After a quieter opening, the avalanche of selling materialized and panic took hold of the market.42 Sell orders poured in from across the country, pushing down prices and generating new margin calls, which in turn pushed down prices even more. The pace of selling was so frantic that operators struggled to keep up. One exchange telephone clerk captured the scene well: “I can’t get any information. The whole place is falling apart.”43 Rumors of failures swirled and as news spread, huge crowds formed in the financial district.44 By noon of what would become known as Black Thursday, the major
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