Mr. Thiesen Ben WarrenSocial Studies (7) April 20, 2014Boom, Boom, BustIn 1920, times in America were great, too great. Around this time, prohibition, flappers, gangsters and new technology began. There was an overabundance of goods and not enough room to store them. During this period there was the largest stock market boom in the history of the Americas. There were millionaires and billionaires and the stock market itself was rising. There was so much money that the government tried to make a silver dollar. Overbuying was one of the main reasons that ultimately caused the stock market to crash. If people hadn't bought so much and had been smarter, the crash might not have happened. The 1920s in America were an exciting social and economic upswing. The economic boom of the 1920s was based on the sale of more and more goods. There was Prohibition, and at one point the sale of alcohol was illegal. Speakeasies and bootleggers consumed alcohol illegally, and flappers (a fashionable young woman eager to have fun and flouting conventional norms of behavior) drank, dated, and smoked. In addition, many people went out to see films at the cinema. Historians estimate that three-quarters of the population sees a film every week. (Source 1) It became acceptable for women to do this in society, but they were considered rebellious. New products arrived frequently, so people continued to buy in excess. People had money from the stocks they invested in and salaries were high. There were more and more new things, like the Model T, the refrigerator, the dishwasher and many others. (Source 1) There was no more room for these objects so they were stored in warehouses. Eventually there was a collapse because there was more...... middle of paper ......source 1) Inevitably, all the gains ended. On Thursday, October 24, 1929, stock prices collapsed. Many people were selling their shares and margin calls were being issued. People have even committed suicide because of all the money lost. On “Black Thursday,” 12.9 million shares were sold, doubling the previous record. Joseph Kennedy did the right thing by selling what he owned so that he would have money when the inevitable depression came. (Source 6) After people started buying too many new things, a crash occurred. This happened for many reasons. For example, people viewed the stock market as a short-term investment rather than a large investment. The boom was huge and the crash itself was huge. The Great Depression lasted through the 1920s and was the largest depression in the history of the Americas. The crash could have been avoided if consumers didn't buy too much.