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The Ruhr Crisis
In the Ruhr Crisis, the French invaded the Ruhr in Germany to try and force the Germans to pay their war reparations. It was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic. The Ruhr Crisis caused hyperinflation which caused Germany economy to crumble. This consequently had a dominio effect on other European countries. -
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Construction of Mt. Rushmore
The construction of Mt. Rushmore took hundreds of workers and lasted until 1941. Workers endured dangerous and brutal conditions. It was designed by Doane Robinson. The construction of Mt. Rushmore was impactful because it offered something extremely limited during the depression, jobs. It is also a symbol of hope and recovery for the future. -
Geneva Convention
The Geneva Conventions were comprised of four treaties that are regarded towards standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of war. This section signed in 1929 focused specifically on the treatment of prisoners. According to the Geneva Convention no prisoner of war could be forced to disclose to his captor any information other than his identity. -
Stock Market Crashes
The crashing of the stock market marked the beginning of the 10 year Great Depression. On October 29, after the stock market had been slowly declining, 16,410,0303 shares were traded and and billions of dollars were lost wiping out thousands of investors. The crash put 12 million people out of work and 20,000 companies had been bankrupt. -
The Smoot- Hawley Tariff Passes
The purpose of the act was to regulate commerce with foreign countries, encourage the industries of the US, and protect American Labor by raising US tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. At first this seemed to be a great success, increasing factory payrolls, construction contracts, and industrial production, however, it caused economic problems in weak banks. -
First Rise Of Nazi Power
The votes for the Nazi Party jump from 2.5% to 18.3% after the Depression destroys German democracy under Weimar. The door then opens to Hitler who plans to take over Germany by using by using propoganda and patrotism. The rise of Nazi Power also created many new public works projects such as the Autobahn System. Also, unemplyment decreased drastically. -
Construction of the Hoover Dam Begins
The Construction of the Hoover Dam was a massive public works project that employed hundreds of men for many years. The Great Depression caused for a massive migration of the unemployed to Las Vegas in hopes of landing jobs building Hoover Dam. Men came from all over the country and often brought their families and life posessions. It employed a total of 21,000 men during its five year construction. -
The Banks Collapse
The banking system was unable to keep up with the panicked withdrawals that customers were making from bank accounts and a shortage of money made banks unable to return what customers had deposited so people became enraged. With the bank closures, there was an immediate contraction of money. Attempting to entice their buyers, companies dropped good pricing since there was less circulation of money. It also increased unemployment even more because companies had to cut off their work force. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation is Passed
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government cooperation that operated between 1932- 1957. It operated under FDR's New Deal. The purpose of the corporation was to provide financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses. This Corporation was impactful because it boosted confidence during the Great Depression and also helped banks. -
Lausanne Conference
The Lausanna Conference was a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland that brought to together representatives of France, Germany, and Britain and resulted in the suspension of reparation from World War I. While the world wide depression worsened, it became more and more apparent that countries would not be able to repay their debt. Countries also wanted the US to come to this agreement but the US refused. -
Bonus Army Marches on Washington
Six years after World War I, congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Act that gave bonuses to World War that could not be collected until 1945. In the 20s, veterans thought this was a fine idea, however, when the Great Depression hit they became unsettled. In 1932, the veterans, known as the "Bonus Army" marched on Washington demanding their money be paid now. This is a great representation of the desparity that overcame people in the Great Depression. -
FDR's First Inaugural Address
During FDR's first inaugural address, he beame one of the first political leaders to actually address the economic state of the US during the Great Depression. With his famous quote, "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself", FDR became a symbol of hope for the people. He made a promise of effort, that he would do everything he could to fix the worsening problem. With this speech, people became excited and once again had confidence in the fact that maybe things could get better. -
FDR's First Fireside Chat
In March 1933 FDR started using the radio as a method of media that allowed him to address the country as a whole. He used his fireside chats to keep the citizens connected and updated of his plans for action. Many citizens found much comfort and confidence in these speeches. The topics he addressed varied from banking to unemplyment to fighting facism in Europe. -
Sweden Becomes The First Nation To Recover From The Great Depression
To recover quickly from the Great Depression, Sweden implemented many radical new policies. For example, Sweden abandoned the Gold Standard earlier (by September 1931) when the country was unable to raise short-term loans to maintain its currencey. They also were strategic about their exportation of goods. -
Dust Bowl Begins
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that caused great damage to the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canada. It also caused a severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods. Many people during in the 20s and 30s depended greatly on farming and agriculture as their source of income and by 1940, more than 2.5 million people had been affected by the Dust Bowl. Many had to flee their homes in fear of getting sick and dying. -
The Great Migration
The Great Migration was the relocation of over 6 million African Americans from the rural south to the cities of the north. This migration lasted from 1916-1970 but it increased greatly during the Great Depression because people could not afford to keep their farms so they looked for industrial work in the cities. -
Roosevelt Delivers Message To Begin Phase Two Of The New Deal
In the second phase of the New Deal FDR proposes long-term goals of providing for social security for aged, ill and unemployed, and better housing and tax reform. The second phase includes programs to redistribute wealth, income and power in favor of the poor, the old, farmers and labor unions. The most important of the programs was social security and National Labor Relations Act. -
WPA Created
The WPA was the largest and most ambitious of the new deal programs. At its peak, it employed three million unemployed people by giving them work on public works projects such as the construction of public buildings and roads. -
The National Youth Administration Is Set Up
The NYA was created to address the needs of young men and women, not allowed in the CCC.It has two levels, a student work program and an out of school program. The student work program provides jobs that enable students to stay in school and the out of school provides jobs ranging from cleaning local parks to house painting, Eventually, it comes to include vocational training. It was setting up the younger generation so they may be stable in the future. -
Grapes of Wrath Published
The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck and set in the Great Depression. The book focuses on the realness of the Great Depression, depicting a family of farmers that is living through the Dust Bowl, affected by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. This book is a great representation of the cultural expression that was happening through arts during the Depression, This was also seen in music and film. -
FDR Lobbies Congress To Pass The Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was an act passed that allowed the president to supply war materials to Britain, France, USSR, and other allied nations against Germany. This exportation of goods allowed for an improvement of economic prosepcts in the US.
