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Bank failures in 1929 were an immediate consequence of the Stock Market Crash that October, leading to a wave of bank runs as depositors lost confidence and withdrew their funds. Small banks, heavily invested in the stock market and lacking deposit insurance, failed at a high rate, causing further panic and increasing the number of bank runs that continued into the early 1930s. -
Hoovervilles were makeshift shantytowns built by the homeless and unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States, named derisively after President Herbert Hoover, who was blamed for the economic crisis. These communities, consisting of crude shelters constructed from scavenged materials like cardboard, wood scraps, and tin, emerged across the country between 1930 and 1941 and served as a stark symbol of the widespread poverty and social impact of the economic downturn. -
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 stock market crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a sudden and steep decline in stock prices in late October 1929 that began on Black Thursday (October 24th) and culminated on Black Tuesday (October 29th). It was triggered by a period of excessive speculation, widespread use of borrowed money ("margin"), and a lack of regulation, leading to a panicked sell-off and devastating losses. The crash wiped out fortunes and contributed to the onset of the Great Depression. -
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe drought and widespread dust storms that plagued the Great Plains region of the United States during the 1930s, particularly affecting Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. This environmental disaster, exacerbated by poor farming practices and a concurrent economic depression, caused massive soil erosion, leading to ecological devastation, crop failures, and forced migration of millions of people from the affected regions. -
On March 25, 1931, nine African American teenagers were accused of raping two white women aboard a Southern Railroad freight train in northern Alabama . -
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff, officially the Tariff Act of 1930, was a United States law signed by President Herbert Hoover that significantly raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods. Although initially intended to help American farmers, the tariffs were expanded to include nearly all sectors of the economy. The act sparked international retaliation, leading to a global trade collapse, which worsened the effects of the Great Depression. -
The "Bonus Army" movement occurred primarily in the spring and summer of 1932, beginning with a march in late May and culminating in a violent eviction of veterans from their camps on July 28, 1932. WWI veterans, desperate due to the Great Depression, marched on Washington D.C. to demand early payment of promised bonuses but were forcibly removed by the U.S. Army. -
The "Black Cabinet" was an unofficial but influential advisory group of African-American federal appointees who counseled President Franklin D. Roosevelt on issues affecting Black communities during the Great Depression and World War II. Though never formally recognized by the President, the group met regularly and worked to ensure that African Americans received a fair share of the New Deal's economic relief programs. -
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 bank holiday of 1933 was a temporary, nationwide closure of banks from March 6 to March 10, 1933, declared by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address the economic crisis and widespread bank failures. The holiday allowed the government to assess and stabilize the banking system through the Emergency Banking Act, which provided new currency and a framework for reopening only sound banks, ultimately restoring public confidence in the financial system. -
The first Fireside Chat was delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 12, 1933. The radio address, on the Emergency Banking Act, was given eight days after his inauguration to explain his administration's efforts to stabilize the banking system during the Great Depression. -
The FDIC is an independent U.S. government agency that was created by the Banking Act of 1933 to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring bank deposits, supervising financial institutions, and resolving failed banks. Created during the Great Depression to prevent bank runs after thousands of bank failures, the FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. -
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act, was a significant piece of U.S. legislation that reversed federal assimilation policies and ended the detrimental allotment process. -
The National Housing Act of 1934 created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to stimulate the housing and construction industries, which were devastated by the Great Depression. The FHA provided mortgage insurance to lenders, reducing their risk and making it possible for more people to obtain loans with lower down payments and longer repayment terms. -
The Social Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. This landmark piece of legislation established the Social Security program to provide social insurance and assist workers and their families.