Which U.S. president signed the Emergency Banking Act during the banking crisis of the early 1930s?

Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act during the banking crisis of the early 1930s.

The law was enacted on 9 March 1933, shortly after Roosevelt took office. It gave the federal government broader authority over banks and provided a framework for reopening institutions that were judged financially sound. The measure was part of the response to widespread bank failures during the Great Depression.

Roosevelt also addressed the public through his first radio “fireside chat,” explaining the banking situation and encouraging confidence in reopened banks. The act did not itself create federal deposit insurance; that came later through the Banking Act of 1933, which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The law is linked to the financial aftermath of the 1929 stock-market crash, but the crash and the banking crisis were distinct events. Bank failures, deflation, debt problems, and falling production all deepened the Depression.