Great Depression Timeline: 1929 to 1939, Year by Year

Updated August 2026

While the United States was experiencing economic prosperity throughout the 1920s, it seemed like the good times were never going to end. However, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 unveiled many underlying problems that were hidden behind a decade of glitz and glamour. As the United States and the rest of the world entered the Depression era of the 1930s, it seemed like society had gone from one extreme to the other: from a booming economy and continual prosperity, to rising unemployment and bankrupt businesses.

This post takes you through the major events of the Great Depression, showing how America suddenly went from boom to bust. The Great Depression was a hard time for most Americans, affecting not just the United States but the rest of the world. The stock market lost almost 90% of its value in four years, unemployment reached 25% in 1933 and millions of people migrated from the Midwest in search of work. The American Dream was temporarily lost, and the future, for many, seemed pretty bleak.

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While the Roaring Twenties gave the impression that the decade was enjoyed by all, unfortunately not everyone benefited from the societal changes.

• Farmers struggled to keep up with the changing decade. The modernism and advances in technology had brought new processes of farming to the nation, with the use of new machinery putting many farmers out of a job. The use of machinery also meant farmers were overproducing their crops and were unable to sell what they were producing, meaning they were missing out on a lot of money.
  
  
• Immigration laws and restrictions had made life very difficult for immigrants in America. Moving to America didn’t end up being what it seemed it would be, with immigrants having to live in crowded conditions and face discrimination from others.
  
  
• The KKK tormented the lives of African Americans, homosexuals, Jews and other minorities throughout the 1920s, provoking fear among their communities. The KKK’s resurgence in the decade meant they were getting more influential, and had more opportunities to target people they considered anti-American.
  
  
• While life in the Roaring Twenties looked extremely glamorous, 40% of Americans still lived in poverty throughout the decade. The rich and lavish lifestyle was mainly enjoyed by those who could afford it.

What happened during the Great Depression: the two phases  

The collapse, 1929 to 1933

The first phase destroyed confidence, then the banking system. The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 wiped out spending and investment almost overnight, but what turned a severe recession into a decade-long depression was the run of bank failures that followed. Four waves of panic between 1930 and 1933 closed thousands of banks, wiped out ordinary savings and shrank the money supply. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 invited retaliation and choked world trade. By the winter of 1932 to 1933, industrial output had fallen by almost half, roughly one worker in four had no job, and breadlines and shanty towns had become ordinary sights in American cities.

The recovery, 1933 to 1939

The second phase was recovery, and it was not smooth. Roosevelt took office in March 1933 and moved at once: a national bank holiday reopened only the banks judged sound, and the First Hundred Days pushed through relief, farm support and public works. Unemployment fell year on year, from about 25% in 1933 to roughly 14% by 1937, and industrial production climbed back towards its 1929 level. Then Washington cut spending in 1937 and the economy fell back sharply. The Dust Bowl ran in parallel through the mid-1930s, driving families off the Plains. Only rearmament and war production from 1939 finally absorbed the unemployed.

Turn the page to:

• 1929: The Wall Street Crash Sparks the Depression
• 1930: The Dust Bowls Begin
• 1931: Food Riots and Banks Collapse
• 1932: President Roosevelt is Elected
• 1933: The First Hundred Days and The New Deal
• 1934: Dust Storms and Droughts Continue
• 1935: Creation of the Works Progress Administration
• 1936: President Roosevelt Elected For a Second Term
• 1937: Spending on New Deal Programs Cut
• 1938: Economic Growth
• 1939: The Start of World War Two
• 1940: Defence Budget Increased
• 1941: United States Enters the War

August: This month, the prosperity achieved throughout the Roaring Twenties would reach its peak before beginning to downfall. This was as a result of numerous factors that came before the Wall Street Crash. When things started to look a bit bleak, the discount rate was increased from 5% to 6% by the Federal Reserve in order to support the gold standard and stop inflation.

September 3: After today, it would be 25 years before the stock market would reach its pre-Wall Street Crash high.

October 24: Black Thursday prompts the start of the stock market crash, which plunged the country and eventually the rest of the world into the depression. Immediately, the price of stocks drops by 11%, but with Wall Street bankers buying the stocks, only 2% was lost.

