Effects and Influences of the Depression and World War II on Georgia

SS8H8 The Student will analyze the important events that occurred after WWI and their impact on Georgia. Strands a, b, c, and dSS8H9 The student will describe the impact of WWII on GAs development economically, socially, and politically.Strands a, b, c, and d

Effects and Influences of the Great Depression and World War II on Georgia Boom of the roaring 20sNew inventions and buying on credit and margin makes life a little easier and more convenient in the 1920sNew convenient foods were now being frozen and packagedMany things were now delivered to you, milk, butter, ice for the new ice box, even your doctor made house callsElectricity becomes readily available, as well as electric appliances, including the radio which becomes very popularGas ranges replaced coal and wood stoves so cooking becomes easier and quickerThe assembly line becomes a popular method for manufacturing

Roaring 20sRadioFords Assembly-lineCharles Lindbergh and The Spirit of St. LewisMay 31, 1927

Georgias economic problems of the 1920sWhile the rest of the country was enjoying the boom of the 1920s Georgia was suffering from a depression due to many factors:Boll weevil- small long-snouted beetle that destroys cotton, (this was the primary cash crop for most Georgians)Major Drought in 1924- ruins most of Georgias other cropsBanks fail and lose money- since many farmers could not pay back loans due to their crop losses, many banks and farm-related businesses closeBoll Weevil

Causes of the Great DepressionBehind most of the causes are the overindulgences of the 1920sPeople borrowed more money than they could afford to repayBanks and businesses then did not get repaidFactories and farmers overproduced and sales slowed due to excess suppliesCauses ContinuedCrop prices declined due to overproductionSurplus supplies caused new production to slow down which then lead companies to lay off workers (unemployment rises to 25%) High tariffs prevent international trading to grow, other countries had trouble repaying WWI debts Huge losses from stock market speculation and the crash of the market (Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929)

Widespread Unemployment of the Great Depression

Bank CollapsesBanks closed for many reasons:Losses from lack of loan repaymentBad investments in the stock market by bank executivesToo many depositors wanting their $ cashed out at the same time (called a run on the bank)Millions still lost their savings

The Great DepressionCausesFactories over produced and could not sell the inventoryBusinesses lost money and laid off workersFarmers also overproduced = surplus crops and prices fell then farmers could not repay debtsHigh tariffs left foreign countries unable to sell to the US which prevented them from making $ to pay off war debtStock market speculation by people and banks that purchased stocks on marginPeople borrowed more $ than they could repayLaissez- faireThe economy would work itself outRun on the banks- everyone tried to withdraw their $Market Crashes- people find out stocks are not worth what they are selling forNew DealPrograms created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to focus on the three Rs , Relieve the suffering of unemployment; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; and Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression Passed by Congress in the early days of Roosevelts presidencyFirst move was to close all banks and only reopen those that were found sound after an investigation (Emergency Banking Act)

New Deal Cont.There were so many agencies that his administration became known as government by alphabet; see the slides below on CCC, AAA, REA, and Social SecurityMany of the programs were later declared unconstitutionalUltimately did not end the depression or end unemployment

Civilian Conservation Corps.Most popular New Deal programProvided jobs for young single men 18-25Focused on Conservation and development projects like building trails and roads in parks, planting trees to reforest and control flooding, update forest fire fighting methods, and built a network of public roadways in remote areasGA projects included Kennesaw National Battlefield, Tybee Islands seawall, Macons and St. Simons airports, and facilities at FDR Park in Pine Mt.Built by the CCC, Pine Mountain, GA; FDR state park

Agricultural Adjustment ActCreated to stabilize crop pricesGave government money grants (subsidies) to farmer in exchange for letting their fields go unplantedHurt tenant farmers who did not own the land but worked it for the owners (no crop = no income)(May 28) Appearing before the House Agricultural Committee today, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace flatly endorsed the proposed Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1937

Roosevelt and Rural Electrification Act REA loaned money to farmers cooperatives to help them afford to extend power lines and buy wholesale powerThis allowed farmers to now use electric farm equipment (i.e. water pumps, milking machines, lights, and appliances)Idea born from Roosevelts stay in Warm Springs, GA. His electric bill for the cottage was more than that of his NY mansion.

Chickamauga Dam and powerhouse. One of the headquarters buildings of farmers' cooperatives which distribute Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power.

