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1930s-1940s

  • Stock Market Crash

    Stock Market Crash
    The plummeting stock prices led to losses between 1929 and 1931 of an estimated $50 billion and started the worst American depression in the nation's history.
  • 1930 census reaches 123,202,624

    1930 census reaches 123,202,624
    The population counted in the 1930 census reaches 123,202,624, a 16.2% increase over the past decade. The geographic center of the United States population had reached three miles northeast of Linton in Greene County, Indiana.
  • The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

    The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
    The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is signed by President Herbert Hoover. Its effective rate hikes would slash world trade.
  • Combating the Depression

    President Herbert Hoover asks the U.S. Congress to pass a $150 million public works project to increase employment and economic activity. On the New York City docks, out of work men wait for food and jobs during the Great Depression, an outcome of the Stock Market crash of 1929 after the prosperous decade of the 1920's.
  • Combating the Depression

    President Herbert Hoover asks the U.S. Congress to pass a $150 million public works project to increase employment and economic activity. On the New York City docks, out of work men wait for food and jobs during the Great Depression, an outcome of the Stock Market crash of 1929 after the prosperous decade of the 1920's.
  • Las Vegas Gambling

    Las Vegas Gambling
    The state of Nevada legalizes gambling.
  • Legalizing Las Vegas

    Legalizing Las Vegas
    The state of Nevada legalizes gambling.
  • The Reconstruction Finance Corporation

    The Reconstruction Finance Corporation
    The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is established to stimulate banking and business. Unemployment in 1932 reached twelve million workers.
  • The New Deal

    The New Deal
    The New Deal social and economic programs are passed by the United States Congress in a special one hundred day session to address depression era economics. The gold standard was dropped on April 19 and ratified during the time of this session on June 5. Canada also drops using the gold standard.
  • The Century of Progress World's Fair

    The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago, Illinois. Held along the banks of Lake Michigan on 427 acres, this depression era fair was a successful event, both in financial and attendance terms, taking advantage of cheap labor to keep costs low. It lasted for two seasons, drawing over 39 million visitors over its 1933 and 1934 years.
  • The Civilian Conservation Corps

    The Civilian Conservation Corps is authorized under the Federal Unemployment Relief Act. It would provide work for two and one-half million men during the succeeding nine years and help construct many national park and other projects across the United States.
  • South Dakota Dust Storm

    South Dakota Dust Storm
    In South Dakota, a strong dust storm strips topsoil from depression era farms. It was one in a series of such storms to plague the Midwest during 1933 and 1934.