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J.Edgar Hoover Becomes Head of the FBI
Edgar Hoover was a United States government official who served as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1924 until his death in 1972. He built the agency into a highly effective, and occasionally controversial, arm of federal law enforcement. -
Mein Kampf is Published
Mein Kampf is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. -
Stock Market Crash Begins Great Depression
The stock market crash of 1929 had a devastating effect on the culture of the 1930s. As investors, businesses, and farms lost money, they started to shutter and lay off workers. Banks closed as well. The Great Depression began in the 1930s, leading to soup kitchens, bread lines, and homelessness across the nation. -
The Dust Bowl Begins
The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken southern plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a drought in the 1930s. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region. -
Adolf Hitler Become Chancellor of Germany
Hitler's emergence as chancellor on January 30, 1933, marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world. His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. -
Franklin Roosevelt is Elected President (1st Time)
This is the first time that Franklin Roosevelt got elected as president on March 4, 1933. It is important because Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. He built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the United States throughout the middle third of the 20th century -
CCC is Created
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established by Congress on March 31, 1933, provided jobs for young, unemployed men during the Great Depression. Over its 9-year lifespan, the CCC employed about 3 million men nationwide -
Grapes of Wrath is Published
The Grapes of Wrath, the best-known novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1939. It evokes the harshness of the Great Depression and arouses sympathy for the struggles of migrant farmworkers. The book came to be regarded as an American classic -
WPA is Created
The WPA was designed to provide relief for the unemployed by providing jobs and income for millions of Americans. At its height in late 1938, more than 3.3 million Americans worked for the WPA -
J.J. Braddock Wins Heavyweight Boxing Title
On June 13, 1935, at Madison Square Garden Bowl, Braddock won the Heavyweight Championship of the World as the 10-to-1 underdog in what was called "the greatest fistic upset since the defeat of John L. Sullivan by Jim Corbett". -
Olympic Games in Berlin
The Berlin Olympics had been awarded to Germany before the Nazis came to power, but in August 1936 they provided a perfect opportunity for the Nazis to showcase Hitler's Third Reich to the 49 nations of the world competing for Olympic gold. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) is a protest from German Nazis against Jewish people. This is important because in this riot they rounded up around 30 thousand Jewish men and sent them to concentration camps. -
Wizard of Oz Premiers in Movie Theaters
On August 25, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, which will become one of the best-loved movies in history, opens in theaters around the United States. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. German forces broke through Polish defenses along the border and quickly advanced on Warsaw, the Polish capital. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, both Jewish and non-Jewish, fled the German advance hoping the Polish army could halt the German advance -
The Four Freedoms Speech
Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, commonly known as the “Four Freedoms” speech. In it he articulated a powerful vision for a world in which all people had freedom of speech and of religion, and freedom from want and fear. It was delivered on January 6, 1941 and it helped change the world.