[Excaliber]

That "slight difference" between 1929 and 1945 is the very root of the problem!

The markets were highly over rated, '29 was the end of a false "bubble" of economic wealth where everything was over valued. You HAD to buy property then, get the money some way, some how, but GET IT! NO WAY you could loose, real estate values were going through the roof with no sign of slowing down. Sounds a lot like 2008 doesn't it! What followed was market stablization as prices reverted back to their true value.

The primary impact of the Bank Act of '33 was to restore confidence in the system (psychology at play here!). The inflow of cash following that law had an immediate impact, as those "hoarding" wealth returned it to the banks in droves.