World War I?
-The American economy was described as being intact and strong, with the dollar being dominant, making it the only strong country in the world.
What was the significance of the consumer revolution in the 1920s?
-The consumer revolution marked the dawn of a new era where inventions like radios, refrigerators, and air conditioners became mainstream, and consumer credit became a way of life.
What was the term used to describe the belief in an everlasting economic boom in the late 1920s?
-The term used was 'permanent prosperity', which was a term often heard in the late 1920s, suggesting an age of unending economic growth.
Who were some of the wealthy men that dominated Wall Street during the 1920s?
-Men like William C. Durant and Jesse Livermore dominated Wall Street, amassing fortunes through stock speculation and market manipulation.
Outlines
📈 The Roaring Twenties and Stock Market Boom
The paragraph discusses the exuberant optimism of the 1920s, often referred to as the 'Roaring Twenties', where the stock market was booming, and people believed in perpetual economic growth. Financial leaders and the public were celebrating a decade of prosperity. The era was characterized by a widespread belief in the 'new era' of endless wealth, symbolized by the hit song 'Blue Skies'. The stock market was seen as a new way for ordinary Americans to invest and make fortunes, unlike the industrial barons of the past. The narrative also touches on the lifestyles of the wealthy, such as Jesse Livermore and Charles Mitchell, who amassed fortunes through stock trading rather than traditional industry. The public was fascinated by these financial celebrities, and there was a rising expectation that everyone could share in this prosperity.
🏡 The Lifestyle of the Wealthy and the Consumer Revolution
This paragraph delves into the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy, exemplified by Jesse Livermore's multiple luxurious homes and possessions. It contrasts the opulence of the time with the more modest living conditions of the average American. The paragraph also discusses the rise of consumerism and credit in the 1920s, with new inventions like radios, air conditioners, and electricity becoming commonplace. The era was marked by a shift towards a consumer-driven economy, with mass-market marketing and the advent of consumer credit, allowing the average worker to buy now and pay later. The economic optimism of the time led to the belief in 'permanent prosperity', with Wall Street and a few wealthy businessmen dominating the financial scene.
💼 Speculation and the Illusion of Wealth
The final paragraph focuses on the speculative nature of the stock market during the 1920s, where individuals like Jesse Livermore made fortunes not by investing in solid companies, but by playing the market for quick gains. It highlights the public's fascination with these speculators and the desire to replicate their success. The narrative suggests that many people were drawn to the stock market with the hope of striking it rich, without necessarily understanding the underlying health or value of the companies they were investing in.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Stock Exchange
💡Crash
💡New Era
💡Prosperity
💡Speculator
💡Ticker Tape
💡Consumer Revolution
💡Consumer Credit
💡Wealthy Men
💡Optimism
💡Great Depression
Highlights
The stock market crash on December 31st marked the end of a decade of prosperity and optimism.
Financial leaders believed the economic boom would last forever, referring to it as the 'new era'.
The 1920s were characterized by a pervasive sense of optimism and the illusion of endless growth.
The hit song 'Blue Skies' from 1929 encapsulates the era's spirit of unbridled optimism.
The stock market was seen as a new way for ordinary Americans to invest and potentially make fortunes.
Stock values had been rising for almost eight years, creating the illusion of a perpetual upward trend.
Wealthy investors like Michael Mean, Jesse Livermore, and Charles Mitchell became celebrities and amassed fortunes through stock trading.
The extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy, such as Jesse Livermore, fueled public fascination and aspirations.
Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign promise in 1928 to banish poverty reflected the era's optimism.
The 1920s marked the beginning of the consumer revolution with new inventions and mass-market products.
Consumer credit became a way of life, allowing the average worker to borrow money and buy on credit.
The era's optimism led to the belief in permanent prosperity, with Wall Street receiving credit for this economic boom.
A small group of wealthy men, like William C. Durant, held immense power and influence over the stock market.
Jesse Livermore, a pure speculator, made a fortune by playing the market without concern for a company's health.
The public's desire to replicate the success of wealthy investors like Livermore was widespread.
The stock market's rise and eventual crash highlighted the dangers of speculation and the illusion of endless prosperity.
