-
Period: to
The Great Depression
-
Hoover Elected into Office
Herbert Hoover began his presidency in a rough time, and though he did many things to try and improve the state of the country's economy, he was still disliked by the public as the "do-nothing president" and the "laissez-faire approaches" he took. Some historians now believe he was influential on the US and was actually an initator on the New Deal, which helped America greatly. -
Black Thursday
This was an unfortunate time for the stock market, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 11% on this day, as many people sold stocks and didn't buy more. This was a major event that led to the downfall of Wall Street. -
Black Tuesday
This was the official date of the Wall Street Crash and marks the beginning of the Great Depression for all. On Black Tuesday, the Dow Jones dropped even more than it did on Black Thursday, and even more stocks were sold. The stock market lost all the gains of the previous year and it was known as the worst economic day in history. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
This act raised the price of thousands of imported goods from around the world, and encouraged Americans to by American-made products instead by increasing the price of foreign objects, to help alleviate the economic burden. However, this act only made it worse, as in retaliation, other nations put tariffs on American goods, so no other countries were buying American goods, and this worsened the depression. (pictured is Smoot and Hawley) -
Unemployment Peak
With the measures President Hoover was taking, unemployment rose to its highest point in history, 23, and later 25%. The idea of business voluntarism and the Tariff Act were not having a good effect on the economy, and Hoovervilles or shanty towns began to be more popular. -
Roosevelt Elected into Office
Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the new president of the United States after Hoover. He is well known for his Hundred Days and the New Deal. He was considered to be a well-liked president and the public generally liked him better than Hoover. -
Implementation of the New Deal
FDR began to get to work right away on his proposal, the New Deal. The New Deal was a great thing for the country's depression. It improved the economy by helping banks, agriculture, unemployment rates, and on top of that, the environment as well. It created many organizations, suchas the FDIC, AAA, and NRA, some of which are still used today. The New Deal was quite effective in providing jobs as well as bettering the country in other ways. -
Beginning of Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or "Dirty Thirties" was a time of severe depression for many American farmers as they pushed back the frontier, and in doing so ruined the topsoil. This created poor farming conditions and many farmers flocked west looking for new jobs, or those who stayed lost even more money in the Depression. -
Frank Sinatra
This is when the famous and influential singer, Frank Sinatra began his career. Singers such as Sinatra were well loved during this time, and his legacy still lives on today as he provided entertainment in bleak times. -
Film Rises Considerably
1939 is considered the most outstanding year of film ever. Some films were geared towards propaganda for the war, but mostly, thse films provided great entertainment for the people. Many of these films are still considered classics today, and this year of film led the way for more films and revolutionized the show business area. -
Beginning of Wolrd War II
Though the beginning of World War II for US involvement was at a later time than the official beginning of the war, America was still preparing for it, and trading with other countries currently at war. World War II lifted the US out of its long, grueling Great Depression, as porduction majorly increased as the country went into total war. Farmers, factories, and people of allkinds benefitted as they all made profit from providing for the war effort.
