The Great Depression and World War II

1. The Great Depression and World War II SS8H8 – The student will analyze the important events that occurred after World War I and their impact on Georgia. Describe the impact of the boll weevil and drought on Georgia Explain economic factors that resulted in the Great Depression Discuss the impact of the political career of Eugene Talmadge 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

2. The Boll Weevil • A small, grayish, long-snouted beetle • Destroyed the primary source of income for many GA farmers – Cotton • Feeds on the white, fluffy cotton • Came from Mexico, moved through Texas and into the southern states in the 1890s • The boll weevil and the drop in cotton prices weakened the South’s economy

4. Drought in Georgia • 1924 – major drought in Georgia • Slowed down the boll weevil, but destroyed other crops • Farms failed, and banks that had loaned the farmers money took huge loses • Hurt many farm workers; they left Georgia b/c of drought and the boll weevil • the Great Migration – the movement of southern blacks to the North; lasted from end of WWI through the 1960s

5. The Great Depression • Causes of the Great Depression – • People of the U.S. had borrowed more money than they could repay • Factories had produced more goods than they could sell • Farmers also overproduced, causing prices to decline • High tariffs • Speculation in the stock market

6. The Great Depression • Causes of the Great Depression – • Laissez-faire attitude – the doctrine that the government should not interfere in the private sector of the economy helped cause the depression because people, including the president, did not do anything to help the economy, thinking it would work itself out

7. The Great Depression • Results of the stock market crash in 1929 banks lost a lot of money people were forced out of homes – “Hoovervilles” schools closed savings accounts were emptied

9. Eugene Talmadge • Governor of Georgia from 1933-1936 and 1940-1942; three terms as governor • Conservative white supremacist who did not like federal government intervention • Spoke out against the New Deal, blacks and metropolitan areas; most of his voters were from the rural areas of the state • He supported the reduction of property taxes, utility rates, and license fees

10. Eugene Talmadge • Did not support textile unions • A Talmadge supporter told the governor that a dean at UGA and a dean at GA Southern planned to integrate the school • Talmadge fired the two individuals • His actions offended many, thus the SACS voted to take away the accreditation of white Georgia colleges

11. Eugene Talmadge

12. The New Deal • Franklin D. Roosevelt’s set of laws that were created to bring about economic recovery, relieve the suffering of the unemployed, reform defects in the economy, and improve society • New Deal Programs – Civilian Conservation Corps, Agricultural Adjustment Act, Rural Electrification, Social Security

13. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • A program that provided jobs for young single men building forest trails and roads, planting trees, and building parks • Built many facilities at Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain • Flood control and drainage projects – Tybee Island’s seawall • Built municipal facilities – Augusta’s Savannah River Lease and Macon’s airport

14. Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) • It paid farmers NOT to plant on part of their land – this helped raise farm prices by limiting production

15. Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) • The plan worked; farm income improved • The one drawback – farm subsidies (grants of $ from the government) went to landowners rather than to the tenant farmers, who were usually black

16. Rural Electrification Authority (REA) • Power companies mainly ran lines to towns and cities • Because the rural population was spread out, power lines were more expensive to build and maintain • Best impact of New Deal on GA – caused many rural regions to receive electricity for the first time • Impact on farmers – loaned $ to farmers’ cooperatives to help them extend their own power lines and buy power wholesale

17. Social Security • It provided retirement and unemployment insurance from taxes paid by both workers and their employers • However, farm workers were not covered by the new program • Gives some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age

18. SS8H9 • The student will describe the impact of World War II on Georgia’s development economically, socially, and politically • Describe the impact of events leading up to American involvement in World War II, include Lend-Lease and the bombing of Pearl Harbor • Evaluate the importance of Bell Aircraft, military bases, the Savannah and Brunswick shipyards, Richard Russell, and Carl Vinson • Explain the impact of the Holocaust on Georgians • Discuss President Roosevelt’s ties to GA including his visits to Warm Springs and his impact on the state

19. Poland is invaded by Germany • Appeasement – the policy of giving an aggressor what it wants in order to avoid war • Great Britain and France declare war on Germany • Before troops could get there, Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland

20. Neutral United States • President Roosevelt watched as Japan, Italy, the Soviet Union, and Germany carved up the world. • Isolationism – the idea of not taking part in the affairs of other nations • The U.S. allowed the Allied Powers to buys arms if they paid cash and carried them in their own ships • When the British ran out of cash to buy the arms, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act

21. World War II countries • Axis powers – Germany, Italy, Japan, • Allied powers – Great Britain, France, United States, Soviet Union* • Soviet Union – at first, Germany and the Soviet Union were conquering land; they were considered allies, but Germany turned on the Soviet Union

