Bear Stearns survived the Great Depression, but it was done in by the great unwinding that began with the subprime mortgage meltdown.

During the weekend, JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear for a mere $2 a share — 1 percent of its value more than two weeks ago.

The Federal Reserve made the right move in underwriting this historic transaction.

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With other banks refusing to extend the credit Bear Stearns needed to process transactions, the only alternative for the investment house was bankruptcy.

That, in turn, would threaten to bring down other Wall Street institutions as well.

Bear Stearns’ spectacular fall highlighted the rapid collapse of confidence in long-time Wall Street banks as the credit-market crisis continued with no end in sight.

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