The pleasures and profits of the twenties came to a sudden halt in late 1929. The crash of the stock market in distant New York City brought financial ruin, and across the nation commerce slowed, businesses closed, and people lost jobs. By 1931, 18,500 Dallasites were out of work. Government programs to help those in dire need did not yet exist at the federal or local level. Charities stepped up to help where they could. Hungry people in all cities could be seen waiting in line for free meals at soup kitchens, as in this scene in Dallas.

When Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election, the federal government began instituting recovery programs aimed at providing job opportunities. The city of Dallas also put the unemployed to work in construction projects like viaducts over the Trinity River. In Dallas County, the dire effects of the Depression were mitigated by the inflow of cash when oil was discovered in East Texas, and the local spending by visitors to the Centennial Exposition. Some people turned to crime to solve economic desperation.