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World War I Armistice Signed
The official end of World War I. The conditions following the end of the war, including uneven economic growth, reparation demands on Germany, and High Tariffs contributed to the start of The Great Depression -
Economy Peaks
The economic growth of the Roaring Twenties reaches peaks. The Federal Reserve continues policies to defend the Gold Standard, which bases the value of U.S. currency on the amount of gold the U.S. has in it's reserves. -
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The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the economic collapse of the "Roaring Twenties" economic boom in the United States. The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to the economy started to rebound in 1938. However, it was until 1941, when the United States entered World War II when unemployment finally fell below 10 percent -
Herbert Hoover become President of the United States
President Hoover uses "laissez-faire" economic policies, which believed a free market economy and unchecked capitalism would fix any economic dips. -
Black Thursday
The beginning of the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The stock market fell 11 percent when the market opened. -
Black Monday
A few days after Black Thursday, the Stock Market fell 13 percent. -
Black Tuesday
The Stock Market falls another 12 percent. Black Tuesday also marks when banks attempt to stop the stock market crash by buying into the market. However, these investments would prove inadequate and causes over 650 bank failures by the end of the year. -
Dust Bowl Drought Begins
The worst drought in 300 years hits 23 states killing crops and is a cause of upcoming food shortages. The drought put an extra economic burden on the government. The dust cause by the drought caused dust storms which would kill livestock and cause health problems throughout the United States. -
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Dust Bowl Drought
A series of four devastating droughts hit the United States resulting in the loss of crops and an increase in destructive dust storms which covered entire areas in dust, killing livestock and causing health problems in people. The Dust Bowl Drought lasted an entire decade before the rains began to fall in 1941. The Dust Bowl Drought and the hardships it created was one of the main causes of The Great Depression -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
President Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, raising taxes on imports in an attempt to help farmers. Instead the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act started a trade war which decreased international trade -
Bank of Tennessee Fails
The Bank of Tennessee failure illustrated how the banks were not prepared for the economic downturn. As Americans were afraid of the Stock Market after the crash of 1929, they begin to lose confidence in the banks and begin a "Bank Run," attempting to withdraw all their money before the banks run out of cash. Banks were only required to have 10 percent of funds on hand, the rest was tied up in investments, loans, and other credit applications. -
Bank of the United States Fails
The fourth-largest bank at the time, the Bank of the United States became the largest bank failure in U.S. History (at the time).
