| Bio: |
In mid-February 1933, banking difficulties established in Detroit, Michigan. The RFC wanted to make a loan to the struggling bank, the Union Guardian Trust, to avoid a crisis. The bank was one of Henry Ford's banks, and Ford had deposits of $7 million in this particular bank. Michigan Senator James Couzens demanded that Henry Ford subordinate his deposits in the struggling bank as a condition of the loan. If Ford agreed, he would risk losing all of his deposits prior to any other depositor lost a penny. Ford and Couzens had once been partners in the automotive business, however had become bitter rivals.
When the settlements failed, the governor of Michigan stated a statewide bank vacation. In spite of the RFC's willingness to assist the Union Guardian Trust, the crisis could not be prevented. The crisis in Michigan resulted in a spread of panic, initially to adjacent states, but eventually throughout the country. Every day of Roosevelt's inauguration, March 4, all states had stated bank holidays or had limited the withdrawal of bank deposits for money. As one of his very first acts as president, on March 5 President Roosevelt revealed to the nation that he was declaring a nationwide bank vacation. Almost all monetary organizations in the country were closed for business throughout the following week. https://www.creativelive.com/student/rosalee-roseline-291?via=accounts-freeform_4 |
