Tens of thousands of Mexicans and Mexican Americans from California and the Southwest were “repatriated” to Mexico between 1929 and 1939. Hundreds of thousands of Mexican descent were forced to leave the US without due process.
Five days after the October 24 crisis, on Black Tuesday—October 29, 1929—the stock market experienced the greatest crash in its history. As soon as the stock exchange's gong sounded, a mad rush to sell began. Trading volume soared to an unprecedented 16,410,030 shares and the average price of a share fell 12 percent. This dive came with the convergence of economic problems of production, income, and credit. The crash destroyed the fortunes of brokers and speculators and set off a long period of economic panic. It also marked the beginning...
An unprecedented wave of sell orders shook the New York Stock Exchange. Stock prices tumbled. As prices fell, brokers required investors who had bought stock on margin to put up money to cover their loans. To raise money, many investors dumped stocks for whatever price they could fetch. During the first three hours of trading stock values plunged by $11 billion. At noon, a group of prominent bankers met at the offices of J.P. Morgan and Co. The bankers’ pool agreed to buy stocks well above the market. At 1:30 p.m. they put their plan into...
President Herbert Hoover issued a statement saying that “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.”
Congress enacted the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which dramatically raised tariffs on imports an average of 20 percent in order to protect American industry and farming. The tariff prompted retaliation from foreign governments and created a ripple effect of global trade reduction.
Dust Bowl conditions forced thousands of farmers from the plains to migrate west in search of work. Many settled in California.
With the Great Depression casting a shadow over the 1932 election, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president over incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover.
Upon his inauguration, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the “New Deal.” New Deal policies provided jobs and funds for federal projects through a number of “alphabet soup” agencies.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt held the first of his fireside chats, a series of evening addresses to the American people broadcast on the radio. Roosevelt’s first chat concerned the banking crisis
President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a shut down of the nation’s banks for several days beginning March 6. Banks started re-opening on March 13.