1865-1945 Timeline

In 1927 President Coolidge was expected to run for another term. When he announced that he would not, Herbert Hoover declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination. Hoover had won respect for his efforts to organize food relief for Europe during World War I. Later, as secretary of commerce in the Harding administration, he became known as a supporter of business. He also favored a ban on sales of alcohol. The Democrats nominated Alfred E. Smith, governor of New York. The son of immigrants and a man of the city, Smith opposed Prohibition. He championed the rights of the poor and the working class. As the first Roman Catholic nominee for president, Smith was the target of anti-Catholic prejudice. Although Hoover spoke out against these attacks, they still hurt Smith’s candidacy. Smith’s bigger problem, however, was the prosperity of the 1920s. Republicans took credit for the economic growth, and voters elected Hoover in a landslide.

For much of the 1920s, the United States economy was strong and growing. The boom times were reflected in the stock market, where prices rose steeply. The increase led many to invest heavily in the market. By 1929, one in ten households had invested in stock. Many of those investors bought stocks “on margin”—they borrowed money to buy the stock. In September 1929, some investors began to worry that stock prices were set to fall. They began to sell their stocks. A vicious cycle began: The more stock people sold, the lower stock prices fell.
The decline in prices continued through the first three weeks of October. Stock prices plunged as investors sold millions of shares each day. On October 24, panicked traders sold almost 13 million shares. That day became known as “Black Thursday.” Following a few days of calm, the crisis worsened. On Tuesday, October 29, stock prices dropped still further. Over the next two years, the nation slid into a severe economic crisis, which came to be called the Great Depression.

In 1924 Congress had agreed to give each veteran of World War I a cash award, to be handed out in 1945. When the Depression hit, suffering and joblessness made Americans desperate. Jobless veterans asked for their bonuses right away. In the summer of 1932, they formed what they called the “Bonus Army.” They marched, along with their wives and children, to Washington, D.C., to pressure Congress to release the money. The group set up shacks and tents and waited while Congress debated the bonus bill. When Congress voted against meeting the Bonus Army’s demands, many veterans left the city. About 2,000, however, vowed to remain. When the police tried to break up the veterans’ camp, conflict broke out. Two people died in the fighting.
Hoover responded by calling in U.S. Army troops. Veterans and their families fled as the troops burned their camp. Americans were horrified that the government had attacked war veterans, and they blamed the president for being out of touch with ordinary Americans.

In 1932 the nation’s economy was in ruins and Republican President Hoover's chances for reelection were slim. Many voters disagreed with his handling of the Depression. Democrats chose New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt as their candidate. Roosevelt—or FDR, as he was called—told the Democrats and the nation, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” President Hoover insisted that FDR's plans to intervene in the economy would only make matters worse. Roosevelt, on the other hand, made a strong case for federal involvement. Voters were drawn to Roosevelt’s confidence and energy, and he won all but five states on Election Day. Democrats also won important victories in Congress. The American people had sent out a clear message: It was time for a dramatic change in leadership.

During the early 1930s, Germany joined the countries around the world whose economies suffered. Many German businesses failed, and millions of workers lost their jobs. Into this scene of misery came a German political leader who promised better times. Adolf Hitler was a powerful speaker who understood people’s fears about the economy and their bitterness about the Treaty of Versailles. He promised to create jobs and restore German power in the world. At that time, Hitler was the leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. By 1932, the Nazi Party had won a large number of seats in the German parliament. It was able to name Hitler chancellor of Germany in 1933. As chancellor, Hitler persuaded parliament to pass a law that gave him unlimited power to deal with the country’s problems. The law provided a legal way for Hitler to become a dictator.

In August 1935, after months of debate, Congress passed the Social Security Act. The act set a tax on workers and employers. Money from the tax pays for monthly pensions for retired people. The Social Security Act also placed a tax on employers to help fund payments to those who lose their jobs. Social Security also helps people with disabilities, the elderly poor, and children of poor families. With the Social Security Act, the federal government took responsibility for the welfare of all citizens. In an address to Congress in which President Roosevelt outlined the proposed program, he urged its passage, saying, "We cannot afford to neglect the plain duty before us." The act launched what would become a larger American welfare system.

The 1936 presidential campaign focused on one issue: Did Americans support President Roosevelt and his New Deal? The answer came on election day, when Roosevelt won 61 percent of the popular vote. His support came from three large groups: farmers, the working class, and the poor. His opponent, Republican Alf Landon, had the support of conservatives and the wealthy.
Although these groups condemned Roosevelt and his programs for being unconstitutional and threatening the nation's existence, such attacks did little to sway the support of the masses that FDR enjoyed. In the end, Roosevelt bettered his showing in the 1932 election by this time winning every state except Maine and Vermont.

In 1935 the Supreme Court had ruled that several New Deal programs were unconstitutional. After his victory in the 1936 presidential election, Roosevelt tried to limit the Court's ability to further damage his programs by asking Congress to increase the number of seats on the Court from 9 to 15. He planned to fill these seats with justices who supported the New Deal. To many Americans, including many of his supporters, FDR appeared to be trying to “pack” the Court and upset the system of checks and balances. The measure was defeated in Congress, but at the same time, the Court began supporting New Deal programs, ruling in favor of the Wagner Act and the Social Security Act. For Roosevelt, the whole episode cost him a good deal of support, both with Congress and the public.

In 1938 Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Sponsored by Senator Robert Wagner of New York, the act banned child labor and set a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour. It also limited working hours to 44 per week, after which workers were entitled to receive overtime pay. At the time the law was passed, it covered only about one fifth of the work force. Nonetheless, it was opposed by many who feared a drop in profits and others who opposed government regulation of business. The night before the bill was signed, President Roosevelt addressed the nation, saying, "Do not let any calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day, ...tell you...that a wage of $11 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry."

In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler in 1936 ordered German troops into the Rhineland. The Rhineland was a German region that lay between the Rhine River and the French border. Rather than respond, France and Britain gave in to Hitler's demands. Two years later, Hitler sent German troops into Austria and took over that country. The Austrian chancellor asked Britain and France for help, but once more the two democracies did nothing. Over the next year, the Germans also invaded the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia. By the time German forces invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain and France had finally had enough. Both nations declared war on Germany.