The Great Depression (1929-1939) was a time of both a financial and an industrial crisis. Unemployment and economic chaos spread throughout the entire United States. The federal government desperately attempted to push the nation back into recovery. While Herbert Hoover casually proceeded to fight the depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt aggressively tackled the problem with his New Deal, and established the government's new role in the economy.

When the depression first began in 1929, it startled President Herbert Hoover who had thought that the prosperity of the 1920's would continue throughout the next decade. This belief was proved wrong as banks lost money, as corporations faced a lack of capital and many businesses went bankrupt. These events forced companies to reduce wages and cut back on the number of jobs. Unemployment skyrocketed, as can be seen in document two. The Stock Market Crash of October 29, 1929 caused the unemployment rate to...