America The Story Of US | Episode 8: Bust

The 1920s brought prosperity and consumerism to America, with money flowing into oil wells and expanding cities. However, this boom was largely built on credit, and by October 1929, the fragile economy collapsed with the stock market crash. Although only 2% of the population owned stocks, the economic fallout quickly spread. In December 1930, the collapse of the Bank of United States, triggered by a rumor, initiated a widespread banking crisis. This led to thousands of banks shutting down, unemployment soaring to 12 million by 1932, and millions of Americans losing their homes and income, marking an American tragedy that required ingenuity to overcome.

America's fight back began with vast public works projects, exemplified by the Hoover Dam. Frank Crow, a seasoned dam builder, took on the ambitious challenge of harnessing the powerful Colorado River. The government approved the Hoover Dam project on March 4, 1931, envisioning it as a symbol of American fortitude and ingenuity. Crow aimed to complete the six-year project in four, employing 5,000 men who worked under extreme conditions, including temperatures up to 140°F and exposure to deadly carbon monoxide fumes. Despite the high human cost, with many lives lost due to dangerous working conditions and accidents, the tunnels were completed 11 months ahead of schedule, setting the stage for the concrete colossal wall.

Building the Hoover Dam involved pouring 6.6 million tons of concrete, a feat comparable to putting a man on the moon in the 1930s. Frank Crow designed an advanced cable system to precisely pour concrete. A major challenge was managing the heat generated by the curing concrete, which would have taken 125 years to harden if poured continuously. Crow's innovative solution involved embedding 582 miles of pipes within the dam to circulate ice-cold water from the Colorado River, cooling the concrete and significantly accelerating the hardening process. The dam was completed two years ahead of schedule in 1935, a testament to an astonishing feat of construction. It became the world's largest hydroelectric power facility, supplying booming cities like Los Angeles and aiding California's agricultural output. The construction also spurred the growth of a nearby town: Las Vegas.

In 1934, America faced the worst environmental disaster in its history: the Dust Bowl. Monstrous dust storms, some 1,800 miles wide, swept across the nation, darkening skies in major cities and carrying tons of topsoil from the Great Plains. These storms were born from a 100-million-acre Dead Zone in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado, where fertile grasslands had been over-plowed and dried up by extended drought and high winds. A freakish phenomenon of static electricity exacerbated the storms, lifting dust up to 10,000 feet. On April 14, 1935, a monumental dust storm, known as 'Black Sunday,' devastated the prairies, inflicting respiratory problems on residents and forcing an exodus of 250,000 people from the Dust Bowl by 1936. However, two-thirds of the population chose to remain, relying on resilience and radio broadcasts for comfort and connection.

Amidst the ongoing Depression, America sought symbols of hope. Mount Rushmore, initially a tourist attraction, became a federally funded New Deal project, representing national unity and perseverance. Sculpted from a 500-foot cliff with dynamite, the monument, featuring the faces of four presidents, symbolized America's faith in its future. Economically, however, recovery was slow, and it would take World War II to truly pull the nation out of its slump. The growing international tensions were mirrored in a politically charged boxing match on June 19, 1936, between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling. Schmeling defeated Louis, a victory that was exploited by Nazi Germany to promote Aryan supremacy. This defeat fueled Louis's determination for a rematch, which, when it occurred on June 22, 1938, became a global battle of ideologies. Louis's triumph, a knockout in just 124 seconds, became a powerful symbol of American resilience against totalitarianism and a much-needed morale boost for the country on the cusp of World War II.