The Great Depression and World War II
October 29, 1929, was a dark day in history. "Black Tuesday" was the day that the stock market crashed, officially starting the Great Depression. Unemployment skyrocketed, a quarter of the workforce was without jobs by 1933 and many people became homeless and turned into hobos. President Herbert Hoover attempted to handle the crisis but he was unable to improve the situation. In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president and he promised a "New Deal" for the Americans. Congress created The Works Progress Administration (WPA) which offered work help for thousands and thousands of people. The end to the Great Depression came in 1941 with America entering World War II. America sided with Britain, France and the Soviet Union, the Allied force, against Germany, Italy, and Japan, the Axis force. The loss of lives in the war were massive. The European part of the war ended with Germany surrendering in May 1945. Japan surrendered in September 1945, after Harry Truman decided to use excessive force and he dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.