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Great Crash/ Black Thursday
Stock prices decline. The market goes into a free fall, and a wild rush to sell stocks begins. On October 24, known as Black Thursday, panicked investors sell a record 13 million shares of stock. Tuesday, October 29—Black Tuesday—extends the damage. On this day more than 16 million shares are sold. The value of most shares of stock falls dramatically, leading to the Great Crash of 1929. -
Dirty Thirties
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s, sometimes referred to as the “Dirty Thirties,” lasted about a decade. This was a period of severe dust storms that caused major agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands, primarily from 1930 to 1936, but in some areas, until 1940. It was caused by severe drought and decades of extensive farming without crop rotation. -
Public Outcry
Over 6 million young pigs are slaughtered to stabilize prices. With most of the meat going to waste, public outcry will lead to the creation, in October, of the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation. The FSRC will divert agricultural commodities to relief organizations. Apples, beans, canned beef, flour and pork products will be distributed through local relief channels. Cotton goods are eventually included to clothe the needy as well. -
Farm Credit Act of 1933
The Emergency Farm Mortgage Act allots $200 million for refinancing mortgages to help farmers facing foreclosure. The Farm Credit Act of 1933 establishes a local bank and sets up local credit associations. -
Building More
The Civilian Conservation Corps opens the first soil erosion control camp in Clayton County, Alabama. 160 more camps were built by September -
Getting Worse
Great dust storms spread from the Dust Bowl area. The drought is the worst ever in U.S. history, covering more than 75 percent of the country and affecting 27 states severely. -
Drought Relief Service
The federal government forms a Drought Relief Service to coordinate relief activities. The DRS buys cattle in counties that are designated emergency areas, for $14 to $20 a head. Those unfit for human consumption – more than 50 percent at the beginning of the program – are destroyed. -
Black Sunday
Black Sunday. The worst “black blizzard” of the Dust Bowl occurs, causing extensive damage. -
Roosevelt
Roosevelt addresses the nation in his second inaugural address, stating, “I see one-third of the nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished… the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” -
Golden Wheat
In the fall, the rain comes, finally bringing an end to the drought. During the next few years, with the coming of World War II, the country is pulled out of the Depression and the plains once again become golden with wheat.