The 1973 Oil Crisis and Stock Market Crash

The 1973 Oil Crisis and Stock Market Crash was the first major supply-driven financial collapse, where OPEC's embargo quadrupled crude prices overnight. It triggered a two-year bear market that slashed the Dow by 45%, while unleashing stagflation that shattered the postwar economic consensus. Compared to #7's Black Monday, which crashed in a single day, this crisis was a slower, more painful dismantling—lasting 23 months longer than the average bear market. With oil prices reaching $12 per barrel, up from $3, it forced the first serious reconsideration of Western economic dependence on foreign energy, making it 30% more disruptive to global trade than the typical oil shock.