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The 1929 stock market crash, also known as the Great Crash, was a major and rapid decline in U.S. stock market values in late October 1929. It triggered widespread panic and was a significant catalyst for the Great Depression. The crash ended the prosperity of the "Roaring Twenties" and exposed severe weaknesses in the American economy. -
Hoovervilles were shantytowns built by the homeless during the Great Depression, from 1930 to 1941, named derisively after President Herbert Hoover. These makeshift communities, often constructed from scavenged materials like cardboard, newspapers, and scrap wood, emerged across the United States due to widespread homelessness and poverty following the 1929 stock market crash. -
Herbert Hoover's tenure as the 31st president of the United States began on his inauguration on March 4, 1929, and ended on March 4, 1933. Hoover, a Republican, took office after a landslide victory in the 1928 presidential election over Democrat Al Smith of New York. -
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff, officially the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (or Tariff Act of 1930), was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. The act dramatically raised import duties on a wide range of goods in an attempt to protect American farmers and industries during the Great Depression -
The Scottsboro Boys case involved nine African American teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. The notorious trials exposed deep-seated racial injustice in the American South and resulted in landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that expanded criminal defendants' rights. -
The Bonus Army was a protest movement of World War I veterans and their families who marched on Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand early payment of bonuses due to the economic hardship of the Great Depression. The movement culminated in a violent confrontation when the military, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, forcibly removed the protesters from their camps, leading to significant injuries and public outcry. -
Bank failures occurred throughout the Great Depression, beginning with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which saw 650 banks fail in 1929. The rate of failure escalated to 1,300 banks in 1930 and continued to climb, leading to a widespread banking crisis culminating in the National Bank Holiday in March 1933, after which 9,000 banks had closed by the end of the decade -
The Black Cabinet was an unofficial but influential group of African-American advisors who served in federal government roles during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, particularly during the New Deal era (1933–1945). Their mission was to ensure Black Americans received an equitable share of New Deal benefits and to advocate for civil rights. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served more than two terms. -
The first bank holiday of 1933 was declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 6, 1933, and suspended all banking transactions across the United States. It was intended to halt a nationwide banking crisis that threatened to collapse the entire financial system. -
The first fireside chat was delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 12, 1933, to reassure the American public about the banking crisis during the Great Depression. The address was broadcast over the radio and was part of Roosevelt's strategy to communicate directly and informally with the American people. -
The FDIC was created in 1933 by the Banking Act of 1933 (also known as the Glass-Steagall Act) to restore public confidence in the financial system after thousands of bank failures during the Great Depression. As a New Deal initiative under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the FDIC's purpose is to maintain stability by insuring bank deposits, supervising banks, and resolving bank failures, ensuring that depositors do not lose their money -
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act or the Indian New Deal, was a significant piece of federal legislation that reversed assimilationist policies and aimed to improve conditions for Native Americans by granting tribes greater self-rule, ending the allotment of tribal lands, and providing federal support for tribal governments and economic development. -
the Dust Bowl was a severe ecological and economic catastrophe on the Great Plains from 1930 to 1936, characterized by massive dust storms caused by drought and unsustainable farming practices that removed protective prairie grasses. -
The Social Security Act established a system for old-age benefits, survivors benefits, and disability benefits for workers, as well as federal aid for programs like unemployment insurance, maternal and child welfare, and assistance for the blind, dependent children, and other public welfare needs. Signed into law in 1935, it created the federal Social Security system and has been periodically amended to expand coverage, liberalize benefits, and adjust tax and benefit structures. -
The National Housing Act, most notably passed in 1934, established the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to provide mortgage insurance, which stabilized the housing market by allowing for long-term, low-down payment loans. This act helped millions of Americans, but also contributed to housing discrimination through practices like redlining.