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The Great Depression
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Stock Market Crash
The American stock market crashes which was just the start of the Great Depression. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover became president and his ways did little to stop the Depression throughout his presidential terms. -
Bank Closures
There were 650 bank failures, as banks were failing it reduced the money supply because of less credit available. With the value of each dollar being worth more and rising, prices fell. Debt cost more to pay back with this being said and that created bankruptcies in businesses. -
Dow Closing Record
The Dow reached a closing record of 381.7 and the stock market wouldn't return to its pre-crash high for the next 25 years. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
President Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act which would raise taxes on about 900 imports. The purpose of the tariff was to help out farmers but it ended up imposing on hundreds of other tariffs of other products. Because of this, other countries retaliated which set of a trade war causing international trade to start collapsing. -
Dust Bowl
A drought, described as the worst one in 300 years hit 23 states from the Mississippi River to the mid-Atlantic region. Crops failed and farmers couldn't produce enough crops and cattle and other livestock died from inhaling dirt/dust. As it worsened, Congress appropriated around $65 million for seeds, feed, and food boxes. -
The New Deal
Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the New Deal with the Emergency Banking Act which would close all banks in the U.S. to stop the devastating failures. -
Statistics
While the economy grew by 8.9%, unemployment fell to 20.1%, prices rose 3.0%, and debt rose to $29 million. -
Programs
FDR launched programs helping the poor, unemployed, and farmers to try and create jobs and end the depression. The Soil Conservation & Domestic Allotment Act would pay farmers to plant soil-building crops, the Works Progress Administration was created and 8.5 million people got hired, the Rural Electrification Act helped generate electricity for farms. -
2nd Term
FDR started his second term in office and launched the third New Deal. They tried to cut spending to reduce debt but the cutback in the New Deal spending pushed the economy back into the Depression. -
The Depression Ending
The mark to market accounting was demolished, because experts thought that was the reason various banks were forced out of business. The rule forced banks to write down their real estate as values dropped. The new rules allowed for banks to keep those assets on their books as historical prices. In June of the same year, the economy started to grow again and the Great Depression was finally over. -
Hitler
Hitler invaded Poland which started WW2.
