The Chamber of Commerce of New York

Bosses and Workers > Unemployment Situation

The opening months of the Great Depression presented to many the spectacle of overwhelming crisis. But, in New York, various groups offered their own practical solutions.

Governor Franklin Roosevelt and Frances Perkins, his Industrial Commissioner, gathered data on unemployment and considered plans to put people back to work.

Communists repeatedly attempted to hold demonstrations in City Hall Park. The police punched, kicked, and arrested them.

The Chamber of Commerce also had some suggestions. In March 1930, a week after the violent struggles occurred, members received a “self-explanatory letter” urging each to contribute to the commonweal. “[I]t is respectfully recommended to the members of the Chamber of Commerce that they make every effort to have all repairs, replacements, new buildings, redecorating or other work which may be contemplated begun at once, so that a number of additional persons may be employed in the various lines indicated.”

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