The United States’ stock exchange suffered the 1929 crash that helped trigger the Great Depression.
The central market was the New York Stock Exchange, and the collapse became a defining event in United States economic history. Prices had risen dramatically during the 1920s, while many investors bought shares with borrowed money. When confidence weakened, forced selling and falling prices reinforced one another.
The economic damage spread through the United States banking system and industrial economy. Businesses cut production, banks failed, unemployment rose, and deflation increased the real burden of debt. International trade and finance transmitted the downturn to many other countries.
The crash was a major contributor and symbol of the Great Depression, but historians do not regard it as the only cause. Monetary policy, banking weaknesses, debt, tariffs, and falling demand also mattered. The collapse’s international consequences explain why it remains a world-history topic rather than merely an American market story.