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As if the collapse of the economy in the 1930s

were not enough to test the American people, nature seemingly turned malevolent. Chronic flooding on major rivers began in the 1920s. A dry weather cycle through the 1930s generated years of dust storms, turning three Great Plains states—Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska—into a "Dust Bowl." Soil stripped of prairie grasses by farmers was picked up by the region's high winds and driven eastward in huge black storms that sometimes reached the Atlantic seaboard. A Nebraska doctor recorded in his diary, "Wind 40 miles an hour and hot as hell. Two Kansas farms go by every minute."

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The 1930s were a period of intense artistic experimentation, as new forms and methods were explored, transformative cultural institutions were founded, and artists self-consciously sought to reach broader layers of the public. The rise of social unrest during the Depression heightened the political concerns of artistic works, while New Deal programs gave artists both federal recognition and the funding and space to work out new cultural forms. Technical changes, like the popularization of the radio, changed how accessible culture was and to whom, and an international break from formalism and modernism also worked to produce a popularized, socially conscious tendency in American art. During the Depression decade, Washington State, often seen as marginal to national art history, hosted some of the most innovative theatre, musical, and performing arts work in the nation, with sometimes global resonance.

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The Great Depression brought a rapid rise in the CRIME RATE as many unemployed workers resorted to petty theft to put food on the table. Suicide rates rose, as did reported cases of malnutrition. Prostitution was on the rise as desperate women sought ways to pay the bills. Health care in general was not a priority for many Americans, as visiting the doctor was reserved for only the direst of circumstances. Alcoholism increased with Americans seeking outlets for escape, compounded by the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Cigar smoking became too expensive, so many Americans switched to cheaper cigarettes.

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In 1931 the new president, Franklin Roosevelt, brought an air of confidence and optimism that quickly rallied the people to the banner of his program, known as the New Deal "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," the president declared in his inaugural address to the nation. He was determined to make effective changes during his presidency. "Roosevelt moved swiftly to deal with the financial illness that paralyzed the nation. On his very first night in office, he directed Secretary of the Treasury William Woodin to draft an emergency banking bill, and gave hi less than five days to get it ready."2 The New Deal, in a certain sense, merely introduced types of social and economic reform familiar to many Europeans for more than a generation. Moreover, the New Deal represented the culmination of a 1ong-range trend toward abandonment of "laissez-faire" capitalism, going back to the regulation of the railroads in the 1880s, and the flood of state and national reform legislation introduced in the Progressive era of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

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President Roosevelt soon started government programs to give food and shelter to the needy. These programs were known as the New Deal. The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, gave people jobs that conserved, or protected, the natural environment. CCC workers planted trees and cleared hiking trails. The Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, gave people jobs building dams on the Tennessee River. These dams created hydroelectricity for rural areas. The dams also prevented floods. The Works Progress Administration, or WPA, gave people jobs building streets, parks, libraries, and schools. These New Deal programs helped all Americans and gave jobs to millions of people. Many New Deal programs continue today. The Social Security Act provides money to people who are over 65 years old or who have disabilities. The New Deal made regulations to try to prevent another depression. Federal bank regulations protect people’s savings accounts. Another regulation protects workers by setting a national minimum wage. By 1939, many Americans still did not have jobs, but the economy was improving. Since Roosevelt’s presidency, the federal government has been a bigger part of Americans’ lives

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Roosevelt moved swiftly to deal with the financial illness that paralyzed the nation. On his very first night in office, he directed Secretary of the Treasury William Woodin to draft an emergency banking bill, and gave him less than five days to get it ready.

The New Deal, in a certain sense, merely introduced types of social and economic reform familiar to many Europeans for more than a generation. Moreover, the New Deal represented the culmination of a 1ong-range trend toward abandonment of "laissez-faire" capitalism, going back to the regulation of the railroads in the 1880s, and the flood of state and national reform legislation introduced in the Progressive era of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

When Roosevelt took the presidential oath, the banking and credit system of the nation was in a state of paralysis. With astonishing rapidity the nation's banks were first closed -- and then reopened only if they were solvent. The administration adopted a policy of moderate currency inflation to start an upward movement in commodity prices and to afford some relief to debtors. New governmental agencies brought generous credit facilities to industry and agriculture. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured sayings-bank deposits up to $5,000, and severe regulations were imposed upon the sale of securities on the stock exchange.

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On the Great Plains, the miseries of life under a struggling economic system were compounded by environmental catastrophe, transforming America's agricultural heartland into a barren wasteland known as the Dust Bowl.

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While many undesirable vices associated with hopelessness were on the rise, many family units were also strengthened through the crisis. MASS MIGRATIONS reshaped the American mosaic. While many businesses perished during the Great Depression, others actually emerged stronger. And new forms of expression flourished in the culture of despair. The Great Depression brought a rapid rise in the CRIME RATE as many unemployed workers resorted to petty theft to put food on the table. Suicide rates rose, as did reported cases of malnutrition. Prostitution was on the rise as desperate women sought ways to pay the bills. Health care in general was not a priority for many Americans, as visiting the doctor was reserved for only the direst of circumstances. Alcoholism increased with Americans seeking outlets for escape, compounded by the repeal of prohibition in 1933. Cigar smoking became too expensive, so many Americans switched to cheaper cigarettes.

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In 1928, Hoover ran on a platform of higher tariffs designed to protect farmers from European competition. Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930; Hoover signed the bill although economists protested. It is unlikely that tariffs alone caused the Great Depression, but they fostered global protectionism; world trade declined by 66% from 1929 to 1934. Hoover believed in laissez-faire, but he was much more flexible than Harding and Coolidge had been, especially given the depth of the crisis that confronted him. He had the government buy up surplus crops, for example, in an effort to stabilize crashing crop prices. He also created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), a government agency that would use taxpayer dollars to provide aid to struggling banks, factories, and railroads. No president had ever gone this far to fight the effects of a depression. But Hoover was unwilling to go farther – in particular, he was not willing to give direct federal aid to the unemployed – and many Americans increasingly saw his responses to the crisis as woefully inadequate. Crop purchases did nothing to stop falling prices, and the RFC failed to get the economy rolling again. In fact, many Americans resented Hoover’s creation of the RFC – why was he willing to provide aid to bankers and industrialists, they asked, but not to unemployed individuals? Ironically, Hoover – the "great humanitarian" – was increasingly seen by hard-pressed Americans as a cold, callous man who cared little about their sufferings. Thus "Hoovervilles" such as Woody Guthrie described sprang up as homeless people desperately struggled for shelter. As Hoover and the economy foundered, the Democrats effectively took control of Congress in the 1930 elections, and looked ahead to the next presidential election, in 1932.

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Economic historians usually attribute the start of the Great Depression to the sudden devastating collapse of US stock market prices on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, But some dispute this conclusion, and see the stock crash as a symptom, rather than a cause, of the Great Depression. The U.S. economy was already having problems separate from the stock market crashing. After the roaring 20's many people bought items on credit that they could not afford, and businesses had to lay off people and could not afford production. Also, farmers were facing extreme overproduction following WWI, and prices had to drop so low that they could barely afford to operate. By mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928. Prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930; but then a deflationatory spiral started in 1931. Conditions were worse in farming areas, where commodity prices plunged, and in mining and logging areas, where unemployment was high and there were few other jobs.