22. The European Theater

23. France surrenders – June, 1940

24. Leaders of the Nations • Germany – Adolf Hitler • Japan – Emperor Hirohito • Italy – Benito Mussolini • Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin

25. The Leaders

26. Pearl Harbor • To protest Japanese expansion, the United States stopped exporting airplanes, metals, aircraft parts, and aviation gasoline to Japan • After Japan invaded French Indochina in 1941, Roosevelt seized all Japanese property in the U.S. • Thus, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, a Sunday morning

27. Pearl Harbor

28. Pearl Harbor • Referred to as the “day that will live in infamy” • The Navy’s Pacific fleet was destroyed • All eight battleships were destroyed or severely damaged • 2,000 people were killed; 1,000 were injured • December 8, 1941, the U.S. declares war on Japan because of Pearl Harbor

29. Pearl Harbor – U.S.S. Arizona

30. The Bell Aircraft • After Pearl Harbor, the government decided to build additional aircraft plants to make the B-29 bomber • Bell Aircraft Company of Buffalo, NY built a new plant in Marietta, GA • In 1943, the plant employed 1200 people; by 1945, it employed 27,000 employees • The Marietta plant was the largest aircraft assembly plant in the world

31. The Bell Aircraft • It closed after WWII; had built 668 planes • Opened back up in 1950 by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation • Still located in Marietta

32. WWII Military Bases in GA • Major military bases – Fort Benning (Columbus), Camp Gordon (Augusta), Fort Stewart and Hunter Air Field (Savannah), Warner Robbins Air Field (Macon) • Fort Benning – largest infantry center in the country • Glynco Naval Air Station (Brunswick) – flew blimps along the coast in search of German subs

33. WWII Military Bases in GA • Prisoners of War were held at Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, Fort Oglethorpe, and Fort Stewart • Fort McPherson (Atlanta) – a major induction center for newly drafted soldiers from all over the country

34. Savannah & Brunswick Shipyards • Liberty ships were built at the Savannah & Brunswick Shipyards • Liberty ships were cargo ships named by President Roosevelt. • First of GA’s Liberty ships was launched in November 1942 – the U.S.S. James Oglethorpe • 88 Liberty ships were built in Savannah • 99 Liberty ships were built in Brunswick

35. Liberty Ships

36. Richard B. Russell, Jr. • Georgia’s youngest governor • He consolidated 102 state offices into 17 agencies • He created the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia – a combination of the boards of trustees of state colleges and universities into one group • He ran the state like a successful business

37. Richard B. Russell, Jr. • He served thirty-eight years as a U.S. Senator • He helped provide a school lunch to all children • He was a respected advisor to six U.S. presidents; when he became pro tempore of the Senate, he was third in line for the presidency

38. Richard B. Russell, Jr.

39. Carl Vinson • One of Georgia’s most influential leaders • He served twenty-five consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives • He represented Georgia’s interest in the military through his work with the House Naval Affairs Committee and the House Armed Services Committee • He had a major influence in promoting a strong national defense

40. Carl Vinson • In 1934, he helped authorize the manufacture of 92 major warships because of tensions in Europe • He expanded the naval aviation system to include 10,000 plans, train 16,000 pilots, and establish 20 air bases • He is referred to as the “father of the two-ocean navy.”

41. Carl Vinson

42. The Holocaust • The name given to the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews • An additional 5-6 million people, labeled as “undesireables,” were also killed • People died from starvation, disease, mistreatment, and medical experiments • Prisoners, including children, were killed in gas chambers; once dead, they were incinerated in ovens or thrown in mass graves

43. The Holocaust • Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, instigated the Holocaust. • Concentration Camps – the final solution to the Jewish problem • Examples: Auschwitz, Buckenwald, Dachau, Treblinka, Bergen-Belsen

44. The Holocaust

45. The Holocaust

46. The Holocaust

47. The Holocaust

48. The Holocaust • In 1986, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust was created “to take lesson from the history of the Holocaust and use them to help lead new generations of Georgians beyond racism and bigotry.” • The Commission sponsors an art and writing contest for Georgia middle and high school students

49. Franklin D. Roosevelt & Georgia • One of his New Deal programs did not work – the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) • It was designed to help workers by setting minimum wages, permitting them organize unions, and allowing factories to cut back on production • This legislation mainly affected the textile industry

50. Franklin D. Roosevelt & Georgia • The NIRA was a major threat to mill owners • The mill owners used a stretch out – a practice that requires workers to tend more machines • Workers had to do the same amount of work in an 8-hour shift that they had previously done in a 12- hour shift