Great Depression

The severe and extended economic crisis that occurred in the United States and many other nations during the 1930s, ending with reindustrialization in preparation for World War II. In 1933, 16 million people were unemployed (nearly one-third of the U.S. work force). Largely in response to the resulting hardship, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration established the New Deal programs, which redefined the role of the federal government in helping individuals and assuring the general welfare.