-
The 1928 Election
Republicans chose Herbert Hoover, an accomplished public servant, to run for the White House. Hoover was orphaned as a child, but he overcame this personal tragedy and graduated from Standford University. With a solid record of accomplishments behind him and seemingly endless prosperity in front of him, Hoover was a formidable presidential candidate in 1928. Hoover's contest with Alfred E. Smith was no contest at all. Americans voted overwhelmingly for Hoover. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
This was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world, sparking fundamental changes in economic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic theory. Although it originated in the United States, the Great Depression caused drastic declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation in almost every country of the world. The Great Depression represented the harshest adversity faced by Americans since the Civil War. -
Black Tuesday
With confidence in the stock market failing, nervous investors started to sell. Stock in General Electric that once sold for $400 a share plunged tp $283. Across the U.S., investors raced to pull their money out of the stock market. On October 29, Black Tuesday, the bottom fell out. More than 16 million shares were sold as the stock market collapsed in the Great Crash. The Great Crash represented a rare extreme in the nation's business and a turning point for the American economy. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
In June 1930, Congress passed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. President Hoover signed the bill into law. This tariff raised taxes on foreign imports to such a level that the foreign goofs could not compete in the American market. The tariff inspired European countries to retaliate and enact protective tariffs of their own. Far from solving the problems of the depression, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff added to them. This tariff was one of the causes of a depression spreading across the globe. -
Period: to
The Dust Bowl
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 dry period 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 region. The Dust Bowl intensified the crushing economic impacts of the Great Depression and drove many farming families on a desperate migration in search of work and better living conditions. -
Star Spangled Banner Adopted
Throughout the 19th century, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was regarded as the national anthem by most branches of the U.S. armed forces and other groups, but it was not until 1916, and the signing of an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson, that it was formally designated as such. In March 1931, Congress passed an act confirming Wilson’s presidential order, and on March 3 President Hoover signed it into law. -
The 1932 Election
The 1932 election campaign pitted Roosevelt against President Hoover. The two men advocated very different approaches to the problems of the Great Depression. Hoover believed that depression relief should come from state and local governments and private agencies. Roosevelt believed that the depression required strong action and leadership by the federal government. Hoover's popularity declined as the GD worsened. FDR won a landslide victory, winning the electoral votes of all but six states. -
The Bonus Army Marches on Washington
World War I veterans marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand immediate payment of their service bonuses. President Hoover refused to negotiate and instructed the army to clear the capital of protestors, leading to a violent clash. These veterans were known as the "Bonus Army". -
Creation of Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Created by Congress in early 1932, the RF gave more than a billion dollars of government loans to railroads and large businesses. The agency also lent money to banks so they could extend more loans to struggling businesses. Companies would then hire workers, production and consumption would increase, and the depression would end. The RFC did not work well under Hoover's guidance, and the money did not end up trickling down to the people who needed it most. -
Period: to
The New Deal
The New Deal was a domestic program of the administration of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939, which took action to bring about immediate economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labor, and housing, vastly increasing the scope of the federal government’s activities. Much of the New Deal legislation was enacted within the first three months of Roosevelt’s presidency, which became known as the Hundred Days. -
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act passed by Congress in 1935, established a pension system for retirees. It also established unemployment insurance for workers who lost their jobs. In addition, the law created insurance for victims of work-related accidents and provided aid for poverty-stricken mothers and children, the blind, and the disabled. It was funded by a payroll tax on employers and workers. -
Famous Novel The Grapes of Wrath is Published
The most famous novel of the 1930s was John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck follows the fictional Joad family from their home in Oklahoma, which has been ravaged by the Dust Biwk conditions, to California, where they hope to build a better life. Instead of the Promised Land, the Joads encounter exploitation, disease, hunger, and political corruption.
