The Great Depression

1. The Great Depression Use Chapter 23 in your textbook as a reference

2. Vocabulary

3. Time of Prosperity? • Booming stock market • Shaky stock market, buying stocks on margin • Overinflated value on stocks • Farmers cannot make payments on loans from when they purchased more land and equipment • Post war production decreased • Farm production $21.4 billion in 1919, dropped to $11.8 billion in 1929

4. Signs of A Weak Economy • Older industries in decline • Coal mining, railroads, clothing • Stock prices rising • Margin buying, people purchase stocks by paying only a fraction of the cost • Owe the balance • Gambled prices would be higher when they were ready to sell, this worked for awhile • Sept. 1929, stock prices began a rapid decrease in price

5. The Crash • October 23, 1929, 6 million shares of stocks change hands • Due to falling prices, a loss of $4billion dollars • Brokers who lent money to people so they could buy on margin were calling their loans • Investors who could not pay had to sell their stocks • Causing the prices to drop even more

6. Black Tuesday • October 29, 1929 • Stock market completely crumbled • Traders rushed to sell, but there were no buyers • Prices fell • Those who thought they owned valuable shares of stocks were left with worthless pieces of paper • Millionaires lost fortunes overnight • Stock prices continued to plunge over the next 2 weeks

7. What Caused The Depression? • Overproduction • Supply of manufactured goods exceeded the demand • (Factories producing more goods than people could afford to buy) • Prices rising, salaries decreasing • Auto sales decreasing, along with housing manufacturing • By the end of decade, Americans who could afford houses and cars had already bough them, not buying new cars or houses • The prosperous Americans have run out of money

8. Crisis in Banking • Farmers struggling to repay their bank loans • Small Banks who lent money to farmers start going out of business • Larger banks in the cities also failing • Invested in stock market • Loaned huge amounts to their customers • After the crash, people rushed to the banks to take out their money • Caused many banks to close • 5,500 banks closed between 1930-1933 • Some depositors left with nothing

9. Bank Run

10. Domino Effect • People unable to make purchases as they did before • Many workers losing their jobs if they are working in factors that produce such goods • Therefore even less money for people to make purchases • Declining sales led to more factory closings and layoffs • Many factories led into bankruptcy(financial failure caused by a company’s inability to pay its debts) • Bankruptcies caused even more layoffs

11. An International Depression • After WWI, European nations in a shaky economic state • Many owed America huge sums of money • Many unable to pay their debts to United States • A decline in international trade also taking place • Less money flowing between countries • Countries begin to default, or fail to repay their loans • European nations also sinking into their own economic depression

12. Why Did This Depression Have Such An Impact on So Many People? • This was NOT the first economic depression to strike our country • This one impacted people more severely • In prior depressions, most Americans lived on farms • Could grow enough food to support their families • Now more Americans are living in cities, working in factories or offices • Factories or businesses closed leaving these people jobless with money for food and no land on which to grow food

13. Unemployed • Between 1929 and 1933 unemployment skyrocketed from 3%-25% • 13 million people unemployed • Those who did still have jobs had their pay and the hours they were given to work drastically cut back

14. Poverty • Americans’ spirits being crushed the growing poverty that is apparent all around the country • Jobless people lining up at soup kitchens, for a warm meal • Selling apples, pencils on the street, picking up garbage trying to get paid

15. Soup Kitchen

16. Hoovervilles • Makeshift towns • Homeless communities that arose on the outskirts of cities • Rundown shacks • Slept under “Hoover Blankets” (newspapers) • Blaming president Hoover for failing to solve their problems

25. Families • Fathers left their homes in search of work • Some fathers deserted their families, embarrassed that they were not able to provide for them • Young couples putting off getting married • Couples having fewer children • Children suffering lifelong health problems from lack of food and dental care • Education suffered • School boards cut the school year, closed schools

27. How Does Hoover Respond? • Considered Depression a “temporary” setback • He was advised to do nothing • He believed business leaders and local governments should take the lead in fixing the problem • Encouraged city and state governments to create public works projects to employ jobless people • Eventually he realized that more had to be done and federal government had to get more involved

28. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) • 1932 • Set up to fund critical businesses • Banks, insurance companies, railroads • Gave money to local governments to fund public works projects • Economic situation continued to worsen

29. Another Problem for Hoover • June 1932 a protest began in Washington D.C. • In 1924, Congress had approved $1,000 for every veteran of WW1 to be paid in 1945 • Veterans demanded immediate payment because they were struggling • Hoover refused to make the payments early

