American History: A Survey 10/e   Alan Brinkley
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Summary

In October 1929, the stock market's overinflated values collapsed, and the Great Depression began. Its causes were complex, and its consequences were enormous. In a few short years, the 2 percent unemployment rate of the 1920s had become the 25 percent rate of 1932. The nation's political institutions were not equipped to respond. The task overwhelmed local and private relief efforts. President Herbert Hoover’s tentative program of voluntary cooperation, big-business loans, and limited public works was activist by old standards but inadequate to the challenge. American tariffs and war-debt policy aggravated international economic problems and thereby added to domestic woes. Although the suffering of Americans, especially blacks and Hispanics, was great, most citizens clung to traditional values and resisted radical solutions. With veterans marching, farmers protesting, and millions not working, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidency.

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