-
Stock Market Crash
Shortly after President Herbert Hoover's election, the stock market crashed on wall street on October 29th,1929, a day that would later be known as "Black Tuesday". The crash began a train of events that exposed America's weakness in their economy. -
Dust Bowl
Drought and poor farming techniques caused the dirt to be picked up by the wind and made life almost unbearable in the farm land of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. -
Empire State Building Opens
When the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, it was the tallest building in the world - standing at 1,250 feet tall.President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., and on came the lights in the world's tallest skyscraper. The building held the record for 40 years. -
Bonus Army March
The Bonus Army, an assemblage of some 43,000 marchers,17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups, gathered in Washington, D.C. on July 28th, 1932 to demand cash-payment redemption of their service certificates. The marchers waited for their early retirement money, but were denied their wishes. -
1932 Election
Roosevelt beat Hoover in this election with 472 to 59 electoral votes. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
Employed many to preserve and conserve natural resorces by planting trees and working in parks. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Provided a guarantee for safe bank deposits so people would put money in the banks, keeping them from failing. -
Emergency Banking Act
Upon entering office, FDR sends banks into a "holiday" and closes them to prevent Americans from trying to take from the banks. Congress passes the Emergency Banking Act, giving FDR broad powers over banks and foreign exchange. Bank holiday ends March 10--banks can reopen when they prove that they are solvent. Within three days, 1000 banks will reopen and national confidence picks up. -
Fireside Chat
President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the radio to icomunicate with the U.S. people and inform them of his goals for fixing the economy. -
Charles Coughlin
Originally supported FDR but eventually began critisising him and the banks through his radio show and created the Nations Union of Social Justice. -
Tennessee Valley Authority
Called for building many dams to prevent flooding and to generate electricity to remote areas. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era which restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant on part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus and therefore effectively raise the value of crops. -
Securities and Exchange Commision
New rules and regulations for the stock market and other finantial transactions because of them being unstable. -
Works Progress Administration
Emloyed many to build public works projects like roads and bridges. -
National Labor Relations Act
Legitimized collective bargaining for labor unions and limited what employers could do against the union employees. Established the National Labor Relations Board. -
Huey Long's Assasination
Louisiana politician and a supporter of FDR in the 1932 presidential election, Long split with the President in June 1933 to plan his own presidential bid for 1936 in alliance with the influential Catholic priest Charles Coughlin. Huey Long had previously founded the Share the Wealth Program. As a Democrat, Long was an outspoken left-wing populist. On September 9th, Long was murdered.