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The Great Depression Begins
On a day called Black Thursday, stock market prices start to drop. The stock market crashes when prices keep dropping and by the end of November, the stock market loses $30 billion. -
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The Great Depression (1929-1941)
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Hoover says the worst is over
President Herbert Hoover tells Americans that the economy will start to improve within the next 60 days. The Great Depression is actually just getting started. -
Food riots start in cities across the United States
Food riots start in cities across the United States. Hungry Americans smash grocery store windows, take food, and run away because they do not have any other way of getting food to eat. -
Roosevelt promises new deal
While campaigning for president of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt promises Americans a new deal. The programs he creates after he is elected will be called The New Deal. -
Roosevelt is elected president
Roosevelt is elected president of the United States. -
The Emergency Bank Act is passed
Congress passes the Emergency Banking Act. By the end of the month, almost all of the banks that had closed when the Depression started are open again. -
The Civilian Conservation Corps is created
The first New Deal program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is created. Thousands of young men go to camps to work on projects such as building parks, building roads, and fighting forest fires. -
The Tennessee Valley Authority is created
The Tennessee Valley Authority, another New Deal program, brings electricity and jobs to Americans living in the southern part of the United States -
The Works Progress Administration puts America to work
The Works Progress Administration is created. It puts Americans to work doing many types of jobs such as writing, acting, building bridges, and building airports. -
Social Security is created
The Social Security Act is signed. The Act provides money every month for senior citizens. -
Dorothea Lange takes the Migrant Mother photo
Photographer Dorothea Lange takes photographs of a poor family working at a pea-picking camp in California. One of the photos, called Migrant Mother, is one of the most famous photographs to come from the Great Depression. -
The economy goes through another recession
After showing some improvement, the economy starts to suffer again when more Americans lose their jobs. Many people begin to lose hope that things will ever get better. -
The Grapes of Wrath is published
The book "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck is published. The book is about a family that is forced to leave home and try to find work in California during the Great Depression. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs American ships at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Thousands of Americans are killed in the attack. -
The Great Depression Ends
The United States declares war on Japan and joins World War II. Because the war creates so much money and jobs for the economy, the Great Depression ends soon after the U.S. goes to war.