SS8H8b Explain economic factors that resulted in the Great Depression.

1. Standards SS8H8b Explain economic factors that resulted in the Great Depression.

2. The Great Depression • Economies go through highs and lows. Extreme lows are called “depressions”. During a depression, unemployment is high and people have little money to spend. Businesses fail.

3. The Great Depression • Causes- • Too much credit- During the 1920’s (the Roaring Twenties), people borrowed and spent a lot of money. They believed the economy was getting better and better and they could pay the money back. • Soaring Stock Market- people put a lot of money into the stock market driving prices up, up, up. In the stock market, you buy small pieces (shares) of companies.

4. The Great Depression • What happened- • On October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday), the value of the shares dropped unexpectedly. Investors panicked, selling shares at low prices to avoid losing everything. • When people lost their money, they couldn’t pay back their loans. Many banks failed. • Without money flowing from banks, businesses failed and people lost their jobs. • People stopped trusting the banks. • Banks had even less money to lend. http://finance.yahoo.com/portfolio/pf_19/view/v1

5. The Great Depression • Results • Economic development plunged. • Millions lost their jobs, homes, and life’s savings. • Unemployment soared. • It lasted for more than 10 years—until WWII.

6. The Great Depression • Impact- • The entire country suffered. • In Georgia, unemployment was high, people could not pay for necessities or buy houses, businesses failed, and cotton prices dropped.

7. The Great Depression • President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president in 1933, at the deepest part of the Depression. He would die in office 12 years later after seeing the Depression end and the close of WWII.

8. Standards SS8H8c Discuss the impact of the political career of Eugene Talmadge.

9. Eugene Talmadge • Began his political career as Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture—a friend to white rural farmers. • He served as Georgia’s governor for 3 terms, beginning in 1932. • He was a white supremacist and supported states’ rights. • He fired and replaced anyone who opposed him.

10. Eugene Talmadge • He opposed the New Deal programs that were trying to get the country out of the Great Depression. • He got in trouble over the “Cocking Affair”. Walter Cocking was a dean at UGA who Talmadge accused of wanting racial integration. He got Cocking fired and this damaged UGA’s reputation. • He was elected for a 4th term, mainly because he supported blocking blacks from voting in primaries. He died before he could start his 4th term.

11. Standards SS8H8d Discuss the effect of the New Deal in terms of the impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Agricultural Adjustment Act, rural electrification, and Social Security.

12. New Deal • A series of government programs started to ease the pain of the Great Depression and help the economy get strong again. • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)- provided jobs to single, young, unemployed men. Jobs included building trails, planting trees, building parks, and conserving soil. They were paid with food, housing, and money. • Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)- Job was to increase the price of crops by decreasing production. Also, tried to get farmers to rotate crops to protect the soil.

13. New Deal • Rural Electrification Act (1936)- On trips to Georgia, Roosevelt realized rural areas did not have electricity. It was too expensive to put in the power lines. This act loaned money to states and power companies to put lines in. Georgia became a national leader in rural electrification. • Social Security Act(1935)- gave some protection to people who were retired, unemployed, or disabled.

14. Standards SS8H9a Describe the impact of events leading up to American involvement in WW II; include Lend-Lease and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. SS8H9c Explain the impact of the Holocaust on Georgia.

15. 1920’s-1930’s in the World • Germany harbored anger over the loss of WW I and the devastation of its economy. They joined with Italy and Japan, who both wanted to claim their neighbor’s lands. They were called the Axis Powers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syI_B8a5IV4&NR=1&feature=endscreen

16. 1920’s-1930’s in the World • Germany blamed Jews for their pain. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party won elections in Germany. They began a program of arresting and exterminating Jews (the Holocaust). • Georgia had experienced some racism against Jews (remember Leo Frank), but there were also many charities that raised money to help Jews in Europe.

17. 1920’s-1930’s in the World • Germany and Italy took over most of the European Continent and turned its sites on the UK (led by Churchill) and Russia (led by Stalin).

18. Lend-Lease • The US did not want to get involved in another European War. Roosevelt wanted to help but not send troops. • Lend-Lease Act (1941)- allowed Roosevelt to send supplies to the Allies (the UK and the Soviet Union), but not be directly involved.

19. Pearl Harbor • On December 7th, 1941, Japanese planes attacked US naval ships stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in an unprovoked attack. Many ships were destroyed or heavily damaged and 2402 Americans were killed. • Roosevelt called it “a day that will live in infamy.” • The US joined the Allies and declared war on the Axis Powers. WWII had begun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt13c3olXkU

20. Standards SS8H9b Evaluate the importance of Bell Aircraft, military bases, the Savannah and Brunswick shipyards, Richard Russell and Carl Vinson.

21. Bell Aircraft • The company assembled B-29 bombers for the US Air Force during WWII. • The plant was in Marietta and was the largest in the South. • The plant site is where Lockheed is now located.

22. Military Bases in Georgia • As in WWI, the military bases in Georgia played a key role in training US soldier for the armed forces.

23. Savannah and Brunswick Shipyards • Ports built 187 “Liberty Ships” for use in the war effort. • These ships were newly devised war ships. • Thousands of workers were employed to build the ships, lifting Georgia’s economy.

24. Richard Russell • A Senator from Georgia during WWII • Part of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee • He helped bring over a dozen military bases to Georgia.

25. Carl Vinson • Congressman from Georgia • He helped improve the United States’ military preparedness by passing bills to improve the quantity and quality of the armed forces. USS Carl Vinson

26. Standards SS8H9d Discuss the ties to Georgia that President Roosevelt had and his impact on the state.

27. Franklin Delano Roosevelt • Was unable to walk due to polio that he caught as a young man. • Often visited Warm Springs, Georgia, to ease his pain by sitting in the warm water.

28. Franklin Delano Roosevelt • Lived in cottage while he was here that he named the “Little White House.” • Became sentimentally attached to Georgia. • Helped get the Bell Aircraft Plant built in Marietta. • Died at Warm Springs on April 12, 1945, less than 3 weeks before Hitler’s suicide and the fall of Germany.