History Hub

            The Great Depression has loomed over the United States as the greatest financial crisis in the nation’s history. Not only was the financial crisis severe and sustained, but due to the interconnectedness of the US economy with the rest of the world, it became a global depression. Whenever financial downturns and panics have hit the United States in the years since the Great Depression, the causes and path back to financial stability and economic growth have been re-evaluated and analyzed in an effort to apply the lessons of the past to current economic woes. However, the Great Depression brought more than an economic crisis to the United States, it was a political crisis as well. The Hoover administration which was at the helm when the crisis began was heavily criticized for not reacting soon enough. Hoover, like the presidents before him, had a laissez-faire approach toward the economy. Fearing that decisive action on the part of the Amer...

The Kennedy family has long been a political force in United States history. Through a series of well-publicized tragedies, the family has often been the subject of books, magazines, and movies. The family's political activities and success have in no small measure been helped by the vast fortune behind the name. Today the combined Kennedy fortune is over $1 billion and is primarily held in dozens of trusts managed by Joseph Patrick Kennedy Enterprises, with assets stretching back to 1927. The proceeds earned by these accounts have taken good care of Joseph P. Kennedy's heirs in the decades since his passing. While Kennedy famously grew his financial fortunes during the Great Depression, the years before the crash served as the bedrock for his wealth.  Joseph P. Kennedy was born and raised in East Boston, a financially depressed area home to a large immigrant community. The son of a ward boss and businessman, his family was well-respected in the large Irish immigrant community....