The Crash 1929–1932
The Causes of the Great Depression
The boom of the 1920s gives way to the deepest economic collapse in American history.
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The Stock Market Crash
Black Tuesday wipes out fortunes as Wall Street collapses.
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The Hawley-Smoot Tariff
A steep new tariff deepens the global slump.
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Japan Invades Manchuria
Japan seizes Manchuria as the world order begins to fray.
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The Depression Gets Worse
Unemployment soars and breadlines lengthen as the slump deepens.
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Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Hoover’s last attempt to prop up banks and railroads.
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The Bonus Army
Veterans march on Washington — and are driven out by the Army.
Read more →The Election of 1932
Franklin Roosevelt sweeps to power on a promise of a New Deal.
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Hitler Comes to Power
Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany.
Read more →The New Deal 1933–1935
The Banking Crisis
A wave of bank failures forces a nationwide bank holiday.
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FDR’s Inauguration
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
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The New Deal: First Hundred Days
A whirlwind of legislation reshapes the federal government.
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Prohibition Repealed
The Twenty-first Amendment ends the “noble experiment.”
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The Agricultural Adjustment Act
The government pays farmers to cut production and raise prices.
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The Securities Act
New rules bring federal oversight to the sale of securities.
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The London Economic Conference
An international effort to fix the world economy collapses.
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The Glass-Steagall Act
Banking reform separates commercial and investment banking.
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Home Owners Loan Corporation
Federal loans rescue homeowners from foreclosure.
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The Civilian Conservation Corps
Young men are put to work conserving the nation’s land.
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Off the Gold Standard
The United States abandons the gold standard.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority
A vast public project brings power and jobs to the Tennessee Valley.
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Rural Electrification
Electricity comes to rural America.
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The Public Works Administration
Federal funds build roads, dams, schools, and bridges.
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National Industrial Recovery Act
An ambitious attempt to plan industrial recovery.
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The S.E.C. Created
A new agency to police the stock market.
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The National Recovery Administration
Codes of fair competition aim to revive industry.
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The N.I.R.A. Ruled Illegal
The Supreme Court strikes down the centerpiece of the New Deal.
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FDR and the Supreme Court
Roosevelt clashes with a Court that keeps overturning his programs.
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The W.P.A. Created
The largest jobs program of the New Deal puts millions to work.
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The Social Security Act
A landmark law creates old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
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The Neutrality Act of 1935
Congress moves to keep America out of foreign wars.
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The DC-3 Enters Service
A revolutionary airliner transforms commercial aviation.
Read more →Toward War 1936–1939
The Neutrality Act of 1936
Neutrality laws are tightened as Europe grows dangerous.
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The Neutrality Act of 1937
Further restrictions as war clouds gather.
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The Quarantine Speech
Roosevelt calls for a “quarantine” of aggressor nations.
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The USS Panay Attacked
Japanese planes sink an American gunboat on the Yangtze.
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Minimum Wage Established
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a federal minimum wage.
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The World’s Fair Opens
“The World of Tomorrow” opens in New York.
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The Royal Visit
Britain’s King and Queen visit a nation on the edge of war.
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Destroyers for Bases
America trades destroyers for British bases.
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Arsenal of Democracy
Roosevelt pledges to make America the “arsenal of democracy.”
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The Draft
The first peacetime draft in American history.
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