The Great Depression

By 30003232

  • Herbert Hoover became president

    Herbert Hoover became president
    His laissez-faire economic policies did little to stop the Depression. He believed a free-market economy would allow the forces of capitalism to fix any economic downturn. As a result, he lowered the top income tax rate from 25% to 24%.

  • Black Thursday

    Black Thursday
    kicked off the stock market crash of 1929. Stock prices immediately fell by 11%. Wall Street bankers bought stocks, so only 2% was lost by the time the market closed.

  • Dust Bowl

    Dust Bowl
    A drought-hit 23 states from the Mississippi River to the mid-Atlantic region.

  • Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

    Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
    which raised taxes on 900 imports. It originally was supposed to help farmers but ended up imposing tariffs on hundreds of other products. Other countries retaliated, setting off a trade war. As a result, international trade began to collapse.

  • Food Riots

    Food Riots
    The drought continued, hitting eight Southern states the worst. It was the worst drought in the 20th century for Arkansas.
    The economy shrank 6.4%. The unemployment rate rose to 15.9%. Prices fell another 9.3% People began to suffer the worst effects of the Great Depression.

  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation

    Reconstruction Finance Corporation
    $2 billion to financial institutions to prevent further failures. In July, Congress authorized it to lend money to states for relief.

  • Hoover signed the Revenue Act of 1932

    Hoover signed the Revenue Act of 1932
    It increased the top income tax rate to 63%. He wanted to reduce the federal deficit. Hoover believed it would also restore confidence. Instead, higher taxes worsened the Depression.

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the New Deal with the Emergency Banking Act

    Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the New Deal with the Emergency Banking Act
    It closed all U.S. banks to stop devastating failures.

  • Black Sunday

    Black Sunday
    the worst dust storm ever. FDR passed the Soil Conservation Act to teach farmers sustainable methods.

  • FDR began his second term

    FDR began his second term
    He launched a third New Deal. The Wagner-Steagall Act funded state-run public housing projects. The Bonneville Power Administration delivered and sold power from the Bonneville Dam. The Farm Tenancy Act provided loans for tenant farmers to buy farms. The Farm Security Administration replaced the Resettlement Administration.

  • FDR abolished mark to market accounting.

    FDR abolished mark to market accounting.
    Some experts believed it forced many banks out of business. The rule forced banks to write down their real estate as values fell. FDR's new rule allowed them to keep these assets on their books at historical prices.

  • The Great Depression was over

    The Great Depression was over
    The economy started to grow again