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Recession
A recession hit the U.S. in the summer of 1929. From 1921-1929, the market expanded and the stock prices soared. -
Herbert Hoover Becomes President
Herbert Hoover elected president. -
Start of the Great Crash of 1929 (Start of the Great Depression)
Known as Black Thursday, panicked investors sell a record 13 million shares of stock. Later, on October 29 (Black Tuesday) more than 16 million shares are sold. -
Dust Bowl
The Great Plains suffered a severe drought that lasted several years. The conditions worsened when the heavy dust storms hit, carrying the soil into the air and creating “black blizzards. This made the U.S. fall in a deeper depression. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
President Hoover supported the formation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to help banks and industries. The economy didn’t improve, and people blamed Hoover for the disaster. Homeless families lived in poorly constructed shelters in towns they called “Hoovervilles.” -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Becomes President
Hoover lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt wins with an overwhelming majority, carrying 472 electoral votes to Hoover’s 59 electoral votes. -
New Deal
Recovery in the United States begins. President Roosevelt’s New Deal establishes programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), to provide federal aid and temporary jobs. Other agencies are established to revitalize business and agriculture. Financial regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are also created. -
Roosevelt Takes Action
Declared this day a national bank holiday, which closed all banks until they were declared secure by government agencies. -
Another Economic Downturn
The United States was hit with another severe economic downturn from 1937 to 1938. -
Recovery
From 1938 to 42, the U.S. economy got back on a recovery path, and production finally returned to its pre-depression numbers by 1942.