AKS 46 I . The Great Depression

1. AKS 46I. The Great Depression MAIN IDEA: As the prosperity of the 1920s ended, severe economic problems gripped the nation.

2. A. Problems • Trouble was beginning in the late 1920’s • Textile, steel, and railroad industries were barely profitable. • Mining and lumbering also in decline. • Auto, construction, and consumer goods industries began to fail

3. Problems in Agriculture 1.Wartime demand for food dropped, and farmers suffered. 2. Unable to make mortgage payments, many lost their land 3. President Calvin Coolidge vetoed laws that would boost food prices

4. 4. Farmers, short on money, bought fewer goods 5. Consumer spending was hurt by low incomes and high debt 6. Some key industries were in decline; some were antiquated

5. 7. Election of 1928 - Republican Herbert Hoover, pointing to years of prosperity under presidents Harding and Coolidge, won the election over Democrat Alfred Smith.

6. C. “Black Tuesday” • Stock market grew during 20’s • Unregulated speculation - People bought stocks, hoping to become rich • Many bought on margin - borrowing against future profits to pay for stocks today (buying on credit) • Problem - Stock prices began to fall in September of 1929 - people lose faith in market; sell stocks • Black Tuesday - October 29, 1929 stock prices plunged • Panic selling - more than 16 million shares of stock were sold that day until no more willing buyers could be found • By mid-November investors had lost more than $30 billion

7. D. Government Reaction • President Hoover - tried to reassure Americans that the economy would right itself • Congress - passed a high tariff to reduce imports; hoped to protect American industry - instead cut the demand for American exports. • Many people, panicking, pulled their money from banks. • banks were forced to close; other depositors lost their deposits. • Businesses also began to close • Millions of Americans lost their jobs. Unemployment rose from 3 percent in 1929 to 25 percent in 1933 • Others suffered pay cuts or reduced hours • Hoboes begin “riding the rails” to California

8. 9. The great stock market crash signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. 10. It didn’t cause the Depression, but it hurried—and worsened—the economic collapse 11. Primary causes: a. overproduction of manufactured goods and farm products and a decrease in demand for American goods overseas, b. farmers’ problems c. the problem of easy credit (installment plans and stocks) d. too few people held too great a share of the nation’s wealth (unequal distribution of wealth)

9. III. Hardship and Suffering During the Depression MAIN IDEA: During the Great Depression, Americans did what they could to survive.

10. A. Affect on America • Americans devastated • With no jobs, millions of people went hungry or homeless; No government help • People slept under newspaper or built shantytowns • People stood in line to get food from soup kitchens set up by charities

11. 5. African Americans and Hispanic Americans living in the cities suffered greatly. 6. Some suffered violence at the hands of angry whites who had lost their jobs. 7. These groups had higher jobless rates; they also were given lower-paying jobs.

12. B. Farmers and the Dust Bowl • Food prices continued to fall; more and more farmers lost their farms • From 1929 to 1932, about 400,000 farmers lost their land • Overfarming and a long drought struck the Great Plains, causing a “Dust Bowl”

13. Powerful winds swept the plains blowing the soil away in vast dust storms • Many farmers packed up their belongings and moved to California to find work as migrant farm workers

14. Powerful winds swept the plains blowing the soil away in vast dust storms • Many farmers packed up their belongings and moved to California to find work as migrant farm workers

15. C. Affect on the Family • Men felt ashamed because they had lost their jobs; some abandoned their families • Women found work if they could; paid less than men. • Some argued that employers should hire men rather than women since they were seen as the primary support for a family

16. Children - poor diets; lack of health care • number of children suffering illnesses due to lack of vitamins increased • Lacking money to continue, many school boards shut down schools or shortened the school year • Many children went to work to try to help their families survive • Others rode the railways in search of better lives

17. Hoover Struggles with the Depression MAIN IDEA President Hoover's conservative response to the Great Depression drew criticism from many Americans.

18. President Hoover at first believed that the Depression was simply another slowdown that would end. • Officials in his administration thought it best to do nothing and let the economy heal itself. • Hoover believed government should take action, but be careful not to take too much power.

19. Thought government should help different groups work together to improve the economy • Government should encourage private groups to provide benefits—food and shelter—to the needy and jobless • Did not believe that government should provide direct aid to people – too much power

20. 7. People without homes began to call their shantytowns “Hoovervilles”

21. 8. Met with bankers, business leaders, and labor leaders - urged them to work together to revive the economy 9. Economic situation simply got worse.

22. 10. Began a program of major public works, including building roads, bridges, and dams (Hoover Dam), to provide jobs

23. 11. Also launched a program to try to raise food prices 12. Urged bankers to join a credit organization that would shore up ailing smaller banks

24. 13. 1932 - Congress passed a law to lower the rates for home mortgages 14. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) - funded projects that would create jobs; too little, too late

25. E. The Bonus Army 1. WW I veterans came to Washington demanding early payment of the bonuses they had been promised 2. This Bonus Army began to live in tents near the Capitol building

26. 3. Hoover ordered the army to remove them; outraged many people 4. Hoover faced the 1932 presidential campaign more unpopular than ever

27. IV. FDR and the New Deal Fights the Depression MAIN IDEA: After becoming president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used government programs to combat the Depression.

