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1933
During 1933, a union group of communists followed migrants and harvested, organizing a nine-county cotton pickers' strike that affected 12,000 workers. -
1934
By mid-1934 the union had led about fifty strikes involving 50,000 workers. The group's leaders claimed to have a membership of 21,000 and said they had raised the basic hourly field wage from an average of 15 cents to 17.5 cents an hour in 1932 to an average of 27.5 cents in 1934. -
1935
Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini invades Ethiopia in 1935. -
1936
1936: King Edward VIII of England gives up his throne to marry Wallace W. Simpson, "the woman I love." Simpson cannot become England's Queen because she's American and a divorcée. -
1937
Japan invades China in 1937 -
1938
In 1938, Congress passes the Fair Labor Standards Act, at first, creating a 44-hour workweek. Later, the act moved to a 40-hour week. Minimum wages start at 25 cents an hour and increase to 40 cents per hour within six years. -
1939
1939: Oil is discovered in southeastern Nebraska helping to feed the growing demand for gasoline as more and more Americans buy cars. -
1940
World War II absorbed many of the workers in the war effort in the 1940s. Although farm workers were generally exempt from the draft, the expansion of the defense industries to supply the U.S. military needs reduced the pool of surplus labor. -
1940
High unemployment carries over from the Great Depression, but agriculture and industry begin to rebound. Normal rainfall returns and farmers harvest a big crop of corn, wheat, soybeans, and other crops. Production increases and prices rise. -
1941
The Japanese attack the US base at Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941. In the surprise attack, more than 350 Japanese airplanes sink 12 US ships and destroy or damage more than 300 aircraft.
