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March 4, 1933
President Roosevelt takes office and immediately declares a four-day bank holiday. During that time, Congress created the Bank Act of 1933, which restored some stability in the bank system. -
May 12, 1933
The Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and Farm Credit Act of 1933 helped struggling farmers by providing a million to refinance mortgages and creating a system of local banks and credit associations to prevent farm foreclosures. -
June 18, 1933
The CCC established its first camp focused on fighting soil erosion in Clayton County, Alabama. The program grew quickly, and within months, they had created 161 similar camps to help protect America's soil. -
September of 1933
The government created the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation in October after public concern over the waste of 6 million pigs that were killed to control prices. The FSRC helped by sending extra farm products like apples, beans, beef, flour, and pork to organizations that helped people in need. They later added cotton items to provide clothing for those who needed it -
October 4, 1933
The 1933 San Joaquin Valley cotton strike marked the largest agricultural strike in U.S. history. About
18,000 migrant farm workers, organized by CAWIU, stopped work for 24 days. The strike turned violent, resulting in three deaths and many injuries. However, it ended successfully with workers gaining union recognition and a 25% wage increase. -
May of 1934
The Dust Bowl created massive dust storms that moved beyond their original area. This event happened during America's worst drought, which impacted over 75% of the nation and hit 27 states hard. -
June 28, 1934
President Roosevelt approved the Taylor Grazing Act, which protected up to $140 million acres of federal land by creating monitored grazing districts. This New Deal program helped stop further land damage from overgrazing, though it couldn't fix existing environmental harm -
December 1934
In 1934, the "Yearbook of Agriculture" reported alarming soil loss in American farmland. It showed that about 35 million acres of farmland could no longer grow crops. Another 100 million acres had lost most or all of its topsoil, while 125 million more acres were quickly losing their topsoil. -
January 15, 1935
The government created the Drought Relief Service to help during a crisis. They bought cattle from emergency areas, paying between $14-$20 per animal. Half of these cattle couldn't be used for food and were put down, while the healthy ones were distributed as food to families across the country. Though farmers didn't want to sell their herds, this program helped save many from going bankrupt since the government offered better prices than local markets. -
April 8, 1935
FDR signed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, which had two major impacts: Provided a million to help areas affected by drought
Created the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which gave jobs to
8.5
8.5 million Americans