Great Depression Timeline

Herbert Hoover President

Mar 4, 1929

Herbert Hoover became president. His laissez-faire economic policies did little to stop the Depression.

Great Depression Begins

Oct 29, 1929

The Great Depression begins with the Wall Street Crash.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Jun 17, 1930

Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised taxes on 900 imports. It originally was supposed to help farmers but ended up imposing tariffs on hundreds of other products.

Bank Failure

Nov 7, 1930

The Bank of Tennessee failed. That led to failures of affiliate banks in the next few days.

Revenue Act

Jun 6, 1932

Hoover signed the Revenue Act of 1932. It increased the top income tax rate to 63%. He wanted to reduce the federal deficit.

New President

Mar 4, 1933

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Civilian Conservation Corps

Mar 31, 1933

The Civilian Conservation Corps was launched to hire three million workers to maintain public lands.

Abandoning gold standard

Apr 19, 1933

FDR stopped a run on gold by abandoning the gold standard. He ordered everyone to exchange private gold for dollars.

Gold Reserve Act

Jan 30, 1934

The Gold Reserve Act prohibited private ownership of gold and doubled its price. The act changed gold price history.

Federal mortgage insurance.

Jun 27, 1934

The Federal Housing Administration provided Federal mortgage insurance. The Securities and Exchange Commission regulated the stock market.

Resettlement Administration

Apr 30, 1935

The Resettlement Administration trained and provided loans to farmers.

Unemployment falls

Aug 10, 1935

Economy grew 8.9%. Unemployment fell to 20.1%. Prices rose 3.0%. The debt rose to $29 billion.