Great Depression

Crime in the Great Depression

Organized Crime in the Prohibition Era The passage of the 18th Amendment and the introduction of Prohibition in 1920 fueled the rise of organized crime, with gangsters growing rich on profits from bootleg liquor—often aided by corrupt local policemen and politicians. According to the FBI, Chicago alone had an estimated 1,300 gangs by the mid‑1920s, […]

Scottsboro Boys

Who Were the Scottsboro Boys? By the early 1930s, with the nation mired in the Great Depression, many unemployed Americans would try and hitch rides aboard freight trains to move around the country searching for work. On March 25, 1931, after a fight broke out on a Southern Railroad freight train in Jackson County, Alabama, […]

Social Security Act

Early Social Assistance in America Economic security has always been a major issue in an unstable, unequal world with an aging population. Societies throughout history have tackled the issue in various ways, but the disadvantaged relied mostly on charity from the wealthy or from family and friends. In the early 17th century, England established “poor […]

Here’s How the Great Depression Brought on Social Security

Explore how the Great Depression of the 1930s forced America to consider having a social safety net, leading President FDR to sign the Social Security Act into law via his New Deal programs. Learn how Social Security has changed over time.

The 1930s

Learn more about the 1930s, a particularly tumultuous decade in world history that got its start with a bang – or, more accurately, a crash.

This Day in History Video: What Happened on June 5

Soviet Union Leaders: A Timeline

The Soviet Union had eight leaders during its existence from 1922 to 1991. Unlike countries in which a president or prime minister is the designated head of state, the leaders of the USSR mostly assumed power by becoming the head of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party, in addition to any other roles they may have […]

5 Causes of the Great Depression

By 1929, a perfect storm of unlucky factors led to the start of the worst economic downturn in U.S. history.

The Hindenburg Disaster: Why the Giant Dirigible Burst Into Flames

When the giant German dirigible Hindenburg burst into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937, it left 36 dead, a pile of charred wreckage and one enduring mystery: What could have caused the horrific disaster? Even before the ashes had cooled, rumors were flying. Three days later, the New York Daily News listed […]