Markets have always recovered and hit new highs following crashes

The US unemployment rate soared to over 24% during the Great Depression, the highest in recorded history.

The stock market has crashed many times throughout history

Have you ever wondered how long it takes the market to recover after a crash? This chart outlines major stock market dips throughout history and tracks how many days it took for the market to recover.

The Great Depression is one of history's most notable periods of deflation

The stock market crash of 1929 helped trigger a period of deflation in the United States by creating a drastic decrease in the total money supply. Because of the United States' central role in the world economy, virtually every single country was impacted by the recession.

The story of the Wall Street Crash of 1929

The 1920s in the US "roared" with rapid economic growth after the conclusion of World War I. But in October 1929, the bubbly stock markets crashed dramatically, plunging the nation into the decadelong Great Depression.

The Great Depression was an international depression felt far beyond the US

Many countries suffered through a depression in the 1930s that the First World War, the US stock market crash, and an economic downturn in Germany turned into an international crisis.

The 1929 stock market crash is a defining example of a financial bubble burst

Fueled by margin speculation and intense optimism, stock prices soared to unsustainable levels before collapsing in late October—erasing billions in market value within days.

Relive the biggest swings in the Dow’s history

From the 1929 crash to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, this piece spotlights five of the most dramatic single-day moves in the Dow’s 125-year history.

The UK was already in a depression before the US Great Depression took hold

The US Great Depression was felt globally, but the severity and length of different countries’ economic downturns varied. For instance, Japan was the first country to exit its depression.

The US has been through 34 recessions since 1854

From 1855 to 2020, the average US recession lasted for an average of 17 months. But in the 20th and 21st centuries, the average recession length has shortened, decreasing to 14 months.

Stand-up became more popular during the Great Depression

The stock market crash of 1929 caused vaudeville theaters to shutter. Audiences were looking for lighthearted distractions from the country’s financial problems, though, and stand-up became more popular, albeit in very different venues.

The dot-com boom sent tech stocks soaring before a historic collapse

A look at the dot-com bubble, when investors poured money into unproven internet startups, driving the Nasdaq to dizzying heights before it crashed by more than 80% after 2000, showing how new technologies can detach markets from reality.

The world's most famous case of deflation happened after Black Thursday

While the details are not fully agreed upon, many economists point to the Federal Reserve's tightening of the money supply as a prime culprit, leading to a significant deflationary spiral.

How the Great Depression still shapes the way Americans eat

From fortified foods to nutrition labels, the legacy of an early financial crisis lives on in kitchens across the United States. Ethnic foods with their (supposedly) hunger-triggering spices were vilified and considered “stimulants” along the lines of caffeine and so, in their stead came prune puddings, canned-meat stews, and dairy-heavy vegetable casseroles featuring America’s first fortified foods. Read more here.

An inverted yield curve has preceded every recession that’s occurred in the last 50 years

Prolonged yield curve inversions can predict recessions, but even brief inversions can cause investors to react with knee-jerk reactions.

Read about the evolution of the S&P 500 and its recession recovery

Since the S&P 500 is considered a bellwether index (meaning it represents the health of the US economy), its value is important for investors in both bull and bear markets. The S&P 500 has been impacted by recessions and downturns, from the 1970s oil crisis to the dot-com crash of the early 2000s.

Track how much the US government has spent on bailouts.

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—which was passed during the Great Depression with the goal of reviving domestic industry—is among the most famous pieces of economic legislation in US history.

Communism grew in appeal during the Great Depression

With at least a quarter of the country out of work, some Americans disenchanted with capitalism began looking at alternatives. Watch this five-minute video to learn about communism's growing allure during the Great Depression.

Since its introduction, the price of bitcoin has experienced significant volatility

Driven in large part by speculation and intense social media attention during the pandemic, along with the availability of capital during near-zero interest rate periods, the price has seen at least three major crashes despite steadily increasing over the long run since 2014.

The worst US bank runs since 1900

From the Panic of 1907 to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023, this bank scholar and former Fed official goes into the history of the country's worst bank runs.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed began a program of quantitative easing

This program injected trillions of dollars of new money into financial markets to stimulate the economy. The move catalyzed an 11-year bull run and was repeated during the pandemic. Experts argue such power could worsen wealth inequality and contribute to bubbles in housing and finance.

Learn about what causes economic bubbles, including how forces like cheap credit, soaring optimism, and feedback loops push asset prices far beyond fundamentals—until a single shock triggers panic, selling, and a rapid collapse.

Famed American investor Jesse Livermore made millions when the stock market crashed in 1929

Livermore made his first major short against rail company Union Pacific in 1906, coincidentally before an earthquake in San Francisco, which ultimately tanked share prices. During a financial panic the next year, JP Morgan reportedly asked Livermore to increase his long-term investments to restore hope and restabilize the market—which Livermore did. However, Livermore began betting against the market in 1929, sensing that stocks were too hot, and was one of the few people to benefit from the 1929 stock crash.

