During the previous decade, the nation had enjoyed a seemingly endless period of prosperity. The Great War ended in 1918 and then, following a brief post-war depression in 1920-21, the economy took off. Under the "bloviating" leadership of President Harding, taxes were cut and so was federal spending. The President then retreated to his closet with his mistress, leaving the economy to its own devices. Unfortunately for Harding, the strain of keeping his wife, "the Duchess," away from his mistresses became too much for him. Harding died in 1923 and his Vice President Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge took the wheel.

Coolidge was a tight-lipped but popular president. And it was a good thing, too, for, unfortunately for Coolidge, there was a lot more going on

When the Federal Reserve Board tossed its policy of easy money, it was only a short time before the stock market followed suit. Banks which had extended loans to brokers began to recall their money. The brokers, who had sold most of their stock on margin, were in trouble so they asked for more money from their clients. Many of the clients were unable to pay more money and lost their stocks. The brokers were then forced to sell the stocks. This, coupled with the recession, caused the prices of stocks to plummet. Soon everyone, in order to avoid getting burned, was selling their stocks at any price. On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed.

The theory was that an injection of money and easy credit stimulated the economy. In 1927, the Federal Reserve Board further inflated the currency by creating several more billion dollars. People went into debt, and the prices of real estate and stocks skyrocketed. The policies pursued by Coolidge made the later stock market crash inevitable and depression inescapable.

Then, when it looked like things couldn't get any worse, Hoover had another stroke of genius and doubled the income tax, siphoning off even more money from an already depressed economy. Exemptions were eliminated, corporation taxes were boosted, property taxes were increased, and gift, gasoline, automobile, telephone and telegraph, check taxes, and many other taxes were imposed. State and local governments soon did the same thing and levied more taxes.

Hoover overcame many obstacles, but he finally managed to destroy, not only the American economy, but the world-wide economy. However, the economy would have eventually recovered by itself if there had been no more tomfoolery with the economy. Instead, Franklin Roosevelt was elected, with a whole suitcase full of government spending, regulation, programs, and wide-reaching intervention.

When the farmers ran into trouble, the rural banks were not far behind. Since they were the primary lenders to the indebted farmers, they suffered when the farmers suffered. This led to panic throughout the worldwide banking system.

In the election campaign of 1928, Coolidge had stated that he would not run again. A member of his cabinet, Herbert Clark Hoover nabbed the Republica

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1512
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)