Before the stock market crash, the nation was riding on a wave of euphoria. Confidence was high and the stock market was up. Everybody seemed to be making a fortune by speculating in the stock market. Between August and September 1929, almost 1.1 billion transactions were made. A common story that circulated around the brokerages told of the shoeshine boy or waitress who had parlayed their tip money into a million. But in actuality, most people in the country did not have the extra money to invest in the market. Those few that did invest increased their buying power by borrowing money. All of this speculation and extension of credit was what destabilized the stock market.

In September 1929 the stock market took a downward trend and continued to slide through October. Then on October 29, 1929, in what would become known as Black Tuesday, the bottom...