Unemployment Policy Timeline
Chronology of the Federal Response to High Unemployment
1913 — President William Howard Taft signs a bill establishing the Department of Labor as a Cabinet office. 1929 — The stock market crash on what becomes known as Black Tuesday marks the beginning of the Great Depression in the United States. During the Great Depression, which lasts until 1939, unemployment rises to approximately 25 percent of the workforce. 1932 — A small group of poor, unemployed World War I veterans marches to Washington, D.C., to demand immediate payment of their bonuses for fighting in the Great War. The “Bonus March” does not produce immediate results, and the veterans do…
