Hard Times: Minority Groups Hard Hit During Depression
Blacks in the rural South fall to the bottom of the economic ladder; blacks in the North are first to be thrown into unemployment. Mexicans also lose their jobs when workforces are restructured, particularly in California. There is increasing eviden...
Chaos of Experimentation, A: White House Staff, the Brain Trust
From his first days in office, President Roosevelt surrounds himself with a cadre of bright, capable assistants. The size of White House staff explodes from a handful to a hundred. His closest advisors, "the brain trust," are people who can think ou...
Hard Times: Ordeal of President Hoover, The
Herbert Hoover begins his presidency in March of 1929 believing, like most Americans, that the nation faces a bright and prosperous future. The economic crisis that begins before the year is over forces him to deal with a very different set of probl...
Hard Times: Interregnum and Early Days of Roosevelt's First Term, The
Before Roosevelt's inauguration, two events are noteworthy: the unsuccessful assassination attempt on the president-elect's life and Roosevelt's rejection of Hoover's proposal to work together on how the economy will be managed. As president, Roosev...
Hard Times: Depression and American Culture, The
The Depression shakes the nation's confidence, although the reactions of individuals vary. A new awareness of poverty seems to emerge even though it is nothing new. Movies, an important cultural force, are caught up in the politics of the time, as e...
Hard Times: Election of 1932
The unpopularity of Hoover virtually guarantees a Democratic victory in the election of 1932. Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt is not the most titanic figure on the political landscape, but he wins the nomination because of powerful su...
Hard Times: Depression's Effect on Banking and Industry, The
Although relatively few people are invested in the market, the 1929 stock market crash destabilizes other areas of the economy, particularly the banking system. Hoover encourages development of the National Credit Corporation to help rescue banks in...
Hard Times: Coming of the Great Depression, The
Stock prices soar in 1928. Speculation is intense and consumers are caught in its lure, even borrowing in order to invest in the stock market. The alarming declines in stock market prices begin in October 1929 followed by temporary recoveries. J. P ...
Hard Times: Causes of the Depression
Signs that the economy is not as healthy as it seems surface in the late 1920s. The agricultural economy is depressed during most of the decade. The automobile economy is dropping because the market is saturated. The fever of speculation drives pric...
Hard Times: Despair of Farmers
Farmers in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama are the hardest hit. People are forced off their lands and the great migrations begin. In 1932, the drought worsens on the great plains. Gigantic dust storms on a scale no one has seen before, cover houses a...