28. 1. 1932 election-Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) won a landslide victory, and Democrats took control of the House and Senate 2. New Deal – FDR’s policy;Relief, Reform, Recovery ; wanted to provide federal aid to different parts of the economy - first step was to reform banking

29. 3. Bank Holiday - Temporarily closed banks and had them inspected by Treasury Dept.; passed a number of new laws 4. Reassured the nation in radio “fireside chats” that explained his policies; improved national morale and provided hope for the future 5. Wanted to avoid another panic “We [the government] have provided the machinery [measures] to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work.” -FDR

30. 100 Days – Roosevelt takes Immediate Action “The country needs and demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” ---Franklin D. Roosevelt, campaign speech, 1932 1. Agricultural Adjustment Act - raised food prices; helped farmers 2. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) promoted industrial growth – led to Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) – union that combined with the American Federation of Labor to form the AFL-CIO

31. 3. Agricultural Adjustment Act - raised food prices; helped farmers 4. Civilian Conservation Corps - hired jobless workers for conservation or building projects 5. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) promoted industrial growth – led to Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) – union that combined with the American Federation of Labor to form the AFL-CIO

32. B.100 Days – Roosevelt takes Immediate Action • The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) brought flood control and electricity to a poor region; provided jobs to thousands of people in the southeast • FDIC– Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – insured deposited money up to $100,000; part of Emergency Banking Act; still in use today ($250,000) • SEC – Securities Exchange Commission – created to govern and regulate the stock market

33. C. REACTION TO THE NEW DEAL • Attacked by liberals as not enough; by conservatives as too radical • Supreme Court overturned the NIRA and other New Deal laws as unconstitutional • Supreme Court questioned many of the New Deal policies

34. “Court Packing Bill” – FDR tried to pass a law allowing him to add judges to the Supreme Court • “Trying to balance the power” • Most saw it as an effort to put more judges on the Court that would support the New Deal • Plan was stopped, but over the next few years FDR was able to replace 7 of the 9 judges due to retirement or death

35. 8. Three critics of Roosevelt rose to prominence. • Father Charles Coughlin blasted the president on his popular radio show. • Dr. Francis Townsend proposed a national pension for the elderly • Huey Long, a politician from Louisiana, didn’t believe FDR had done enough to help the poor; proclaimed a plan called “Share Our Wealth.”

36. D. The Second New Deal – begun to give further aid to farmers and the poor • Works Progress Administration (WPA) - started to fund projects that would create jobs. • Between 1935 and 1943, it gave jobs to more than 8 million people • Built public buildings, made clothes and constructed or repaired 651,000 miles of roads and streets

37. 4. Also set a national minimum wage, limited the work week, and required employers to pay overtime 5. The Wagner Act - recognized workers’ right to organize unions and use collective bargaining – led to rise in industrial unionism

38. 6. The Social Security System - made payments to retirees, disabled workers, the unemployed, and families with dependent children 7. Rural Electrification Administration (REA) - Provided more electrical power in rural areas.

39. The New Deal Affects Many Groups MAIN IDEA: The New Deal policies and actions affected various social and ethnic groups.

40. E. THE NEW DEAL AFFECTS MANY GROUPS 1. The New Deal also tried to help some minorities 2. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt – served as FDR’s “eyes and ears” around the country; outspoken supporter of Civil Rights and Women’s Rights

41. 3. Frances Perkins – first woman member of the cabinet – Secretary of Labor • Women still struggled against discrimination, however • Not hired; paid less • African-Americans and other minorities supported the New Deal even though FDR never pushed Civil Rights

42. A. Philip Randolph – early civil rights leader • Threatened to lead a march on Washington in June, 1941 • FDR passed the Fair Employment Act – stopped discrimination in defense industries and federal bureaus

43. 10. Mary McLeod Bethune - Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Association 11. Organized an unofficial “Black Cabinet” to advise the president. 12. Roosevelt - never pressed for full civil rights for African Americans; feared losing the support of white Southerners

44. F. The New Deal and Labor • Political coalition of Southern whites, urban voters, African Americans, and unionized workers. • Labor - key part of this coalition; new Deal laws made it easier for workers to organize. • During the 1930s, union membership soared from less than 3 to more than 10 million.

45. 4. Labor Unions often had to strike; sometimes turned violent 5. National Labor Relations Board – supported growth of unions and helped settle disputes

46. The New Deal and Culture of the 1930s MAIN IDEA: Motion pictures, radio, art, and literature blossomed during the New Deal.

47. During the Depression, the radio and film industries flourished • About 90 percent of all households owned radios, and 65 percent of the population went to a movie once a week • The movies offered drama, comedies, and entertaining musicals

48. Families typically gathered by their radio each evening to hear their favorite shows • President Roosevelt addressed the nation in his “fireside chats” on several occasions

49. WPA - Federal Arts Project - paid artists to create posters, murals, and other public works of art • Federal Theater Project brought drama to communities across the country

50. 8. Federal Writers’ Project – supported writers 9. John Steinbeck – wrote The Grapes of Wrath about the Dust Bowl