Georgia After World War I

Georgia After World War I The Depression and New Deal Years

What impact did the boll weevil have on Georgia? • The boll weevil is a small, grayish, long-snouted beetle • It lays its eggs in the yellow flower of the cotton plant • As the larva forms, it eats the boll part of the cotton • The beetles came from Mexico to Texas to Georgia • By 1923, cotton production dropped drastically

What impact did the drought have on Georgia? • In 1924, a major drought ruined the rest of the crops • Farmers who had taken out loans could not repay the banks • This had a big impact upon the banks and was one of the factors that led to the Great Depression

What caused the Great Depression? • People borrowed more money than they could repay—caused lay-offs • With less people working, people spent less—led to surplus of manufactured goods and agricultural products (food)—more lay-offs and farm failures

What caused the Great Depression? • After WWI, US created high tariffs • This made it difficult for European countries to sell goods in the US to raise revenue to pay off their war-time loans to the US

What caused the Great Depression? • Stock market prices were overinflated • The stock market crashed • Banks had purchased large amounts of stock and lost a lot of money—created runs on the banks by customers • Laissez-faire—attitude of the American people and government that the economy would work itself out—President Herbert Hoover did nothing

Eugene Talmadge • Became governor of Georgia in 1933 • Campaign slogan—”You have 3 friends—Sears Roebuck, God Almighty, and Eugene Herman Talmadge” • Conservative white supremacist

Eugene Talmadge • Disliked federal government intervention and government debts • Did not like the New Deal • Reduced property taxes, utility rates, and some license fees • Used federal $ to build highways • Arrested strikers during a textile strike

Eugene Talmadge • Served two terms but could not run for a third consecutive term under GA law • Ran for US Senate but lost • 1940—was elected governor again but now liked New Deal policies; economy in GA began to improve

Eugene Talmadge • Heard that one of the UGA deans and the president of GA Southern planned to integrate the schools • Talmadge had them fired • Publicity over the incident led SAACs to withdraw accreditation from all white GA colleges

New Deal • When Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1932, he promised “a new deal for the American people” • He hired a group of advisors who came up with a series of laws called the New Deal

New Deal Purpose • To bring about economic recovery • Relieve the suffering of unemployed • Reform defects in economy • Improve society

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • New Deal program • Gave jobs to young single men to build forest trails and roads, plant trees, and build parks • In Georgia • Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park • Park at Pine Mountain • Flood control and drainage at Tybee Island • Much of the work on Grady Hospital

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) • Government paid farmers not to plant crops • Created price supports (guaranteed higher prices) • This would raise prices due to limited production • Downfall—money went to landowners, not the sharecroppers who needed it

Rural Electrification Act (REA) • President Franklin D. Roosevelt suffered from polio and spent a great deal of time in Warm Springs in Georgia • His home there was called the Little White House • He noticed that his house was the only one with electric lights • When he received his power bill, it was many times higher than the bill he received in his house in New York

Rural Electrification Act (REA) • Roosevelt signed a law that created the REA • It loaned $300 million to farmers cooperatives to help them extend the power lines • Farmers began to use electric water pumps, lights, milking machines, and appliances making life easier

Social Security • Retirement money and unemployment insurance given to those who need it • Money comes from the taxes of workers and employers

Georgia After World War I