The Great Depression: What Caused It and How it Ended

5. Election of FDR in 1933

Inaugurated in January 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated New Deal programs meant to stimulate product demand, offer work for the unemployed, and increase government spending, all with the goal of spurring the economy and establishing financial reforms. The Emergency Banking Act allowed the reopening of stable banks supervised by the Treasury Department. FDR made available federal loans where needed, as well. The Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (which ultimately morphed into the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) were designed to help prevent another stock market crash.

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