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Herbert Hoover Elected President
After his election, the nation went into a recession months before the stock market crash. -
Stock Market Crash
The Stock Market Crash of 1929, also known as "Black Tuesday", marked the beginning of the Great Depression. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
This tariff raised taxes on manufactured goods & agriculture, causing foreign retaliation. The unemployment rate climbed drastically. -
Major Bank Collapse
A bank panic led to the closure of hundreds of banks from September to October of 1931. In December of the same year, New York's Bank of the United States collapsed in the largest bank failure of the nation to date. The unemployment rate rose to 15.9 percent. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The R.F.C. was established to provide loans to banks, railroads, and insurance companies. All attempts to help homeowners failed, and taxes/unemployment rates rose. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected President
During his first 100 days as president, Congress enacted the AAA and other administrations and acts as part of FDR's New Deal; these provided aid to the unemployed, farmers, and banks. He also tried to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, which caused more strikes. -
Prohibition Repealed
The realization of the cost of Prohibition enforcement and the loss of tax revenue on alcohol during a time of economic crisis led to the repeal. -
Dust Bowl
A three-day dust storm hit the United States around May of 1934, leaving the nation in a draught that lasted for almost a decade. The storm blew away 350 million tons of soil; because there was no chance of making a living, farm families had to abandon their homes and land and migrate west to find work, where they were only met with more disappointment due to the economic crisis. However, in this same year, unemployment rates slightly fell and the long road to recovery began. -
Social Security Act
Roosevelt signed this act to provide money every month to senior citizens, financed through a payroll tax. Unemployment continued to fall. -
Improvements in Employment
The Supreme Court upheld a minimum wage law for women, unemployment began to fall, and economic recovery continued. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 6, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and bombed American ships, killing thousands of U.S. citizens. -
The Great Depression Ends
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered World War II. The war effort jump-started U.S. industry by creating money and jobs, helping to mend the economy and end the Great Depression.
