The late 1920s and the 1930s witnessed the longest and most severe economic downturn the industrialized Western world had ever seen. Brought about by numerous factors—including a four-day stock market crash, banking panic and failures, and the use of the gold standard—the Great Depression caused a substantial decline in employment, wealth, output, gross domestic product (GDP), and more in numerous countries across the globe.
In the United States, recovery from the decade-long depression was primarily helmed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who pledged “a new deal for the American people” even before assuming the presidency. This promise soon became the namesake of a series of social programs, financial reforms, federal regulations…
