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The 10 events of 1930's
these are the 10 events that happened in the 1930s -
The Great Depression
The 1929 stock market crash heralded the Great Depression. The crash itself did not bring about the collapse. It just signaled its arrival. In the United States, the depression lasted until World War II. -
Gandhi's Salt March (1930)
Gandhi and 78 followers marched 240 miles to the sea. The march was part of Gandhi's civil disobedience movement. He hoped to pressure the British into granting Indian independence. Gandhi devised the march as a protest against the British salt tax. Upon reaching the sea, he picked up some salt and boiled it. He created illegal salt and essentially threw it in the face of India's colonial rulers. Gandhi portrayed his campaign as a battle between might and right. His actions later influenced Mar -
Bonus March
Congress promised bonuses to World War I vets. The veterans could not receive their bonus until 1945. Many thought the vets should get their money early. They reasoned the infusion of money into the economy might help ease the depression. President Hoover disagreed. 43,000 marched on Washington to demand the bonus. Only 17,000 were actual veterans or associated with the vets. They set up camps throughout the city. Eventually, the government moved to evict them. Douglas MacArthur moved on the ten -
FDR elected (1932)
Herbert Hoover had no chance. His name was synonymous with the depression. Roosevelt trounced the incumbent in November. Roosevelt's election ushered in the New Deal. This program represented a radical departure from previous administrations. The government took responsibility for its citizens. The New Dealers pumped millions into the economy hoping to break the depression. They failed. The depression did not end until World War II. However, it did modernize the government, gave people hope, and -
Prohibition ends (1933)
Prohibition went into effect in 1920. It banned the sale, distribution, and manufacture of alcohol in the United States. The act helped create organized crime. People openly flaunted the law. The government could not enforce it. As a result, congress repealed the act in 1933. -
Crime Wave (
The depression witnessed the rise of celebrity bank robbers. In 1934, they appeared to be everywhere. Additionally, some were extremely violent. J. Edgar Hoover organized the FBI to tackle the problem. They assassinated Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Baby Face Nelson died in a shootout with agents. Pretty Boy Floyd was shot in the back. There were many other, less famous, outlaws that died at the hands of federal law enforcement during 1934. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl is one reason the decade is dubbed the dirty thirties. As a result of poor land management and over farming, the soil on America's great plains withered. Plowing removed grass. The grass kept the soil anchored and helped hold moisture. Without it, the soil dried and blew away. Literally, people on the east coast witnessed the great plains blowing out to sea. The disaster worsened the depression in those areas. People lost their livelihoods and their farms. Many refugees, often call -
Munich (1938)
On September 30, 1938, Adolf Hitler hoodwinked British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Germany wanted to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. They argued millions of Germans lived in that the region, so it should be German territory. Britain and France went to Munich to discuss the situation. Hitler's saber rattling scared them. With Mussolini acting as an intermediary, Britain and France gave a part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. The Czechs were not allowed in the negotiations. Czechosl -
War of the Worlds (1938
On Devil's Night, Orson Welles broadcast a mock newscast of an alien invasion. He based his radio play on H.G. Wells book The War of the Worlds. Welles broadcast the play with news bulletins. His fictional bulletins scared millions. He did not warn people that the broadcast was fiction. People were already on edge and many panicked. Europe was marching toward another war. The exact number fooled into panic is unknown. -
War of the Worlds (1938)
On Devil's Night, Orson Welles broadcast a mock newscast of an alien invasion. He based his radio play on H.G. Wells book The War of the Worlds. Welles broadcast the play with news bulletins. His fictional bulletins scared millions. He did not warn people that the broadcast was fiction. People were already on edge and many panicked. Europe was marching toward another war. The exact number fooled into panic is unknown -
War of the Worlds (1938
On Devil's Night, Orson Welles broadcast a mock newscast of an alien invasion. He based his radio play on H.G. Wells book The War of the Worlds. Welles broadcast the play with news bulletins. His fictional bulletins scared millions. He did not warn people that the broadcast was fiction. People were already on edge and many panicked. Europe was marching toward another war. The exact number fooled into panic is unknown. -
Germany invades Poland (1939)
The Germans launched World War II with an invasion of Poland. On September 1, 1939, the Nazis crossed the border and laid waste to Polish defenses. The Poles also faced a Soviet invasion from the east. The two powers quickly crushed Poland. The British and French finally awoke from complacency about Hitler and declared war on Germany. They did not declare war on Stalin's Russia. World War II lasted until 1945.