A combination of severe drought and poor farming practices led to massive dust storms and crop failures in the Great Plains, causing widespread agricultural devastation.
The New Deal
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's economic programs aimed to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Depression. Initiatives included social welfare programs, job creation, and financial sector regulations.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): This act established a federal minimum wage, set maximum working hours, and banned child labor, creating more equitable labor standards.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (1933): The FDIC was created to insure bank deposits and prevent bank failures, restoring public trust in the banking system.
• National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935): This act protected workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively, creating the National Labor Relations Board to oversee labor disputes and enforce labor laws.
• Social Security Act (1935): One of the most enduring legacies of the New Deal, this act established a system of old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and assistance for dependent children and disabled individuals. It provided a safety net for vulnerable populations.
• Works Progress Administration (WPA): The WPA was a major relief program that employed millions of people to carry out public works projects, including building roads, bridges, schools, and other infrastructure. It also supported artists and writers through its Federal Art Project and Federal Writers' Project.
Often referred to as "Black Tuesday," this event marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market collapsed, leading to a severe economic downturn.
Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk “the Green Mile,”...
Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own...
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's (Johnny Depp) charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the...
Articles, Books, and Websites about the Great Depression & 1930s
In the 1930s, the Roosevelt administration--unwilling to antagonize a powerful southern congressional bloc--refused to endorse legislation that openly sought to improve political, economic, and social...
The Emotional Life of the Great Depression documents how Americans responded emotionally to the crisis of the Great Depression. Unlike most books about the 1930s,...
In the popular imagination, 1930s Hollywood was a dream factory producing escapist movies to distract the American people from the greatest economic crisis in their...
In this concise and lively volume, Ronald Edsforth presents a fresh synthesis of the most critical years in twentieth-century American history. The book describes the...
Public housing was an integral part of the New Deal, as the federal government funded public works to generate economic activity and offer material support...
Boom turns to bust when the stock market crashes. The Great Depression and the dust bowl blanket the nation in darkness. Roosevelt's New Deal signals recovery. See more in Season 1, Episode 9, "Bust."
In which John Green teaches you about the Great Depression. So, everybody knows that the Great Depression started with the stock market crash in 1929,...