Newswise — Thursday, October 29 marks the 80th anniversary of the 1929 stock market crash that launched the Great Depression and in turn prompted the New Deal. American University experts are available to comment about the economic, historic, political, social, cultural, and financial impacts of today versus what happened eight decades ago.
Robert Sicina, a business professor, can discuss what went wrong in the banking and credit industries that led to the 1929 crash and how they compare to similar events and actions that led to current global financial crisis. Sicina has more than 30 years of experience in senior executive positions at Citibank, American Express, and in various entrepreneurial endeavors.
Peter Kuznick, a history professor, is currently teaching the course America Between the Wars: 1919-1941, during which he recently compared Obama’s stimulus package with Hoover’s and Roosevelt’s. He can address the numerous social, political, and cultural dimensions of the 1929 crash, the Great Depression, and the New Deal. “This semester I've been drawing a lot of comparisons between the Great Depression and the current economic crisis,” he said of his class discussions.
Mary Eschelbach Hansen, an economics professor, can discuss numerous elements related to the fallout of the crash, including labor and bankruptcy history. Unemployment today hovers at just below 10 percent—a 26 year high. But Hansen points out, it still doesn’t compare to what happened during the Great Depression. “At its worst in 1933, four years out from the 1929 crash, unemployment was at 25 percent—so that’s one out of every four adults,” she said.
Located in Washington, D.C., American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the United States and more than 150 countries. The university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nation's capital and around the world.
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