Which U.S. market crash followed the 1973 oil crisis and the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system?

The 1973–1974 stock-market crash followed the 1973 oil crisis and the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system.

The decline took place amid several overlapping shocks. The United States had ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold in 1971, and the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates was breaking apart. In 1973, the Yom Kippur War and an Arab oil embargo helped drive energy prices higher, adding to inflation and economic strain.

The Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974 further weakened confidence in the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 45% from its January 1973 peak to its December 1974 low. High inflation combined with weak economic growth, a condition later called stagflation.

This crash is not the same as the 1973 oil embargo itself. The embargo was one major cause of the economic shock, while the stock-market decline reflected the combined effect of inflation, recession, political uncertainty, and monetary disruption.