The Great Depression

        The Great Depression is a huge part of the United States of America history; it started in 1929 through 1939. The Great Depression began after the Stock Market crash in October of 1929. It sent Wall Street into a panic mode and wiped out millions of investors out. By 1933, (lowest point in the depression) about 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the banks had failed. Hoover's administration tried supporting failing banks and other institutions with government loans. The idea behind it was that the banks would loan businesses. After that, they would be able to hire some employees or hire back their employees. Hoover tried everything in his power to find a solution to the depression. He did the Emergency Relief Act, which allowed the RFC to invest in local public projects. A riot came to be and Hoover decided to send troops to stop it; there his popularity went down. Unfortunately to Hoover, his little work was too late, his little effort to take control of the situation demolished.

        The people responded badly and angrily to the decisions made by Herbert Hoover. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt overwhelmingly won the presidential election. After the election, both the legislative and executive branches made some astonishing accomplishments. FDR immediately took action and announced a four day "bank holiday", during which all banks closed down so that congress can pass a reform of legislation and reopened those banks determined to be sound. He also began speaking on the radio in a series of talks called "fireside chats" to restore the public's confidence back. In the first 100 days in the office, his administration passed on acts that aimed to stabilize industrial and agricultural production. They even started to create jobs and stimulate recovery.

        To reform the financial system, Roosevelt created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to protect depositors' accounts. FDR created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses of the land that led to the Stock Market Crash in 1929. In addition to all the acts of the New Deal to recover from the Great Depression, there was the TVA. Tennessee Valley Authority built dams and hydroelectric projects. The sole purpose of these projects was to control flooding and to provide electric power to the poor side of Tennessee’s valley region. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided programs with a permanent job that employed 8.5 million people from 1935- 1943. The people responded good and calm to the decisions that FDR made.