Lessons of History? The Use and Misuse of Smoot-Hawley Tariff

Rep. W.C. Hawley and Sen. Reed Smoot, April 11, 1929.Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.17371. A popular understanding of studying history is reflected in an attribution to the philosopher George Santayana: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The notion that history contains lessons that if only studied … Continue reading Lessons of History? The Use and Misuse of Smoot-Hawley Tariff

The Great Stock Market Crash of 1929: Why History Textbooks and the Conventional Wisdom Get It Wrong

The Great Stock Market Crash of 1929: Why History Textbooks and the Conventional Wisdom Get It Wrong By Thomas F. Schwartz History textbooks tell us that the 1929 stock market crash signaled the beginning of the “Great Depression.”  Warning signs of overvaluation and buying on the margin were flashing red lights that a corrective path … Continue reading The Great Stock Market Crash of 1929: Why History Textbooks and the Conventional Wisdom Get It Wrong