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Unemployment of 1929
The first statistic for demonstrating the decline of the economy into the Great Depression is the unemployment rate. In 1929 the unemployment rate was 3.2 percent, raising in 1933 where the unemployment rate reached 25 percent. -
Wall Street Crash
The American stock market collapses, signaling the onset of the Great Depression. The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaks in September 1929 at 381.17—a level that it will not reach again until 1954. The Dow will bottom out at a Depression-era low of just 41.22 in 1932 -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was caused by soil being very dry and this along with high winds caused very big storms. The influence was that this added to the Depression and made living conditions unbearable for people -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
Congress passes the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, steeply raising import duties in an attempt to protect American manufactures from foreign competition. The tariff increase has little impact on the American economy, but plunges Europe farther into crisis. -
Major Bank Collapse
New York's Bank of the United States collapses in the largest bank failure to date in American history. $200 million in deposits disappear, and the bank's customers are left holding the bag.