Transcripts
the tremendous crows which you see
gathered outside the stock exchange are
due to the greatest crash in the history
of new and
Market
1
December 31st New Year's Eve the crash
and its terrible consequences was still
in the
future Financial leaders everyone
celebrated what had been a decade of
prosperity and boundless optimism they
thought the party would last forever
they called it the new
era 19 29 all the hope and promise and
illusion of the 20s converged in that
one
year the United States is Afflicted with
new
eras let us not think for a moment that
the uh illusion the
aberration of the 1920s was unique
it is intimately a part of the American
character the mood of the era I think
can best be remembered by the hit song
was that 1929 blue skies in the 20s yes
blue
skies me nothing but blue skies do I see
yes never saw the sun shining so bright
never saw things going so right gray
days all of them gone nothing but blue
skies
from that was the whole uh tenor of the
day I mean people believed that
everything was going to be great always
always there was a feeling of optimism
in the air that you cannot even describe
today and everybody seemed to uh have uh
an interest in the stock market
certainly the uh boot black uh the
tailor the grosser uh own shares of one
kind or
another this was the first time that
many ordinary Americans had begun to
invest in
stocks a stock a share of a company is
bought and sold here on the floor of the
New York Stock
Exchange the stocks themselves have no
fixed value as in an auction if the
stock is in demand its price goes up no
demand and the price goes
down for almost eight straight years
stock values had been rising by 1929
there seemed to be no upper limits in
this world of paper numbers and
dreams it was an AR of unbounded
opportunity where somebody like my
grandfather could come into it and make
a fortune so many people made so much
money in the the market that late in the
20s it it seemed that uh you just
couldn't go wrong buying stocks in
American
companies here was a whole new way to
make a fortune unlike the carnegies and
the Rockefellers of previous decades who
built steel mills and dug oil wells men
like Michael mean
Jesse Livermore and Charles Mitchell had
amassed their fortunes buying and
selling stocks pieces of
paper the public was fascinated Bankers
Brokers and speculators had become
celebrities and they lived like
royalty I can hardly believe that a
family lived in this kind of a house I
mean today it would be almost
unbelievable six stories
and these great big rooms
enormous we counted it up the other day
we had uh 16 living help in this
house counting the chauffeurs and other
not counting the chauffeurs yeah aside
from all the help we had in The Tuxedo
Park house and the Southampton house as
well but those days are gone forever I
should say but we never thought of it as
being grandiose because practically
everybody we knew seemed to live in the
same
way Jesse Livermore had a ticker tape in
every home that he owned they
had a beautiful house on 76th Street in
Manhattan on the west side of Central
Park they had a floor at 813 fth Avenue
because Daria did not like to go to the
West Side to change her
clothes so they had a house in Great
Neck they had a summer house in Lake
plid they had house in Palm Beach they
had private railroad
car uh two
Yachts oh they lived they really
lived few Americans lived Like Jesse
Livermore but there was a rising
expectation that everyone could have a
piece of this
Prosperity during his presidential
campaign of
1928 candidate Herbert Hoover would make
this extraordinary promise given a
chance to go forward with the policies
of the last 8 years we shall soon with
the help of God be inside of the day
when poverty will be banished from this
nation there was great hope America came
out of World War I with a the economy
intact with the only strong country in
the world the dollar was King we had a
very popular pres in the middle of the
decade Calvin kulage and an even more
popular one elected 1928 Herbert Hoover
so uh things looked pretty
good the economy was changing in this
new America it was the dawn of the
consumer Revolution new inventions Mass
Market marketing factories turning out
amazing products like
radios
Ron air
conditioners underarm
deodorant this is a period in which the
American household gets the washing
machine gets a
refrigerator goes off gas light and gets
electricity in some cities this is a
period in which people would buy little
plugs to put into the uh outlets in the
wall so the electricity wouldn't leak on
the
floor what will they think of next was a
1920 saying this new things continually
coming out and there were new things
which you could enjoy not just for the
few one of the most wondrous inventions
of the age was Consumer
Credit before 1920 the average worker
couldn't borrow money by
1929 byy now pay later had become a way
of life
so uh there were changes many changes in
the way people view the world and all of
them
optimistic you extrapolate the curve and
what do you have permanent Prosperity
that was a ter term one heard in the
late 1920s we entered an age of
permanent
Prosperity Wall Street got the credit
for this prosperity and Wall Street was
dominated by just a small group of
wealthy men rarely in the history of
this nation had so much raw power been
concentrated in the hands of a few
businessmen men like William C
Durant it's almost impossible to realize
the power and the significance of the
man uh in Flint when Mr Durant came to
flet occasionally people used to say
Durant is in town just like that Durant
is in town he will bigger than life
earlier in the century Durant had
founded General
Motors now he made his money on Wall
Street backed by Midwestern Auto
industrialists he controls so much money
that he could singlehandedly drive up
the price of a stock and then sell
reaping huge
profits he was just at the apotosis at
the maximum of his power he
managed according to the voices of the
time according to what was said anywhere
between two to5 billion dollar which in
those days were
fabulous the market was filled with
bulls and he was the Bull of the
Bulls Durant came to Wall Street as one
of the titans of Industry Jesse
Livermore whose Fortune was estimated at
over $100 million never did anything in
his life but play the
market everything Jesse limore touch
turned to Gold it same all he had to do
is to press a button and the stock would
go up 10 points and uh that meant of
course that Jess liore make a lot of
money so uh the average American would
look at this and say gee if if only I
knew what he was doing I could make
money too how do you get in on Jesse
livermore's
brains Livermore was a Speculator pure
and simple he didn't study the health of
a company he didn't care whether it made
a profit or paid a dividend for him
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)