30. “Bonus Army” • 20,000 veterans marched to Washington, where they camped out • Bonus March • 2,000 determined Veterans remained • In attempt to force them out, government forces used tear gas, tanks and machine guns • 1 Veteran killed, 100 injured, tent city a smoldering ruin • Result: Americans outraged by the government forces firing on unarmed veterans

31. Bonus March

32. Bonus March Turns Violent

33. Roosevelt’s New Deal

34. Franklin D. Roosevelt • Became known as FDR • Wealthy New Yorker, distant relative of Teddy Roosevelt • Got Polio in 1921, steel braces to help him stand up • Never allowed photographers to take pictures of him in a wheelchair • Most Americans never knew his legs were paralyzed • 1928 Governor of NY • Democratic candidate in 1932

35. Becoming President • Beat Hoover in a landslide, 472 electoral votes to 59 • Took oath on March 4, 1933 • People were encouraged by his new confidence

36. Bank Holiday • Day after he took office he declared a bank holiday and closed the banks for 4 days • Goal was to halt nationwide epidemic of bank failures • Stop the run on banks • Gave him time to propose Emergency Banking Relief Act • Provided more government regulations of the banks

37. Fireside Chats • Roosevelt delivered first of many fireside chats (radio talks) to restore Americans’ confidence in their banks • Told Americans “It is safer to keep your money in a reopened bank than under the mattress” • Public began to redeposit their money the next day

38. Brain Trust • FDR’s group of advisers • Helped FDR to decide and come up with strategies or programs to present to Congress • In First 100 days, President signed 15 new bills • These were the New Deal Programs • New Deal Measures had 3 goals… • 1. relief for the jobless • 2. economic recovery • 3. reforms to present future depressions

39. New Deal Programs • Create a table in google docs that provides the following information • 1. New Deal Program (16 listed below) • 2. Description • 3. Outcome FDIC, FERA, CWA, CCC, Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, NIRA, PWA, SEC, HOLC, AAA, TVA, WPA, FSA, WAGNER ACT, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Social Security Act)

40. Obstacles To The New Deal • American people supported it • FDR re-elected in 1936 • Faced challenge in Supreme Court • Declared some New Deal programs to be unconstitutional • FDR responded by proposing to appointing 6 new Supreme Court justices • He wanted to relieve the overworked judges • Republicans (Conservatives) knew his motive to “court-packing” plan was to gain a majority of justices

41. Court Packing • Congress defeated the plan to appoint 6 new justices • But FDR did eventually appoint 8 Supreme Court Justices during his entire presidency when others would resign

42. Conservatives Critical of New Deal • Conservatives claimed it went too far in regulating businesses and restricting individual freedom • Some liberals thought it did not go far enough in helping the poor

43. Life During The Great Depression

44. Vocabulary

45. The Changing Family • Couples delaying marriage • Drop in divorce rates • Could not afford to pay legal fees and support two separate living situations • Drop in birth rates • Dramatic loss in overall family incomes • Some families would pull together to survive, others would fall apart from the added stress • Families tried to survive on their own with the help of family and friends • Turning to government for support was the last resort

46. Men • Many men out of work • Had to rely on women, sometimes children to bring an income to the home • Some had loss of self-respect, stopped looking for work • Some walked out on their families due to not being able to support them and fill role of breadwinner • Survey conducted in 1940 revealed 1.5 million had been abandoned by their husbands during this time period

47. Women • Some felt their role was enhanced • No choice but to work • Went against historic opposition of white married women staying home to work • Women worked during WW1, but expected to give up job when men returned home to fill those positions • Af. American women found it especially easy to go to work, • Easy for Af. American women to find work than it was for Af. American men • Filled positions as servants, housekeepers, clerks, textile workers • Gave these women a stronger role in their own households

48. African Americans • New Deal programs did very little to improve life for Af. Americans • Many lost their jobs when vets returned home from war and when layoffs first began • To gain support in the south, FDR/Congress targeted the white male population with New Deal programs • Af. American males either shut out completely, or would have a separate and lower paying job

49. Mexican Immigrants • In southwest filling positions as migrant workers, people who travel from farm to farm picking crops • During good times, farm owners welcomed them • Work for low wages, harsh working conditions • White migrant workers flooding southwest looking for work • Job shortage led to illegal deportation of 400,000 Mexican Americans to make more jobs and government relief available for whites • Many that were deported were citizens

50. Indian New Deal • Law passed in 1924 granted American citizenship to Native Americans • 170,000 lived in poverty on reservations during Depression • John Collier, became Commissioner of Indian Affairs • Worked on the Indian New Deal • Hired Native Americans to build schools, hospitals and irrigation systems • Wanted to put control of reservations under Indian control, stop sale of Native American lands, encourage Indian schools to teach Native American history