October 28: Stock prices fall by 13% today, making the day become known as Black Monday.

October 29: Black Tuesday hits the nation, with another 12% loss when 16 million shares are traded. The panic is worsened by the banks who decided to intervene this time.

November 23: Sideways trading begins when the stock market plummeted to the bottom. Unaware of the trouble coming, President Hoover states that:

“Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.”

Unemployment Rate: 3.2% – unemployment had not been hit hard yet, since it would lag behind any effects of the stock market.

For everything else that happened that year, see our 1929 timeline, or read the reports as they ran in original newspapers from 1929.

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1930 was the year the crash became a depression, as drought hit the farms and the banking system began to give way.

June:  A delegation visits the White House to request a federal public works programme to tackle unemployment. Hoover turns them away, telling them the worst of the depression has already passed.

“all the evidences indicate that the worst effects of the crash upon unemployment will have passed during the next sixty days.”

June 17: Taxes on 900 different imports are raised when President Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Its aim was to support farmers, but hundreds of other goods ended up having tariffs imposed. This impacted international trade which began to fall, since other countries reacted to these tariffs. The tariff didn’t have a huge effect on the American economy, but caused many problems in Europe.

Around the same time, a drought hits 23 states across the US, affecting those from the mid-Atlantic region to the Mississippi River. This was the beginning of the Dust Bowls, which became characteristic of the 1930s farmers’ struggle. As well as a struggling economy, the land was unable to be used to grow crops, pushing many farmers out of their land. This is appropriately depicted in the novels by John Steinbeck, namely Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.

The Dust Bowl would soon become the worst drought in 300 years, with Hoover originally asking the American Red Cross to support those in need. Later on, as things got worse, Congress provided $65 million for food boxes, seed and feed for farmers.

November 7: Causing failures in associated banks in the days that followed, the Bank of Tennessee fails. Weaknesses in the banking system were having an effect on the economy as it was slowly growing, ultimately bringing it back down again.

By the end of 1930, over 1,300 banks would fail as depositors hurried to withdraw their life savings. Since the banks only hold a small percentage of deposits, they can fail very quickly, especially with the amount of people asking for their money.

November: In New York City, apple-sellers crowd the streets as around 6,000 unemployed people begin selling apples at five cents each.

December 11:  The Bank of the United States fails with more than $200 million in deposits, the largest bank failure in the country’s history to that point.

The industrial production of the United States had fallen by half, and soup kitchens, bread lines and large numbers of homeless people became common in America’s cities.

Shanty towns erupted across the nation, known as “Hoovervilles,” named after the President whom many believed was incompetent, and reluctant, in dealing with the depression.

Unemployment Rate: 8.7% – the economy would shrink by 8.5% and prices fell by 6.4%, firmly allowing inflation to sink in.

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1931 was the year the Depression became visible, in food riots, deportation raids and a monetary shock from across the Atlantic.

February: In Minneapolis, food riots erupt as people struggle for food. A few hundred people smash the windows of a grocery market, taking bacon, ham and canned goods with them as they run away. A store owner pulled out a gun to stop the robbers, but ended up having his arm broken as he jumped up to defend. 100 policemen managed to bring the riots under control and 7 people were arrested as a result.

As unemployment continued, a lot of hatred towards foreign workers began to surface. Mexican Americans in Los Angeles were accused of stealing jobs from “true” Americans, and 6,024 were deported during this month.

Eight states in the South were the worst affected by the drought as it continued, creating the worst Arkansas would see in the 20th century. It was also at this time that the citizens of American would really begin to struggle with the worst effects of the depression.

December 11: The fourth largest bank in the United States, the Bank of the United States, fails, causing the biggest failure in a bank at the time. President Hoover then brought the top income tax rate up to 25% as he was concerned about budget deficits. When the bank collapsed, it had more than $200 million in deposits, which made it the largest bank failure in the history of the United States and was one of the most hard-hitting events during the Great Depression.

21 September:  Britain leaves the gold standard. Pressure moves to the dollar, and the Federal Reserve raises rates to defend US gold reserves, tightening credit as the economy contracts.

