1930s The Depression -- And Beyond

AS 1929 WANED, BusinessWeek looked ahead to a new decade, warning: "Business outlook—cloudy, continued cold."

The 1930s were a troubled time for executives caught between a search for ways to stimulate lagging business and the New Deal's unprecedented intervention in the economy. Government tried to step in with public works and a helping hand for farmers. War in Europe finally began bringing new life to order books. But labor pressures were rising and even bringing some industries to a halt.

The magazine was early in reporting on how to live with the new fair-trade laws, why and how to use the new art of public relations, the consumer movement, and industry in the Soviet Union. And a bright new business called television flashed onto the cover for the first time.