Chronology of Events Leading to

Bank Crisis of 1932-1933

April 6, 1917 United States Congress declares war on Germany, and the U.S.A. enters World War I.

November 11, 1918 Germany calls for an armistice, or an end to the fighting.

August 2, 1923 President Warren G. Harding dies after suffering a heart attack. V.P. Calvin Coolidge is sworn in the next day.

November 6, 1928 Herbert Hoover is elected President of the United States.

October 24, 1929 “Black Thursday” the Stock Market plummets. Stockholders lose $3 billion.

October 29, 1929 “Black Tuesday” the Stock Market crashes completely. People begin to panic and the cost per share drops to new record lows.

January 18, 1932 First National Bank of Champaign closes its doors due to a run by panicked investors.

January 19, 1932 Urbana Mayor, Reginald C. Harmon, issues a proclamation that declares a bank holiday from January 19 - 23. During the bank holiday, citizens are educated and urged to sign a petition of faith in the Urbana banks.

March 4, 1933 Illinois Governor, Henry Horner, declares a bank holiday for the entire state of Illinois effective until March 7, 1933. The proclamation also limits withdrawals from banks to five percent of total deposits for 10 days. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated to his first term as President of the U.S.A. One of F.D.R.’s first acts is to declare a nation-wide bank holiday.

March 7, 1933 The Bank Emergency Committee of the Urbana Association of Commerce issues the first set of “Urbana Money” for sale. The money is backed dollar for dollar, and thus not based on credit.

April 1, 1933 “Urbana Money” can be traded in for currency at either of the two Urbana banks, Busey and First National. The crisis was averted and economic conditions improve in central Illinois.