High-res life: On Aug. 8, 2011, the American stock market recorded its worst loss — plunging 635 points — since December 2008, fueling widespread fears of another economic meltdown. As Wall Street continues to wobble in the wake of Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on Aug. 5, LIFE.com takes a look at scenes during the country’s last great economic calamity, the Great Depression. see more — Hard Times: Life in the Depression

life:

On Aug. 8, 2011, the American stock market recorded its worst loss — plunging 635 points — since December 2008, fueling widespread fears of another economic meltdown. As Wall Street continues to wobble in the wake of Standard & Poor’s historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on Aug. 5, LIFE.com takes a look at scenes during the country’s last great economic calamity, the Great Depression.

see more — Hard Times: Life in the Depression