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Mortgage-backed securities became known as toxic assets. No one wanted to be anywhere near them.

Bear Stearns was the first major investment bank to fail in the housing crisis

In March of two thousand eight Bear Stearns became the first investment bank to fail as a result of the crisis. Others followed.

In September, Lehman Brothers, the nation's fourth-largest investment bank, sought protection in bankruptcy court. Its failure only deepened the fears in credit markets.

Toward the end of two thousand eight an international credit freeze developed. No one wanted to take the risk of lending money to banks or other companies that might have owned toxic assets. Some people feared that there could even be a global depression, the first since the nineteen thirties.

The United States economy -- the world's largest -- started shrinking at the end of two thousand seven. The unemployment rate started rising.

President George W. Bush's administration, Congress and the central bank, the Federal Reserve, took extraordinary steps to deal with the growing financial crisis. Their efforts included loans to banks, automakers and other companies. The aim was to rescue businesses that officials considered "too big to fail."

The bailouts from Washington were a decision that not all of the American people agreed with. But the people also had to make a decision of their own in two thousand eight. It was a presidential election year, and the candidates were some of the most diverse in the nation's history.