US depression rates at historic high among adults

More than 18% of US adults reported that they currently have or are being treated for depression in both 2024 and 2025. In the 2025 survey, more than 11,000 adults were surveyed. The numbers have ticked upward since 2015—by about 8 percentage points—with most of the increase occurring from the 2020 pandemic onward.

The term ‘Black Friday’ originally referred to a 1869 US gold market crash

After financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the US gold market, the market crashed on September 24, 1869, bankrupting thousands of investors and sending stock prices plummeting by 18%. That day became known as “Black Friday” long before the unofficial retail holiday emerged.

Some argue that the rising US national debt has become more important in recent months.

Alternative investments have become more popular since the 2008 financial crisis

When the traditional markets crashed during the 2008 financial crisis, many people saw the value of their traditional investments plummet and began to look into alternatives as a result.

Central banking in the US has had a fraught political history

That history includes its doomed early efforts in the First and Second National Banks, as well as its failure to address the worst financial period in US history, the Great Depression.

The lifecycle of a financial bubble often follows a predictable pattern

Economist Hyman Minsky originated what became a five-stage model of an economic bubble: a new “displacement,” a rapid boom, euphoric speculation, early profit-taking by insiders, and finally panic selling. From Japan’s 1980s real-estate surge to the 2008 crash, the pattern repeats across eras and assets.

What was it like to live through the Great Depression?

Hear the personal accounts of four people who lived through the Great Depression, as told by NPR's Throughline. Listen to this 47-minute podcast episode to get a bit more insight into the countrywide economic crisis and what it meant it for everyday people.

US homeownership rates declined from the start of the Great Recession through 2016.

Many retail investors exited the stock market after 2008, leading to a drop in individual market participation

That changed thanks to GameStop, federal stimulus checks, and strong corporate results in the first quarter of 2021. This chart plots how much retail investors poured into the market each day, reaching records in early 2023.

One signal that a recession has become a depression? When GDP declines more than 10%

There’s no single definition for recessions or depressions, but both are marked by sustained periods of declining economic activity. Depressions are more severe than recessions.

In March 2008, Bear Stearns was the first major bank to collapse in the Great Recession—leading to panic across the entire global financial system.

In 2025, the US credit rating was downgraded over concerns about the debt-to-GDP ratio.

The financial crisis in 2008 had a major impact on many 401(k) plans

Amid the 2008 financial crisis, stocks and bonds cratered as the broader market floundered due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Investors with so-called "target-date" funds—which shift allocations based on the maturation of a fund—shared in the slump, with some funds declining by 20% or more just a year or two away from maturation.

The Dow remains a shorthand for America’s economic health

For over a century, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been one of the most closely watched market barometers. Its rises and falls dominate headlines and politics, shaping how Americans perceive the strength of their economy.

Key moments that shaped the national debt include the Civil War, both World Wars, the 2008 recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

See the world’s largest stock markets in 1900 versus 2023

The US is now home to the world's largest stock market, but that wasn't always the case. This data visualization shows where the largest stock markets in the world were in 1900, then compares that map to the current geographical distribution of stock markets today, based on each country’s percentage share of global market capitalization. See what it looks like by clicking here.

The Social Security System was created to protect Americans from economic disasters like the Great Depression

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal created new government agencies and programs in the wake of the Great Depression.

How the stock market performed under every US president

It's worth noting that the stock market as we know it today didn't exist under the leadership of earlier presidents, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

In 2007, Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, warned of an impending financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve fought the Great Recession primarily with quantitative easing and repurchasing agreements.

In 2023, the US money supply fell at its fastest rate since the 1930s

The money supply tracks how much cash, as well as electronic funds like savings accounts, is circulating through the economy. And a downward turn can be a bad sign.

In the 1970s, the US experienced a period of stagflation

It was characterized by high inflation, slow economic growth, and high unemployment. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors, including loose monetary policy that spurred excess demand and spiraling oil prices caused by an OPEC embargo in 1973.

A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP, but in practice, these economic phenomena are more complex.

See the growth of US consumer debt

Americans reached an all-time high debt burden in 2024. Data compiled from The Kaplan Group shows the evolution of auto loans, mortgages, credit card debt, and student loans from 2003 to 2023, and finds that after a brief decline after 2008, the total debt burden grew rapidly.

A stock market timeline

The stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Known as the 'Pecora Hearings,' the widely covered trials following the stock market crash of 1929 generated massive public outrage that forced Congress to impose stricter regulations on Wall Street.

Roughly $5T of stimulus money flooded the economy during the pandemic

Recessions can last anywhere from months to years. To encourage economic growth, governments use policy levers such as lowering interest rates or introducing a stimulus. Economists credit massive stimulus funds for helping the economy quickly recover from a recession during the COVID-19 pandemic.