Video: 'Emergency Legislation: The Bank Holiday'

(Monday, March 6, 1933, 1:00 a.m. EST; during the Great Depression) — Barely 36 hours in office, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 2039 early this morning, declaring a nationwide “bank holiday,” effective immediately, temporarily closing every bank in the United States and freezing all financial transactions in order to prevent a run on the banks by consumers lacking confidence in the economy.

On Sunday, Mar. 5, 1933, Roosevelt launched the New Deal and called Congress in for a Special Session to begin on Mar. 9. On that day, Congress would pass the Emergency Banking Act, complete with new banking regulations.

Video: 'How establishing a bank holiday became Franklin Roosevelt’s legacy'

The “holiday” ended on Mar. 13 for the 12 federal reserve banks, and by Mar. 15 for all banks, which then had to apply for a license.

Two thousand banks did not reopen after the holiday.

Roosevelt also placed an embargo on the export of gold and suspended the payment of gold to satisfy government obligations.

Finally, he declared a state of national emergency that would not be rescinded until the enactment of the “National Emergencies Act,” which would become effective on Sept. 14, 1978, forty-five and a half years after FDR’s decree.