Joliet Remembers The 1930s

The Great Depression began with the crash of the stock markets in October, 1929, and did not end until World War II. At its height in 1932, more than 8 million men and women, one-third of the non-farm workforce were out of a job.

Below are images of headlines, stories, and political cartoons published in the Joliet Herald-News during the first years of the depression that illustrate the problems faced by people in Joliet and around the nation as a result of the Great Depression, and the responses to those problems by the people and government of Joliet, and the Illinois and U.S. governments.

In the early years of the Great Depression, many economists and businessmen believed that the depression was a mild one , and that prosperity was "just around the corner".

June 1, 1930	June 14, 1931	July 21, 1931	August 7, 1931

August 7, 1931	August 18, 1931 Note: The workers mentioned in the above story were sanitation workers	October 8, 1931	February 17, 1932

May 20, 1932	June 3, 1932	July 15, 1932	August 26, 1932
September 22, 1932	November 7, 1932	November 30, 1932	January 10, 1933

January 20, 1933	January 27, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: COUNCIL REDUCES BUDGET $48,000	February 10, 1933	March 22, 1933

October 27, 1933	October 31, 1933	December 15, 1933

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THE LIBRARY LOSES ONE TENANT - AND GAINS ANOTHER

September 20, 1934

The offices of the School Board had been located in the library building since 1905.

January 26, 1936

City offices would be located in the library building until 1967, when the current municipal building at 150 West Jefferson was completed.

THE BONUS ARMY

According to the Website http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm203.html. , "The Bonus Army, some 15,000 to 20,000 World War I veterans from across the country, marched on the Capitol in June 1932 to request early payment of cash bonuses due to them in 1945."

The Website notes further that: "Six futile weeks of lobbying Congress raised government fears of riots, and on July 28, cavalry, infantry, tank troops and a mounted machine gun squadron commanded by General Douglas MacArthur and Major Dwight Eisenhower dispersed veterans and their families with bayonets and tear gas."

June 8, 1932

June 11, 1932

July 25, 1932
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July 27, 1932

July 28, 1932

The headline across the top of the page reads:
CALL TROOPS TO QUELL RIOT

July 29, 1932

The headline across the top of the page reads:
BONUS ARMY OUSTED BY TROOPS

July 30, 1932

The headline across the top of the page reads:
VETERANS DRIVEN FROM CAPITAL

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THE BANKING CRISIS

May 26, 1931	July 13, 1931	January 19, 1932	January 25, 1932

March 6, 1933		March 12, 1933	March 13, 1933

March 14, 1933	March 15, 1933	April 11, 1933 Note: A 10 per cent dividend meant that depositors lost 90 per cent of their money. According to http://www.fdic.gov, there was no federal deposit insurance until January 1, 1934.

June 18, 1933		October 16, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: U.S. TO ADVANCE $1,000,000,000 to CLOSED BANKS	October 17, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: JOLIET TRUST BANK TO PAY DIVIDEND IN DECEMBER

December 28, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: BANK GUARANTEE LAW II EFFECT JANUARY 1. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now insures savings up to $100,000.

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GOVERNMENT RELIEF EFFORTS and NON-GOVERNMENT CHARITY

November 30, 1930	December 19, 1930	December 28, 1930	February 7, 1931

February 8, 1931	March 29, 1931	April 26, 1931 Note: The actual dollar figure is $5,458.76	December 20, 1931

December 24, 1931	February 6, 1932	April 8, 1932	May 19, 1932

June 29, 1932	July 22, 1932	October 28, 1932	October 30, 1932

November 27, 1932

November 30, 1932	December 20, 1932	January 29, 1933	March 21, 1933

March 31, 1933 This program became known as the Civilian Conservation Corps	May 21, 1933	June 1, 1933	June 13, 1933

August 13, 1933	November 8, 1933	November 10, 1933	November 16, 1933

November 17, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: WORK TO SUPPLANT RELIEF HERE	November 19, 1933 The headline across the top of the page reads: 2,712 JOBS HERE THIS MONTH	December 14, 1933

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THE RECOVERY BEGINS

Although the nation would not fully recover from the Great Depression until World War II, the efforts of President Franklin Roosevelt began to have some effect in 1933.

May 19, 1933	July 8, 1933	August 6, 1933	August 8, 1933

August 8, 1933	August 9, 1933	November 8, 1933	November 14, 1933

November 16, 1933	December 31, 1933

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THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT

For an explanation of the NIRA, please click here.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Concise , " Created in 1935 under the New Deal it [the WPA] aimed to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression and preserve the skills and self-respect of unemployed persons by providing them useful work. During its existence, it employed 8.5 million people in the construction of 650,000 mi (1,046,000 km) of roads, 125,000 public buildings, 75,000 bridges, 8,000 parks, and 800 airports. The WPA also administered the WPA Federal Art Project, the Theater Project, and the Writers' Project, which provided jobs for unemployed artists, actors, and writers."

August 7, 1933	August 10, 1933	August 12, 1933	August 12, 1933

August 13, 1933	September 1, 1933 Editorial

September 3, 1933

September 26, 1933		October 14, 1933

November 24, 1933		December 8, 1933

April 19, 1935	May 27, 1935 The headline across the top of the page reads: SUPREME COURT WIPES OUT CODES	May 28, 1935 The headline across the top of the page reads: WRECKAGE OF NRA JOLTS NEW DEAL	May 29, 1935 The headline across the top of the page reads: JOLIET BUSINESS HOLDS NRA WAGES

June 2, 1935 The headline across the top of the page reads: ROOSEVELT DISMISSES CODE CASES