1920s-1930s US Economic and Social Changes: Key Legislation and Turning Points

19th Amendment

Proves social progress / women's rights; Shows expanding democracy → supports idea of social change in the 1920s.

Henry Ford 48-hour work week (1926)

Proves improved working conditions + industrial efficiency; Demonstrates rising productivity and modernization of industry.

Herbert Hoover elected (1928)

Proves confidence in economy; Shows Americans believed prosperity would continue.

Wall Street Crash of 1929

Proves turning point → boom to bust; Acts as the trigger that exposed underlying economic weaknesses.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Proves government made things worse; Shows how protectionist policies worsened the Depression globally.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Proves limited government intervention; Shows Hoover began helping businesses, but not ordinary people.

Emergency Relief and Construction Act

Proves shift toward government help; Indicates growing pressure for federal intervention.

Franklin D. Roosevelt elected (1932)

Proves demand for change; Shows public rejection of Hoover's approach.

First 100 Days (1933)

Proves rapid government action; Demonstrates a major shift toward active federal intervention.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Proves government managing economy; Shows attempt to fix overproduction by controlling supply.

Social Security Act

Proves long-term government responsibility; Marks a permanent expansion of the federal role.

National Labor Relations Board

Proves protection of workers; Shows shift toward supporting labor rights.

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States

Proves limits of New Deal; Shows Supreme Court resistance to FDR's policies.

Court-packing plan

Proves tension between branches; Suggests FDR may have overreached.

1937 recession

Proves New Deal not fully successful; Shows recovery was unstable.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Proves true end of Depression; War production finally restored full employment.

Women's Suffrage (1920)

The 19th Amendment changed the political landscape, signaling a broader social shift toward the 'New Era' of consumption.

Henry Ford's 40-Hour Work Week (1926)

Ford realized that if workers had more leisure time and more money, they could buy the cars they were building, fueling the consumer-led boom.

Election of Herbert Hoover (March 1929)

Hoover took office at the absolute peak of the bull market, believing the economy was fundamentally sound.

The Great Crash (Oct 1929)

Wiped out billions in paper wealth and shattered consumer confidence.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) (1932)

Hoover's 'too little, too late' moment; it gave loans to banks and railroads, but the money didn't 'trickle down' fast enough.

Emergency Relief and Construction Act (1932)

Hoover's first major move into federal public works, but spending was too small to stop the bleeding.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

The government paid farmers not to plant crops to kill overproduction and raise prices.

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)

Created the NLRB and gave unions the legal right to exist and bargain, shifting power from 'Capital' to 'Labor'.

Social Security Act (1935)

Created a safety net for the elderly and unemployed, permanently changing the social contract.

Supreme Court Packing Plan (1937)

FDR tried to add six new justices after the Court struck down the AAA and NIRA, but it failed politically.

The 1937 Recession

FDR cut spending to balance the budget, causing the economy to crash again, proving recovery was still dependent on government intervention.