It was not the trade cycle recession, currency protectionism, or the stock market crash of 1929 that plunged the country into poverty. This was the collapse of the banking system amid three waves of panics in the period 1930-33. After the market crash, certainty and confidence in the US monetary system was essentially non-existent, which affected banks greatly. Many Americans began to withdraw the cash they had deposited in banks, preferring to keep it or buy gold. Bank accounts were being withdrawn and banks did not have the money on hand to cover all the withdrawals. Bank runs like these are carried out by investors within trusts to recover their money some time ago, banks completely collapsed in the worst situation; in this case, the worst situation became real life and over 9,000 banks failed. The result was billions of dollars that bank contributors were unable to recover. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On December 10, 1930, a huge swarm gathered at the Southern Boulevard branch in the Bronx looking to withdraw their money and began what is considered the bank run that started the Great Depression. By early afternoon, a swarm of 20,000 to 25,000 individuals had amassed and had to be controlled by the police, and by the end of the day 2,500 to 3,000 contributors had withdrawn $2,000,000 from the department. In any case, most of the 7,000 taxpayers who came to withdraw their money emptied their resources within the bank. One individual stood in line for two hours to request his $2 account be adjusted. As word spread, there were smaller runs at several other branches in the Bronx and the East Modern York segment of Brooklyn. The next day, fearing another bank run, the directors decided to close the bank and asked the superintendent of banks to take over the bank's assets. The stock announcements responded negatively with the bank's share price, which had traded as high as $91.50 during the year, falling from $11.50 to $3.00. Most bank stocks had also been sold off. It would be difficult to pin a financial collapse on a single figure, but as president in the midst of the stock market crash, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, and more than 9,000 troubled banks, Herbert Hoover was a pretty easy figure to point to. As the face of a nation in great turmoil, Hoover had to fight hard for re-election and was effortlessly defeated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt campaigned for change, and after a depressive Hoover organization, Americans were primed for it. There are numerous speculations about what ended the Great Depression, one of which is that when Roosevelt took office, he quickly began implementing approaches that were part of what would be known as the "New Deal." The first New Deal began in 1933 and focused on the economy and assisted banks in an attempt to strengthen them in weaker times. The Emergency Bank Act attempted to stabilize the banking system after thousands of failures. The first New Deal also helped end Prohibition and put together public works projects like the Civilian Conservation Corps. After a few years of transitional initiatives to help save businesses and industries, the "Second New Deal" began in 1935. These initiatives aimed to assist the homeless, others aimed to improve conditions.