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Per-Capita income
Annual per-capita income is $750. More than half of all Americans are living below a minimum subsistence level. -
Recession
Recession begins in August, two months before the stock market crash. During this two month period, production will decline at an annual rate of 20 percent, wholesale prices at 7.5 percent, and personal income at 5 percent. -
Stock Market Crash Begins
Stock market crash begins October 24. Investors call October 29 Black Tuesday. Losses for the month will total $16 billion, an astronomical sum in those days. -
Unemployment Rate
The GNP falls 9.4 percent from the year before. The unemployment rate climbs from 3.2 to 8.7 percent. -
Unemployment
More than 3.2 million people are unemployed, up from 1.5 million before the October, 1929 crash. President Hoover remains optimistic, however, stating that "all the evidences indicate that the worst effects of the crash upon unemployment will have passed during the next 60 days." -
New York Bank Collapse
New York's Bank of the United States collapses. At the time of the collapse, the bank had over $200 million in deposits, making it the largest single bank failure in the nation's history. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Congress establishes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The R.F.C. is allowed to lend $2 billion to banks, insurance companies, building and loan associations, agricultural credit organizations and railroads. -
Bank Failure
10,000 banks have failed since 1929, or 40 percent of the 1929 total. -
Tax Rate
Top tax rate is raised from 25 to 63 percent. -
Emergency Banking Act of 1933
Congress passes the Emergency Banking Act of 1933. By month's end, three-quarters of the nation's closed banks will be back in business.