In 1928 the Soviet Union began its first five-year economic plan, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, "Crazy Rhythm" and "Makin' Whoopee" were on the top of the music charts, and Herbert Clark Hoover was elected thirty-first president of the United States. Hoover overwhelmingly defeated governor of New York Alfred E. Smith in one of the biggest majorities in the Republican Party's history. The public's association of the Republican Party with economic prosperity had been a strong influence at the polls. But Hoover didn't share the country's enthusiasm for the booming stock market. Investors were driving up the prices of stocks in a frenzy of buying and selling. And everybody was buying on margin, which meant they were borrowing the money to invest. Buying on margin was risky because if a stock price dropped below a certain level and the...