The Great Depression

Chapters 22 & 23

ECONOMIC DANGER SIGNS

1 Uneven Prosperity: rich got richer2 Buying on credit: increase in personal debt

& installment plans3 Stock Market: speculation, playing the

market, buying on margin4 Overproduction: especially cars, Americans

are buying less5 Farmers in trouble: demand down, prices

down, suffered the most6 Workers in trouble

Click in graph for video

STOCK MARKET CRASH• 1st major event of the

Great Depression• Oct. 29, 1929 Black

Tuesday• Many people not

immediately affected if wealth didn’t depend on the stock market

CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

• 1. Overspeculation: take a large risk in the hope of selling big

• 2. Government Policies: tariffs & war debt policies cut down on forcing markets for American goods

• 3. Unstable/Uneven Economy: national wealth unevenly distributed

• 4. Crisis in farm sector• 5. Availability of easy credit

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

• 1929-1940

• Longest, most severe economic depression in US History

• Banks closed: people wanted money, banks didn’t have it because of investments

• Global impact because economies were interdependent

DEPRESSION IN CITIES

• People lost jobs, evicted from homes

• Shantytowns, soup kitchens, bread lines

• African Americans/Latinos have higher unemployment, lower pay

Bread Lines

DEPRESSION IN RURAL AREAS

• DUST BOWL• Environmental

condition in Great Plains in 1930s

• Depression Video• Many migrated to

Pacific states from area from North Dakota to Texas

• Dust Bowl Video

DEPRESSION ON THE FAMILY

• Increase in discrimination against minority groups & women: fired to give jobs to men

• Farmers couldn’t pay mortgages, many lost farms

• No federal govt. help

• Teenagers leave home to find jobs

• Suicide rate up, state mental hospital admission up

• Leads to habit of savings

• People tried to keep sense of humor

HOOVER STRUGGLES

• Herbert Hoover elected pres. In 1928

• “key to recovery is confidence”

• Blamed for depression: not his fault

• Thought direct federal relief would hurt people’s self respect & create large bureaucracy: TRUE!!

BONUS ARMY

• Unemployed WWI vets & families marched into Washington wanting pensions paid now

• Hoover sent in army: used force, tear gas

• Hurt Hoover, looked bad

NEW DEAL1933-1938

• 1932 Presidential Election

• Winner: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dem): use govt. to get out of Depression

• 20th Amendment: changed Inauguration date to Jan. 20th

FDR’s PROGRAM

1. Relief: Help all Americans in need

2. Recovery: Spur the economy out of the Depression

3. Reform: Prevent another severe Depression

**pushed work relief rather than monetary relief

**Fireside chats: radio talks explaining the New Deal

Brain Trust: group of intellectuals who helped form the New Deal

BANK HOLIDAY

• All banks closed for 4 days

• Govt. inspected the financial health of banks

• Generated confidence in banks: people put money in banks made loans stimulates economy

FIRST HUNDRED DAYS

• 1st: get Americans to work

• Gives them money to spend which helps the economy

• Expanded federal government’s role in the economy

• 21st Amendment: Repealed Prohibition

NEW DEAL UNDER ATTACK

• People afraid fed. govt. & Pres. getting too powerful

• Sup. Ct. declared some programs unconstitutional

• Didn’t end Depression, less helpful to women & minorities

• Progressives: New Deal didn’t go far enough• Court Packing: FDR wanted to increase # of

Sup. Ct. justices to put own people in• Public upset with this!!!!

2ND NEW DEAL

• More social welfare benefits, stricter controls over business, stronger support for unions, higher taxes on rich

• Social Security• 1936 Presidential Election• Winner: FDR• 1st time most African Americans voted

Democratic, 1st time labor unions backed one candidate

NEW DEAL EFFECTS

• Women: still faced discrimination in work place• 1st woman in Cabinet: Frances Perkins, Sec. of

Labor• Eleanor Roosevelt: supporter of New Deal,

“eyes & ears” for FDR• African Americans: “Black Cabinet” formed to

advise FDR on racial issues• FDR never fully committed to civil rights b/c

afraid of losing support from white Southern Dem.

NEW DEAL SUPPORTERS

• Women• African Americans• Mexican Americans• Native Americans• Labor unions

CULTURE IN 1930S

• Literature: Buck, Steinbeck, Mitchell

• Movies: seen as an escape

• Marx Brothers, Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Gone with the Wind

• Arts: supported unemployed artists, musicians, historians, theater people & writers

LASTING NEW DEAL ACHIEVEMENTS/EFFECTS

1. Public works: bridges, dams, roads, buildings2. Federal agencies: TVA, SEC, FDIC3. Social Security4. Legacy of hope5. Changed relationship between workers/employers6. Labor stronger in politics7. Creation of welfare state: fed. govt. takes care of

people8. Increased power of fed. govt.9. Shift in power from Congress to President