The 1930s Business and the Economy: Chronology

1930:      McGraw-Electric of Elgin, Illinois, introduces the first electric toaster.

1930:     March 6 Birds Eye Frozen Foods go on sale in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1930:     June 17 Against the advice of his advisers, President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff—the highest tax on trade in American history—into law. In response, other countries introduce similar trade barriers, further damaging U.S. exports.

1930:     December 11 New York's Bank of the United States goes out of business. Four hundred thousand depositors lose their savings.

1931:     May 4 The coal miners' strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, turns into a gunfight. Three guards and one miner are killed. Many more are wounded.

1931:     August 4 Martial law is declared in Oklahoma, as Governor William H. Murray attempts to shut down oil fields to raise prices. Soon after, in Texas, Governor Ross Sterling does the same.

1932:     January 22 Congress authorizes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to help struggling businesses.

1932:     March 7 Police fire on demonstrators at Ford's plant at Dearborn, Michigan. Four are killed and more than one hundred are injured.

1932:     July 7 The Dow Jones Industrial Average hits an all-time low of 41.22.

1933:     March 6 To stop the banking crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a national bank holiday.

1933:     May 12 Congress passes the Federal Emergency Relief Act, awarding the states $500 million in aid.

1933:     June 16 The Glass-Steagall Act provides for government regulation of banking. Congress also approves the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Farm Credit Act.

1933:     November 9 The Civil Works Administration begins providing emergency jobs for four million unemployed.

1934:      During the month of May, 300 million tons of topsoil are blown from the Plains states as far as the Atlantic Ocean.

1934:     January 31 The Farm Mortgage Refinancing Act protects farmers from creditors.

1934:     June 6 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set up to over-see financial markets.

1934:     July 16 A general strike begins in San Francisco, led by the International Longshoremen's Association. It lasts for eleven days.

1935:     February 16 The Connally Hot Oil Act regulates the production of oil to support prices.

1935:     June 26 The National Youth Administration is set up to provide jobs for young people.

1935:     August 14 The Social Security Act creates a nationwide system of old age pensions and unemployment benefits.

1935:     November 9 The Committee for Industrial Organizations (CIO) splits off from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

1936:     February 14 United Rubber Workers stage the first ever sit-down strike when they refuse to leave the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant No. 2.

1936:     June 29 Congress passes the Merchant Marine Act, subsidizing the American cargo fleet.

1936:     December 31 A sit-down strike begins at the General Motors' Chevrolet body plant in Flint, Michigan. It lasts until the following February.

1937:      In the course of the year, American industry is affected by 4,740 work stoppages, strikes, and lockouts.

1937:     February 11 The sit-down strike at General Motors' Flint, Michigan, plant is ended when the company agrees to recognize the United Automobile Workers (UAW) as sole bargaining agent for workers.

1937:     March 2 United States Steel avoids a strike by allowing its workers to form unions.

1937:     March 29 In the legal case West Coast Hotel v. Parrish the Supreme Court upholds the minimum wage for women.

1937:     May 30 Chicago police open fire on a union picnic of Republic Steel workers. Ten are killed and eighty-four are injured. The event is known as the "Memorial Day Massacre."

1938:     June 15 The Fair Labor Standards Act limits the working week to forty-four hours. After that, overtime pay is due to workers. A minimum wage is set at 25 cents per hour. 12.5 million Americans are affected by these changes.

1938:     June 21 Congress passes the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act, which continues government assistance to the unemployed.

1938:     June 27 President Roosevelt signs the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It updates the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, taking technological advances such as canned and frozen food into account.

1939:      The General Electric Company introduces fluorescent lighting.

1939:      The electronic instrument firm Hewlett-Packard is founded.

1939:     June 26 Pan-American Airways begins the first transatlantic passenger air service. The flight takes more than four hours.