Drought continues across eight southern states, the worst Arkansas will see in the 20th century. 

Unemployment Rate: 16.3%.

1932 was the year the economy reached bottom and the country voted for something different.

January: The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is created by Congress, which lends $2 billion to prevent further failures in financial institutions. It would be authorised to lend states money in July.

March: Since its peak in August 1929, the economy would reach rock bottom after a 27% shrink.

April: It’s reported that over 750,000 people in New York are on city relief, and 160,000 more are on a waiting list. On average, expenditures allowed for around $8.20 a month for those people getting relief.

June 6: President Hoover signs the Revenue Act of 1932, which increases the top income tax rate to 63%. Believing it would restore confidence and reduce the federal deficit, the taxes being pushed to a higher rate would actually make the depression worse.

July 2: Franklin D. Roosevelt, a 1932 presidential candidate, gives his “New Deal” speech to the public to reveal his plans for economic recovery.

November 8: In one of the key events in this Great Depression timeline, Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President of the United States after defeating Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory. Roosevelt got 22,800,000 popular votes, compared to Hoover who got 15,750,000.

Unemployment Rate: 23.6%.

1933 was the worst year of the Depression and its turning point.

March 4: President Roosevelt begins his “first hundred days” in office and 15 laws are introduced rapidly to begin tackling the Great Depression.

March 6: President Roosevelt closes all banks for a “bank holiday.”

March 9: Just five days after his inauguration, President Roosevelt creates the Emergency Banking Act, launching the New Deal. In order to prevent even more terrible failures, the act closed all banks in the United States. Throughout his time in office, Roosevelt would sign many more acts that would aid reform and recovery form the depression.

March 12: President Roosevelt begins his “Fireside Chats,” a series of broadcasts from his home where he would keep the country updated on the government’s attempts to combat the Great Depression. In the first Fireside Chat, Roosevelt talks the nation through the new bank laws he is introducing.

March 20: In an attempt to reduce government spending to help support the New Deal, the Government Economy Act is introduced.

March 22: Bringing the Prohibition era to an end, the Beer-Wine Revenue Act raises revenue by placing taxes on alcohol sales. Prohibition is officially repealed by the 21st amendment in December.

May: Many more acts are put in place, including the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act, and the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. These aim to create jobs, save farms and build power stations.

September 1: A Pension Plan is proposed by Dr. Francis Townsend, when he sends a letter to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He suggested that pensions funded by the state for the elderly would be a good way to boost employment and consumption.

November 9: The Civil Works Administration is created, going on to fund 4 million construction jobs.

December 5: The 21st Amendment repeals Prohibition.

Dust storms would hit Oklahoma and surrounding states, putting farmers in the area in a compromising position. In an attempt to reduce their supply and boost their prices, farmers would sacrifice their livestock, which was criticised by the public as a huge waste of food.

Unemployment Rate: 24.9%

The Breadline at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, representing those who hungrily waited in line for food during the Great Depression.
Image: Needpix

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1934 WAS the year regulation arrived and the drought spread across three quarters of the country.

January 1: The Old Age Revolving Pensions Ltd. is officially incorporated by Dr. Francis Townsend

January 30: The Gold Reserve Act revalues gold, roughly doubling the official price. Private ownership had already been banned by executive order in April 1933.

February 1: The Share Our Wealth society is founded by Huey Long, which obtains the “excess fortunes” of the rich to give to the poor.

April 15: Known as Black Sunday, the worst dust storm hits the United States. In order to help farmers learn how to work sustainably, President Roosevelt introduces the Soil Conservation Act.

June 6: The Securities and Exchange Commission is created to regulate the stock market.

June 27: Federal mortgage insurance is provided by the Federal Housing Administration and the stock market becomes regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

June 28: The Taylor Grazing Act brings federal control to grazing on public rangeland.

Americans also saw the hottest temperatures on record in 1934, and when the year came to an end, droughts had covered 75% of the nation.

Unemployment Rate: 21.7% – slightly lower than previous years. The economy also increased by 10.8%, responding to the New Deal programs put in place by President Roosevelt, and debt grew to $27 billion.