Social SecurityCreated in 1935System of retirement and unemployment insurance (payments)Designed to help relieve the suffering of the poor and unemployedOriginally most women and minorities were excluded from benefitsToday it serves as a social insurance assistance program for retirement, disability, survivorship, death, and social welfare programs

Who was Eugene Talmadge

Became Governor in 1933, was very popular with farmers and served two termsConservative, white supremacist that had the support of the rural votersRejected many of the New Deal programs, used the funding for roads rather than to help unemployedDid not like federal government intervention in state affairsOpposed government debtReduced property taxes, utility rates, and some license fees

Shifting World PowersIncreasing tension in Europe from the worlds economic depression and the rise of dictator power creates an unstable and volatile situationAdolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, Emperor Hirohito in Japan, and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union were all trying to expand their power and territoryGermany invaded the Rhineland, Czechoslovakia and Poland; Italy invaded the African nations of Ethiopia and then Albania; Japan seized coastal areas of China; the Soviet Union took Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and invaded Finland Hitler and Stalin signed a nonaggression pact in 1939Finally, England and France stopped their appeasement and in September of 1939 they declared war and mobilized troopsU.S. Enters the Global War The United States tries to stay out of the war overseas with a policy of isolationismCongress passed neutrality actsAllowed the president to sell weapons to any warring nationLend-Lease Act- in 1941 when the Allied Powers ran out of cash Congress authorized the president to lend or lease arms to them (included lend-lease aid to the Soviets too)Roosevelt provided escorts for shipments and built bases in Greenland and Iceland to make sure supplies got through, (this also helped the U.S. keep track of German submarines)Pearl Harbor: A Day that Will Live in Infamy President Roosevelt I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant.Japan was unhappy that the U.S. stopped exporting to them metals, airplanes, aircraft parts, and gasoline/oilJapan had already invaded Indonesia to capture badly needed oilIt was a quiet Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 when the Japanese planes filled the skies over Pearl Harbor, HawaiiIn only two hours of bombing all 8 battleships that were stationed there were destroyed or badly damaged, 2,402 people were killed, over 1,282 were wounded, and 188 planes destroyedOn December 8, 1941, Congress declared war on Japan and we entered WWII Public support of isolationism ended

USS Arizona, Photo from the National ArchivesGeorgians help with the war effortMilitary basesAircraft and ShipsGeorgias economy takes off during the war due to the needs and support necessary to sustain the military basesGeorgias politicians influence the location of these bases in their home stateFt. Benning in Columbus; Camp Gordon in Augusta; Ft. Stewart in Savannah; Warner Robins near Macon; Glynco Naval Air station near Brunswick; Ft. McPherson and Ft. Gillem in Atlanta

In Marietta, the B-29 bombers were produced by Bell Aircraft Company, by the end of the war they had built 668 planes and employed over 28,000In the port shipyards of Brunswick and Savannah Liberty ships were built and assembled, 99 in Brunswick and 88 in SavannahThe shipyards employed more than 30,000 Georgians, many of whom were women

B-29 BomberLiberty ShipyardWith the men at war,women went into theworkplaceRichard Russells Washington influenceRichard Brevard Russell, Jr. November 2, 1897 January 21, 1971Senator from GA 1933 until his death in 1971, where he was on many important and influential Senate committeesPrior to this he served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, as Governor from 1931-1933, and in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1921-1931He was the driving force that help create military bases in GAHe favored strong military preparedness and states rightsAdvised 6 presidents, and at one point was third in line for the presidency as president pro tempore of the Senate

Carl Vinson- Father of two-ocean NavyHe served 25 consecutive 2 yr. terms representing GA in the U.S. House of Representatives (1914-1965)He was the chairman of the House Naval Affairs/Armed Services committee and therefore he influenced legislation for a strong national defenseHelp promoted the countries military readiness prior to the war, which resulted in increasing naval aviation to 10,000 planes and 20 new basesHelped loosen labor restrictions which fostered ship productionReceived the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and has an aircraft carrier named for him.

What was the HolocaustThe systematic state sponsored murder of between eleven to seventeen million people by the Nazis during WWIIThis genocide included the deaths of many of the Jews of Europe, gypsies, Soviet prisoners, homosexuals, people with disabilities, and other political and religious opponents

Auschwitz concentration camp, arrival of Hungarian Jews, Summer 1944,Deutsches Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive)President Roosevelts ties to GAFranklin D. Roosevelt frequented Warm Springs, to help relieve the discomfort in his legs from polio He had arrived at the end of March 1945 to rest, however on April 12th, he complained of a bad headache and later died of a massive strokeAn entire nation mourned the loss

FDRs the Little White House, Warm Springs, GAReview:Georgia is in a depression before the rest of the countryThe world falls into a Great DepressionRoosevelt tries to help the unemployed with his New DealWar envelopes the world once again with WWII and the U.S. is drawn in when Japan bombs Pearl HarborBecause industry and manufacturing had boomed during WWII, by the end of the 1940s, more Georgians would be engaged in manufacturing than in agriculture for the first time in the states history.