![Job seekers line up to apply for positions at an American Apparel store April 2, 2009, in New York City.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/great_recession_and_its_aftermath_1_720x450.jpg)
The 2007-09 economic crisis was deep and protracted enough to become known as "the Great Recession" and was followed by what was, by some measures, a long but unusually slow recovery.
![President Obama Signs the Dodd-Frank Act](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/dodd_frank_act_1.jpg)
Dodd-Frank Act
This wide-ranging legislation was signed by President Obama in 2010
![Two men carry the Lehman Brother’s corporate sign to an auction house in London.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/support_for_specific_institutions_720x450.jpg)
Support for Specific Institutions
The failures of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and the bailout of AIG occurred in 2008
![Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, pauses during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. Bernanke said lending conditions in the U.S. are still "far from normal."](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/fed_credit_programs_720x450.jpg)
Fed Credit Programs
The Fed introduced various credit programs to deal with the 2007-09 financial crisis
![Store closing signs at a furniture store in 2009](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/great_recession_1_720x450.jpg)
Great Recession
This 2007-09 economic downturn was the longest since WWII
![A sign advertising refinancing services is posted in a vacant lot April 29, 2008, in Stockton, California.](/https/www.federalreservehistory.org/-/media/images/subprime_mortgage_crisis_720x450.jpg)
Subprime Mortgage Crisis
The 2007-10 crisis stemmed in part from an expansion of mortgages to high-risk borrowers