ABSTRACT
The expansive twenties reached a climax in 1928 and 1929 as the economy approached a dangerous condition of over-production, but the confident American people continued to speculate in eager anticipation of quick profits. The apparent prosperity of the postwar decade came to an end abruptly in a stock-market crash in October, 1929, which marked the beginning of the worst depression in the nation’s history. The effects of the depression on American life were profound, for the economic upheaval shattered widespread complacency and traditional overconfidence and induced recourse to social planning to solve economic problems.
