Policy + Politics

Policy + Politics

Wall Street Protests: An American Tradition

The Great Depression

By the depths of the Depression, which began in 1929, about a third of Americans were unemployed. It was the longest and most severe depression experienced by the Western world. Many people lost their homes or farms; many starved. By 1934, over 1.5M workers took part in some 2,000 strikes to bargain over wages, hours and conditions.

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Photo: Library of Congress