What happened
Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency during the banking crisis of early 1933 and quickly moved toward emergency intervention and recovery measures that would come to define the New Deal.
Why it matters
The interwar crisis was not only about breakdown. Roosevelt's accession marks one of the most consequential democratic responses to the Depression, making it an important counterpoint to authoritarian consolidation elsewhere.
Notes
This event stands in for the political opening of the New Deal rather than trying to compress the whole program into one date.