1936 was the year recovery looked secure, and the year a heatwave killed more Americans than any other of the century.

June: Temperatures pass 110°F (43°C) in eight states. Over the year another 12 states reach the same level, four of them touching 118°F (48°C).

November 3: President Roosevelt is elected to a second presidential term.

By the end of the year, the heat waves experienced across the nation had killed 1,693 people, and while trying to keep cool, 3,500 more people drowned.

Unemployment Rate: 16.9%

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1937 was the year the recovery was cut short by the government that had built it.

Roosevelt cuts spending on New Deal programmes to bring down the federal debt, and the economy falls back into depression. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates this second contraction from May 1937. Congress enacts a $5 billion relief programme in response, and output still grows about 5% across the year.

Unemployment Rate: 14.3%

1938 was the year growth resumed without the jobs to match.

June 25: The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a federal minimum wage, caps the working week and limits child labor.

The contraction ends in June and the economy begins to grow again, though unemployment stays high.

Unemployment Rate: 19.0%

1939 WAS the year the Depression’s story merged with the war’s.

In 1939, a Federal Security Agency is made to offer federal education funding, food, drug safety and Social Security, in order to help people try and get back on their feet.

April 14: John Steinbeck publishes The Grapes of Wrath, following a migrating family from Oklahoma and fixing the Dust Bowl in public memory.

November: With the invasion of Poland by Hitler and the start of the Second World War, President Roosevelt persuaded Congress to remove the military arms embargo to France and Britain to support them during the war.

From this year to 1941, when Pearl Harbour is attacked by the Japanese, manufacturing in the United States will have increased to 50%.

Unemployment Rate: 17.2%

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1940 was the year rearmament began to do what the New Deal had not.

June: As the war continued, the defence budget was increased by President Roosevelt, as well as the top income to 81%.

Unemployment Rate: 14.6%

1941 was the year the Depression ended, in the week the United States went to war.

December 7: When the United States enters the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the country is finally able to get out of the Great Depression by mobilising for war.

At the end of the Second World War, despite its devastating effects, the United States would emerge as the only economic superpower in the world.

President Roosevelt signing the declaration of war against Germany, 1941
Image: SnappyGoat

For the year in full, see our 1941 timeline.

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FAQs

When was the Great Depression?

The Great Depression ran from 1929 to 1939. It began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and is generally dated as ending around 1939, when wartime production revived the economy. In the United States it lasted roughly a decade, and the National Bureau of Economic Research dates the sharpest contraction from August 1929 to March 1933.

What caused the Great Depression?

The Great Depression had no single cause. A speculative stock market bubble collapsed in October 1929, and a banking system of thousands of small uninsured banks turned that collapse into four waves of failures between 1930 and 1933. Falling farm incomes, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 and the constraints of the gold standard all deepened it.

How long did the Great Depression last?

The Great Depression lasted about 10 years in the United States, from the crash of late 1929 to around 1939. The sharpest contraction ran from 1929 to 1933. Recovery from 1933 was real but uneven, and was interrupted by a fresh recession between May 1937 and June 1938.

What ended the Great Depression?

Most historians credit wartime spending. Rearmament from 1939 and full mobilisation after the United States entered the war in December 1941 ended mass unemployment, which fell from 17.2% in 1939 to 9.9% in 1941. Economists still debate how much the earlier New Deal contributed, but the scale of war production is widely seen as decisive.

What was the worst year of the Great Depression?

1933 was the worst year. Unemployment reached roughly 25%, about one worker in four, and industrial production had fallen nearly 47% from its 1929 level. It was also the turning point, the year Roosevelt took office and launched the New Deal.

How many years ago was the Great Depression?

The Great Depression began 97 years ago, in October 1929, and ended around 87 years ago in 1939. Anyone old enough to remember it as an adult would now be over 100.

How much was $1 worth during the Great Depression?

It depends on the year, because prices fell about a quarter between 1929 and 1933. Taking 1933, the worst year, $1 then had roughly the purchasing power of $25 in 2026, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar stretched much further than it does today, though wages and work were scarce.