The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the economic expansion of the Roaring Twenties came to an end. A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction. These crises included a stock market crash in 1929, a series of regional banking panics in 1930 and 1931, and a series of national and international financial crises from 1931 through 1933. The downturn hit bottom in March 1933, when the commercial banking system collapsed and President Roosevelt declared a national banking holiday. Sweeping reforms of the financial system accompanied the economic recovery, which was interrupted by a double-dip recession in 1937. Return to full output and employment occurred during the Second World War. Continue Reading from Federal Reserve History
Americans React to the Great Depression (Library of Congress)
Children & the Great Depression (Digital History)
The Dust Bowl (National Drought Mitigation Center)
Dust Bowl: Cause & Impact On Great Depression (The History Channel)
The Great Depression (PBS American Experience)
Great Depression Facts (FDR Presidential Library)
