Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act in March 1933 amid the banking crisis following the 1929 crash.
Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, when widespread bank failures had caused many states to restrict or suspend banking operations. He called a national bank holiday, temporarily closing banks while federal examiners reviewed their condition. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act on March 9, and Roosevelt signed it the same day.
The law helped establish a process for reopening solvent banks and gave the federal government broader authority over banking during the emergency. Roosevelt then explained the policy in his first radio fireside chat, reassuring the public about redepositing money in reopened banks.
The act did not itself cause the stock-market crash and did not end the Great Depression. It was a response to the banking panic that intensified after years of economic contraction.