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Late Summer 1929
A recession hits the United States in the summer of 1929. From 1921 to 1929, the stock market had quickly expanded, with stock prices soaring to levels that were beyond what they were worth. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates in an attempt to slow the rapid rise in stock prices. -
Unemployment low
Unemployment averages 3.2% for the year. Oct 1929. Wall Street Crash. The American stock market collapses. -
Stock Market Crash
Stock prices decline, the market goes into a free fall, and a wild rush to sell stocks begins. On October 24, known as Black Thursday, panicked investors sell a record 13 million shares of stock. Tuesday, October 29,Black Tuesday, extends the damage. -
Fall of 1930
The first of four banking panics begins. A banking panic occurs when people who had deposited their money in banks lose confidence in the security of the banks and withdraw their cash -
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Dust Bowl
The Great Plains suffers a severe drought that lasts several years. Conditions in this region, referred to as the Dust Bowl, worsen when heavy dust storms hit, carrying the soil into the air and creating “black blizzards.” -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act against the advice of leading economists who petition against the law. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act raises taxes on imports in an effort to protect businesses and farmers by reducing foreign competition. The new tariffs prompt a backlash by foreign governments. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
In the 1932 U.S. presidential election Hoover loses to Democratic challenger Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt wins with an overwhelming majority, carrying 472 electoral votes to Hoover’s 59 electoral votes. -
Unemployment at it's lowest
The unemployment rate hits its lowest level during the great depression was at nearly 25% -
Homelessness
In 1933, over 1 million homeless in the United States of America. -
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Recovery in the United States begins
Recovery in the United States begins. President Roosevelt’s New Deal establishes programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), to provide federal aid and temporary jobs. Other agencies are established to revitalize business and agriculture. Financial regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are also created. -
National Bank Holiday
President Roosevelt takes immediate action once in office and declares this day as national bank holiday, which closes all banks until they are declared secure by government agencies -
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Longshoremen Strike
A West Coast longshoremen's strike, conducted with significant aid from the Communist Party, paralyzes shipping and trade in California, Oregon, and Washington. The strike ends with a victory for the longshoremen's union. Cooperation between the longshoremen and West Coast communists represent a first successful venture of the so-called "Popular Front" between communists and liberals, which won't officially be authorized by the Comintern in Moscow until 1935. -
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Economic Crash...again
The United States is hit with another severe economic downturn. Everything started to fall apart again. -
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Recovery in progress
After the 1937–38 recession the U.S. economy gets back on a recovery path, and production finally returns to its predepression numbers by 1942. Recovery in the rest of the world varies greatly.