Which U.S. president signed the Emergency Banking Act during the 1933 banking crisis and market turmoil?

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act during the 1933 banking crisis and market turmoil.

The act became law on March 9, 1933, shortly after Roosevelt took office. It gave the federal government tools to stabilize the banking system, including authority to inspect banks and reopen only those considered financially sound. The measure followed a nationwide banking holiday that temporarily suspended most banking transactions.

The crisis was a late consequence of the Great Depression and the banking failures that followed the 1929 stock-market crash. Although the Emergency Banking Act addressed banks rather than directly repairing share prices, restoring confidence in deposits and the payments system was essential to financial recovery.

Roosevelt’s radio addresses, including his later “fireside chats,” helped explain the administration’s actions to the public. The act is sometimes confused with the Glass–Steagall Act, passed later in 1933; the two laws were different parts of the New Deal banking response.