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Just as is happening today, many Americans became distrustful of banks during the Great Depression. When the Depression hit, some banks did not have enough cash on hand to pay all accounts. There was no FDIC during the 20s or 30s. Some banks folded and people often lost all their money, while others were saved by the Emergency Banking Act, which eliminated weak banks simply by identifying them. Some banks were only able to pay depositers a percent of dollars in their accounts. The Federal Reserve System was given power to issue loans to well-managed banks (like the stimulation package today). FDR declared a bank holiday and had all the banks examined by federal inspectors. When the government allowed an examined bank to reopen, the people concluded that the bank was safe. They then stopped withdrawing their deposits and returned funds they had already taken out of their accounts. This caused confidence in the banking system to increase.

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16y ago

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