Georgia Studies

1. Georgia Studies Unit 6: Early 20th Century Georgia Lesson 1: The Great Depression Study Presentation

2. Lesson 1: The Great Depression • ESSENTIAL QUESTION: • How did forces of nature affect the economy of Georgia? • How did state and national political policies influence the growth and development of Georgia and the future of politics in the state?

3. Terms to Know • Assembly line • Installment plan • Boll Weevil • Stock market • Great Depression • Purchasing power • Surplus • Entrepreneur • New Deal • Barter • Subsidy • Labor Union • Relief • Strike • Cooperative • Recession • Minimum wage

4. The Roaring Twenties • After WWI, Americans celebrated victory with good times • 1920 – 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote and more women began to enter the workforce. • Flappers: name given to women who took on the new fashion – known for short hair, make-up, dancing, drinking • Jazz (Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington) and Blues (Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith) became popular forms of music. • First women in Georgia legislature: Bessie Kempton Crowell & Viola Ross Napier • Rebecca Latimer Felton first woman in U.S. Senate

5. Life in the Roaring Twenties • Life in US after World War I was good • More modern conveniences freed women from household chores • Electricity became more available • Other inventions included gas stoves, toasters, sliced bread, baby food • Radio: WSB started in Atlanta • 1927: first talking motion picture • Walt Disney creates Mickey Mouse • Charles Lindbergh makes first ever nonstop flight from New York to Paris, France.

6. The Destruction of King Cotton • Boll weevil: insect which ate Georgia’s most important cash crop • Price of cotton also dropped • 1924: major drought (period with little or no rain) hit Georgia • Georgia farmers did not have the “good life” that many Americans enjoyed – GA suffered from a depression long before the rest of America • Farms closed forcing banks and farm-related business to close • Great Migration – Many tenant farmers leave Georgia to work in northern factories.

7. The Klan Strengthens • Targeted African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants • Number of members increased in every state • 1925: Klan march on Washington with 40,000 members • Declining membership by the end of the decade as members were linked to racial terrorism

8. The Bottom Drops Out • Stock Market: Place where shares of ownership in corporations (stock) are bought and sold • “Black Tuesday” – October 29, 1929: Stock market prices fall greatly; millions of people lose all their wealth • Total losses by end of year: $40 billion • Example: U.S. Steel was $262 per share – dropped to $22 per share • Some stocks worth less than 1¢

9. Causes of the GreatDepression • Bank Failures: Many people had borrowed too much money; as people and businesses had problems making money, banks did not get paid for loans; people tried to get their $$ from the bank and the banks didn’t have their $$ • Reduction in Purchasing: Average consumer stopped purchasing goods; companies lowered production rates causing people to lose jobs • Overproduction: Farmers and factories produced more food and goods than they could sell • “Speculation” in the stock market: paying only a portion of the price of a stock hoping that the value will go up • laissez-faire: attitude that the economy would fix itself if left alone

10. Living Through the Depression • 1932: 13 million unemployed • 9,000 banks closed • 31 Georgia banks failed • Hoovervilles: named for President Hoover – shacks where homeless people gathered • Soup kitchens set up by charities and governments to feed hungry • Schools were often forced to close or shorten schedules • Georgians were already suffering from economic problems before Black Tuesday

11. The New Deal • 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt elected president • New Deal: Roosevelt’s plan to end the depression • Examined banks for soundness • Give jobs to unemployed workers • Tried to improve American’s lives • Paved the way for recovery though all programs did not work

12. Georgia and the New Deal • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – Created jobs for young men. Men worked in exchange for housing, food, and money. Built many of GA’s parks, sewer systems, bridges, etc. • Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – Raised the price of farm products by limiting supply. Farmers were paid to produce less to drive the price up so each farmer made more money for their crops. • Rural Electrification Authority (REA) –Brought electricity to the rural (country) areas of the U.S. • Social Security Act – Passed in 1935. Helped to provide old-age benefits for retiring workers. Also offered insurance for the unemployed and disabled.

13. African Americans During the New Deal • Did not benefit from many New Deal programs • WPA: Works Public Administration – did employ many African Americans • Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet”: influential African Americans working with President Roosevelt: • Mary McLeod Bethune • Clark Foreman • Robert Weaver • William Hastie

14. Georgia’s New Deal Governors • Richard B. Russell • Worked to reorganize state government like a successful business • Elected to U.S. Senate and served for 38 years • Eugene Talmadge • Did not like New Deal programs in Georgia • Elected Governor of GA in 1932 and 1934. • Outspoken critic of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal programs in Georgia. • Eurith “Ed” Rivers • Worked with Roosevelt to increase New Deal spending in Georgia • Began programs for public housing • Term ended with corruption problems

15. Georgia’s New Deal Governors (Cont.) • Talmadge re-elected in 1940 • Began to use some New Deal programs • Used his power as governor to remove state officials working to integrate Georgia’s state colleges • Ellis Arnall • Reformed Board of Regents and state prisons • Removed poll tax • New state constitution