The Great Depression

Mickey Mouse's First Appearance

Nov 18, 1928

The cartoon star Mickey Mouse appears on November 18th in Steamboat Willie, an animated 1928 short film produced by Walt Disney.

Wall Street Crash

1929

The American Stock Market crashes signaling the start of The Great Depression.

Hoover elected

1929

Hoover defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Al Smith of New York.

Dust Bowl

1930

Period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s.

Hooverville

1932

Shanty town built during the Great Depression by the homeless in the United States.

Roosevelt elected

Nov 8, 1932

Roosevelt defeats Republican President Herbert Hoover in a landslide to win the presidency.

New Deal

1933

Series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939.

Revenue Act

Aug 30, 1935

Raised federal income tax on higher income levels, by introducing the "Wealth Tax".

Hoover Dam

1936

Constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt re-elected

Nov 3, 1936

Roosevelt is elected to a second term as president, winning in a landslide over Republican Alf Landon.

World War 2

1939

The vast majority of the world's countries, including all the great powers, eventually formed two opposing military alliances.

Nazi Rally

Feb 20, 1939

The German-American Bund stages a huge rally of fascist sympathizers supporting what they call "True Americanism" in Madison Square Garden in New York.