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President Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Because of this new high tax on impored goods, which other countries had to pay, it turned trade away from the U.S.
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Despite the Great Depression, the United States of America finally got its national anthem in March of 1931. The "Star Spangled Banner" was writen by Francis Scott Key. It was originally known as the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry," which was writen by Key in 1814.
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The Empire State Building is completed and opened.
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To start up banks and businesses, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established.
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FDR is elected president.
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FDR is inaugurated and gives the "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself," speech.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is established today.
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The Social Security Act was passed by Congress today.
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A national minimum wage of $0.25 is established today.
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When Germany begins WWII, the United States declares a state of neutrality in the European war.