Great Depression to the Civil Rights

The twentieth century proved to be a crucible for America and Her people. During the 1900s America faced its greatest economic calamity, two world wars, and fought a forty-five year struggle to stop the spread of a political cancer that threatened to squeeze all the liberty from democracy’s lungs. On the domestic front, Americans fought, sacrificed, and even died as they rallied to enforce the purest of American values: “we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” When Martin Luther King, Jr. declared he had a dream, Americans showed the world that there was no place for racism or racial prejudice in a nation that was founded on the fundamental principles of God’s grace. Despite challenges, upheaval, defeat, and triumph, America once again answered Her call to be the beacon of light that She was destined to be. Now the question is: Can She still hold on?
All great times must come to an end eventually. When buying stocks on a margin, speculation, buying credit, and the overproduction of crops started affecting the economy, the Great Depression began. While all of these impacted the start of the Great Depression, nothing stood out more than Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed. As people started to panic with the tragedy that began to unfold, the American citizens looked to President Hoover for security. When no help came from the White House, the homeless called their towns Hoovervilles, in honor of their dislike of the president. In 1932, Hoover ran for re-election against Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). Judging by the distain pouring from the American citizens, it was no wonder that Hoover lost. As soon as FDR took power, America began to see their nation change for the better with the New Deal. The New Deal was a plan of relief, recovery, and reform to get out of the depression; however, the Supreme Court Justices believed that this legislation heightened the federal