GOP celebrates biggest stock market gain since 1933, might want to dig deeper into history

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last updated 25 March 2020

The Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index posted its largest percentage gain since 1933 on Tuesday, rising 11.4 percent and erasing some of the sharp losses over the past few weeks. The Republican National Committee celebrated this gain.

For those with a general knowledge of 20th century history, 1933 was in the heart of the Great Depression, and the market's 15.3 percent jump that year happened less than two weeks after Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in after crushing Republican President Herbert Hoover, promising a big-government New Deal to rescue the economy. Also in 1933, the unemployment rate hit 25 percent. Historian Kevin Kruse has some more dour news for those hoping a sharp jump in the stock market signals sunny days close ahead.

"Many investors cited their own hope tied to the powerful government response coming from Congress, the White House, and the Federal Reserve," Politico reported Tuesday night. "But most acknowledged the day's surge was likely just another bear-market rally, a momentary melt up after a meltdown that we will likely see again in an era of extreme volatility taking cues from the Great Depression. Traders and economists acknowledged the real market optimism will come from the health front — the coronavirus curve peaking and sliding enough for America's businesses and workers to slowly return to normal."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.