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Many Americans were heavily investing in the stock market during the 1920s with little consciousness. This caused speculation that a stock market crash could possibly occur. On October 24, 1929, the market experienced a massive sell-off as investors panicked, leading to a record 12,894,650 shares being traded, this was also known as "Black Thursday". The market continued to decline on October 28 and reached its lowest point on October 29, 1929, now known as Black Tuesday. -
In late 1929, many banks across the country began to fail but the failures were not yet spread across the nation. In late 1930, the first major wave of widespread bank failures began with the collapse of the Bank of Tennessee in Nashville, an affiliate of the powerful investment firm Caldwell and Company. This triggered a chain reaction of bank failures in the Southeast and sparked panic across the country. -
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was a protectionist trade measure enacted in 1930 that significantly raised U.S. tariffs on imported goods, exacerbating the Great Depression. Intended to protect American farmers and businesses from foreign competition, the act instead triggered a global trade war as other nations retaliated with their own tariffs on American products. -
Herbert Hoover served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933. His single term in office was dominated by the onset of the Great Depression, which began with the stock market crash just eight months into his presidency. -
The Bank Holiday was issued by President Roosevelt on March 6, 1933, and lasted until March 9, 1933. This nationwide closure was a response to a wave of banking panics and runs on banks across the country, as people rushed to withdraw their deposits amidst undermined public confidence. By the time of the holiday, 20% of banks in existence in 1930 had failed. -
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created in June 1933 through the Banking Act of 1933 (also known as the Glass-Steagall Act) in response to the massive bank failures during the Great Depression. The economic crisis and subsequent loss of public trust in the banking system led to its creation. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was the 32nd President of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the only president to have served more than two terms, having been elected to four consecutive terms. His presidency was defined by two major crises: the Great Depression and World War II, and it fundamentally expanded the power and role of the federal government.