# panic of 1929, the a widespread fear of financial collapse which occurred in 1929, resulting in a sharp drop in the stock market, withdrawals of bank deposits, etc. The panic of 1929 was caused by a financial push that concentrated only on stocks, money and overextending credit not backed by delivery and production. It preceded a great slowdown in the American economy, the worst in the country's history, known as the Great Depression. Many banks and businesses failed and millions of people lost their jobs.