The Great Depression: In the US and in SC

8-6.4

8-6.4

Explain the effects of the Great Depression and the lasting impact of the New Deal on the people in programs in SC, including James F. Byrnes and Mary

McLeod Bethune, the Rural Electrification Act, the general textile

strike of 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Commission, the Social Security Act, and the Santee

Cooper electricity project

Prior to the Great Depression

• After World War I, the American economy boomed:– there were many jobs– low unemployment– the stock market was soaring– People were making money and

were content

Leading to the Great Depression

• People bought items on credit, investors used credit in the stock market, and there was an uneven distribution of wealth

• War debts and tariffs from WWI made it hard for foreign markets to buy American goods

• Banks failed, and cotton prices dropped lower than ever before

• South Carolina had been in a depression many years before the stock market crash of 29’

Review: Things Begin to Go Bad

• Due to overproduction of crops and the Boll Weevil; cotton production and prices dropped.

• Farmers lost their farms • Due to overproduction of products;

factories started closing and workers started getting laid off

• Banks, farmers, and factories close and go bankrupt

The End of the Good Times

• Most Americans believed the good times would last for a long time

• However, on October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed

• Stock prices collapsed, and billions of dollars were lost in just a few months

• Many businesses and individuals were ruined

Great Depression was NOT caused by the Stock Market Crash

• Stock Market crash is recognized as the beginning of the Great Depression nationally.

BLACK TUESDAY HEADLINE

BLACK TUESDAY HEADLINE

The End of the Good Times

• October 29, 1929 is forever remembered as “BLACK TUESDAY”***

• “Black Tuesday” started a long period of economic problems called the “Great Depression”****

• The Great Depression lasted for more than 10 years, putting millions of people out of work

Black Tuesday

*THE GREAT DEPRESSION*

• Unemployment reached 25 percent• Banks closed• Businesses failed (26,000 in 1930

alone)• Marriage & Birth rates dropped

dramatically (can’t afford a family). • Men wandered from place to place

looking for work or handouts• Churches & charities can’t keep up with

the need for food, clothing, & shelter

The Great Depression – Lost Jobs

The Great Depression – Soup Lines

The Great Depression – Soup Lines

The Great Depression – Unemployed Workers

The Great Depression Hits SC

• 1918 - Crop prices in SC were worth $446 million.

• 1929 (Year the Depression struck) – crop prices fell to $156 million.

• 1932 (One of the worst years of the Depression) – fell to $63 million!

• A quarter of the people in SC were unemployed

• Mill workers made only ten cents an hour, if they even had a job!

After the Crash in South Carolina

• More banks failed• Textile Mills closed• Farmers lost land to foreclosure• A railroad company went bankrupt • People had no money to spend in

local stores People looked to their government for

help!

President Hoover’s Problems

• President Hoover did not believe that the government should support people.

• He thought help should come from private charities and churches, not the government.

• Hoover really doesn’t get how bad things are in the country.

Will someone replace him?

• Hoovervilles popular name for shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after the President of the United States at the time, Herbert Hoover, because he allegedly let the nation slide into depression.

President Hoover’s Problems• In 1932, Hoover has a challenger for

the presidency.• This challenger is Franklin D. Roosevelt

of New York, a Democrat and cousin of Theodore Roosevelt.

• In the Election of 1932, FDR rolls over Hoover and becomes president, promising “a new deal for the American people.”

• By the time he is inaugurated in March of 1933, conditions are even worse

FDR (President 1933-1945)

FDR & James F. Byrnes• Roosevelt sought advice from South

Carolinians, most notably James F. Byrnes and Mary McLeod Bethune– James F. Byrnes

• Elected to the US Senate in 1930 where he helped FDR to pass the New Deal through Congress and served as an important domestic policy adviser

• SC’s Senator until 1941 when he accepted an appointment to the Supreme Court (later served as the head of the Office of War Mobilization, Secretary of State, and the Governor of SC)

U.S. Senator James F. Byrnes

FDR & Mary McLeod Bethune– Mary McLeod Bethune

• African American educator and civil rights leader who founded a college and organized the National Council of Negro Women

• Served as Director of Negro Affairs for the National Youth Administration and was an influential member of the unofficial “Black Cabinet” (a group of African American leaders who consulted President Roosevelt)

Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Used radio to talk to people about issues – Fireside Chats to reassure the people– “Nothing to fear but fear itself”

• His aggressive programs’ intent =1.) Relief 2.) Recovery 1st 100 days in office 3.) Reform

FDR and The New Deal

• FDR believes the government should do all it can to help out the people and fight The Great Depression.

• In the first 100 days of his term, many new programs are created, forming what is

called **THE NEW DEAL**• The new agencies created by President

Roosevelt are also known as the “Alphabet Agencies.”

