Modern History
...-Smoot Tariff Act was passed by Congress, raising U.S. tariffs to the highest in U.S. history. U.S. foreign trade suffered a sharp decline, and the depression grew worse. The federal government tried its best to regulate common sense within our country. There were nearly 3,000 federal prohibition agents, drawing salaries from $2300 to $2800. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established within the U.S. Treasury Department. Still, there were over 500 gangland-style murders during the year. Regardless of the economy and America’s financial crises, our country still looked to the future. In 1930 there was one automobile for every 5 Americans, construction of the Empire State Building began in March, and the miniature golf craze began in America. The head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America established a code of decency that outlined what was acceptable for Hollywood films. Anne Morrow Lindbergh became the first U.S. woman to get a glider pilot’s license. The cigarette industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in America, and the cost of a first-class postage stamp was $0.02. RCA was forced by Congress to share its patent on the superheterodyne radio. This is where a desired radio frequency can be played. Subsequently Motorola introduced the first commercial car radio. In 1930, it rained over five inches in a very short time in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The flooding came with a dirt storm where it damaged several small buildings and granaries. Later that year, the regions were struck again by a strong dirt storm from the southwest until the winds gave way to a blizzard from the north. After the blizzards in winter 1930-1931, the drought began. It was not until late September that the ground had...