The Securities and Exchange Act of 1933 was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal. The New Deal signified the first federal regulation of the economy. President Roosevelt designed the New Deal to assist in resolving the issues that resulted from the Great Depression, an unmatched economic calamity that eventually produced an unemployment rate of 25% and a 33% reduction of the nation's economy.

The regulation of securities was a good initial foundation for the New Deal reforms. The stock market crash of 1929 was a major cause leading to the economic downfall of America, known as the Great Depression. Today, the word securities refers to negotiable financial instruments, such as, banknote, bonds, common stock, and options. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 defines securities as “means any note, stock, treasury stock, security future, bond, debenture, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement or in any oil, gas, or other mineral royalty or lease, any collateral-trust certificate, preorganization certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security, certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof), or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, or in general, any instrument commonly known as a "security"; or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing; but shall not include currency or any note, draft, bill of exchange, or banker's acceptance which has a maturity at the time of