• Not created specifically for SC, but certain programs had significant and long-term impacts on the people of SC

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)• Put unemployed young men to work in

the countries public parks (i.e. plant trees, improve parks)

• The CCC was a work program for unemployed men aged 18-25. – Received housing, food and $30 per month– Took academic classes that helped them in

the workforce• Sent most of their pay home to

struggling families & boost $ into the economy

• 50,000+ South Carolinians employed in reforestation & soil conservation projects – Build state parks @ Hunting Island,

Paris Mt., Poinsett & Myrtle Beach State Parks

• Racially Segregated

Works Progress Administration (WPA) • Created to provide jobs

for unemployed • Provided jobs in SC so

youth can continue their education

• SC artists were paid to paint murals

• SC writers were paid to produce plays and record interviews with former slaves to preserve historical record of SC African Americans

• Built: – Schools– Highways– Airports– Bridges– Playgrounds – Hospitals

Public Works Administration (PWA)

• Gave money to state and local governments to build schools, libraries, courthouses and U.S. Navy aircraft carriers

• Built many public buildings, including the Wade Hampton State Office Building, the Carolina Stadium, libraries, court houses, etc.

WPA & PWA Job Creation Programs• Engaged in building projects that not only put

people to work, but also provided lasting improvements for the community

• African Americans did not receive their fair share of New Deal assistance and continued to be discriminated against in hiring by these programs

• Job creation programs put some people to work, alleviated their despair and economic hardship as well as pumped money into the economy; HOWEVER, the New Deal did not result in economic recovery

Social Security Act (SSA) • Designed to:

1.) Prevent future depressions2.) Provide Protection for:

- Elderly- Orphaned- Disabled - Unemployed

• System provided pensions for elderly = Important to SC because it did not offer such an insurance program – Cost was shared by workers and their employers

• Social Security was also the basic social welfare legislation in the US– Set the precedent for future aid to

people in need• Because of this, Social Security has come

under criticism

– However, the poverty rate for the elderly declined significantly as a result of SS

• Social Security has had a profound impact on Americans of all ages

Social Security Act (SSA)

Santee Cooper Electric Project • Largest New Deal Project in South Carolina

– Promoted by SC Senator and New Deal supporter James F. Byrnes

• Built dams on Santee & Cooper Rivers - created Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie

• Hydroelectric dams produced power that would light the region

• Provided jobs to those who built it and to others in industries made possible by the power the project provided

• Improved living conditions for many SCers

Rural Electrification Act (REA)• Brought power to many of the farms and rural

regions of SC • Created power cooperatives – citizens able to get

government loans & work together to provide electricity to less populated areas where commercial power companies would not string power lines

• By 1940, 25% of farms had electricity• Although dispossessed land owners were offered

meager compensation, other farmers were able to install milking machines and water pumps that made farming more profitable

How the “Alphabet Agencies” affected South Carolina

• WPA = Helped to build Greenville High School.

• CCC = Constructed Camp Greenville and Lake Murray, as well as 13 other state parks, including Paris Mountain State Park.

• REA = Helped provide electricity to the rural parts of South Carolina.

How the “Alphabet Agencies” affected South Carolina

• Under the New Deal, the U.S. government provided SC with enough money to build the Santee Cooper Dam which became known as the Santee-Cooper Project.

• The dam helped provide cheap electricity to SC, where 93 percent of the state was without power when the Depression struck.

• It took 27 months and 12,500 workers to build the dam

• The building of the dam helped SC recover from the Great Depression.

• Much credit goes to Sen. James F. Byrnes, who convinced FDR to provide the needed money

The National Recovery Act• Other programs were designed to address

the problems of overproduction and declining prices for farmers and industry– The National Recovery Act set up codes

for industries that would regulate prices for consumers and hours and wages for workers• However, the code for the textile mills did not

affect the “speed up” and the “stretch out” that mill owners used to get more productivity out of their workers or provide a 40 hour work week

• Strike in 1934– Result of workers dissatisfaction with wages and

working conditions, workers of SC joined a labor union and called for a general strike

– Affected mills all along the eastern seaboard– Soon violence broke out between union members

and strike breakers (scabs)• In SC, deputies fired on the crowd in Honea Path,

killing seven workers and injuring others– President Roosevelt urged the workers to end the

strike and allow arbitration to find a settlement• Strikers agreed, but many SC mill owners did not,

keeping their mills closed even when the workers were ready to return to work

– Strike led to the collapse of the union in SC

• The New Deal later passed laws that established a minimum wage and maximum hours for industrial workers– Recognized their right to form a union

and bargain collectively

• In SC, the general textile strike intensified anti-union sentiment which continues to this day

FDR and The New Deal• FDR’s New Deal programs were very

popular as they helped ease the pain of the Great Depression by putting people to work

• Roosevelt is overwhelmingly re-elected in 1936

• Although the New Deal had a lasting impact on the US and SC, it did not end the Great Depression– The depression ended when the United

States became involved in helping the Allies fight Hitler’s Germany in WWII