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| The U.S. had had three depression leading up to 1929. The Depression shocked the prosperity of the 1920's. Although this depression had affect on all aspects of life. |
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| Beginning of the Depression |
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| In 1929 the stock market crashed and GE stock went from 396 per share in 1929 to 34 per share in 1932. Medium income was cut in half and the country had 25% unemployment. Now only 2% of the population had stock and the prosperity of the 1920's was not for everyone. Farmers and textile workers were left out. The top percent of the people were making a majority of the money. The banking system was very unstable. The depression was also a worldwide depression, and the government policies were very poor. |
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| Hoover and the Depression |
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Definition
| At first President Hoover did not worry about the crash. After a while he established prices for farmers and tried to do some financial relief. Farm foreclosures became very common. He tried a lot of different things like talking to people, tax cuts, and a radio show. |
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| The stock market was declining all the time in the early 1930's. Many factories and banks closed, along with wage cuts. In some areas unemployment reached 40% and people started to hoard money and gold. For most people it was a personal struggle in particular the poor, who had no relief and many blamed themselves for their problems. Hoover created the Reconstruction Finance Cooperation, a thing that provided loans to businesses and banks. For the most part he was ineffective and started trying too late. |
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| Veterans lost their jobs and wanted to collect the pension they deserved from fighting in the war. 17,000 veterans marched to Washington D.C. in 1932. |
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| From 1933 to 1935 he wanted relief for the poor and unemployed. Created massive spending to put people back to work. He believed in government spending to help the poor. In 1932 he won the election easily. He had been governor of New York and tried many reforms; like unemployment benefits, and old age benefits. Roosevelt was a good communicator. Uses "Fireside Chats" which were radio messages to get his message across. Roosevelt would surround himself with advisors. Eleanor Roosevelt promoted social reform. Roosevelt learned from his advisors but didn't let them dominate him. Roosevelt believes the government must take direct action. |
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Congress was willing to cooperate with Roosevelt. This was one of the most innovative periods in U.S. history. Addressed four areas right away:
1. Banks- 4 day bank holiday. Passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act, which gave the president more power to control banks. FDIC was passed at 5,000 dollars. All of this helped banks a lot.
2. Government spending- 15% reduction in government salaries and cut veteran's benefits.
3. Alcohol- Passed the 21st amendment in 1933 which ended prohibition.
4. Gold Standard- Took the U.S. off the gold standard. |
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| In 1933 1.5 million people are homeless. Created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which gave 300 million dollars in grants to cities and states. Also created the Civil Works Administration (CWA) to put 4 million people to work on state and federal projects like roads, schools, and airports. In 1934 they closed the CWA because it was too expensive. |
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| In 1933 farmers in the Midwest were talking about rebellion. The AAA was created to control production of commodities. Started to pay farmers to produce less. This upset a lot of people because the first action was to plow up fields and kill pigs. This was big help to farmers, more than small farmers, and overall production did not go down. This act was later ruled unconstitutional. |
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| National Industry Recovery Act was passed to set prices for industries. People tried to rally around the National Recovery Administration (NRA). Overall mixed results as this was bad for labor and small business. This also was declared unconstitutional in 1935. |
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| The CCC was work relief with the preservation of natural resources. Work on projects like reforestation, roads, park construction, and flood control. Had mostly young men who made 30 dollars a month. Was run like the military. This was one of the most successful and least controversial programs. TVA was set up to build and run power plants along the Tennessee River. Built 9 major dams and private utility companies were very upset. TVA was very successful in changing the lives of many residents. Many people were afraid that this type of program could lead to socialism. |
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| 100 days helped and industry was up 11%, but the country was still in a deep depression. 12 million people were without jobs. Most people were pleased with Roosevelt. Businessmen thought it was too close to socialism. Congressional election year saw the Democrats gain more power. In 1934-1935 communism was on the rise in the U.S. Many people feel that capitalism had failed. Many people also hate Jews for the depression and anti-Semitism reached an all-time high. |
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| In 1935 more programs were started that dealt with social reform and social justice. Started not working with businesses as much as he had in the past. |
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| In 1935 the WPA would be the first attempt to deal with massive unemployment. 3 million people a year employed building bridges, airport, libraries, roads, and golf courses. Employed both men and women. A lot of criticism of the program like lazy, slow, and little done. In the long term they built 6,000 schools, 2,500 hospitals, and 13,000 playgrounds. Also in 1935 the Social Security Act was passed for old age and survivor benefits. Placed a 1% tax on employers and employees. This was eventually became the largest federal welfare program. A lot of criticism, but it was one of the few lasting measures of the depression. |
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| The Resettlement Administration bought land for farmers to farm, but there was little success. The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) brought electricity to rural areas. In 1936 only 10% of farms had electricity, and this changed the way people lived, by bringing running water and electricity. |
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| In 1930 the Midwest saw record heat and drought. This created the dust bowl on May 11th 1934. 300 million tons of topsoil was removed during the day and night. 10,000 farms were abandoned; 9 million acres turned to wasteland. 350,000 people left Oklahoma. Much of the disaster were brought on by the people from over farming, overgrazing, and had little planning. |
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| Controlling Wealthy People |
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Definition
| In 1935 the government restricted the power of utility companies. Government said you had to improve the efficiency of a company otherwise the government would pull the plug on business. There was also a call for more taxes in the wealthy, which would be passed upsetting many big business men. |
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| The government saw a need for organized labor to counteract big business. Passed the Labor Relations Act, which gave the federal government the capacity to mediate strikes. Unions increased in size during the New Deal. The Committee of Industrial Organization (CIO) was formed and was a huge union with a lot of success. Sit down strikes were their most effective method. There was violence in 1937 on Memorial Day in Chicago when 10 strikers were shot by police. |
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| Blacks joined unions but were still very discriminated against, and lynching was on the rise. The 1930's saw more blacks migrating North, because the unemployment for blacks was triple what it was for whites. Most New Deal programs segregated or rejected blacks, but Roosevelt refused to refused to endorse legislation for civil rights. Although he did try to get them jobs. Eleanor Roosevelt was the biggest supporter for black rights. Mexicans who were encouraged to come in the 1920's were now being rejected and encouraged to go back. In 1932 200,000 were shipped back, but some were U.S. citizens. Mexicans that stayed had to fight hard for civil rights and jobs. Native Americans in 1924 are granted citizenship, but few benefited from it. Police had very mixed feelings about them. |
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| Women and the Last Years of the New Deal |
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| Women gained higher positions in the government. Feminism declined in the 1930's. Married women saw it as their right to support their families. Women had the image of housewife and mother. In 1936 it was the high point of Roosevelt's New Deal. Legislation started to decline and there was more opposition in Congress. |
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| Republican candidate was Alfred Landon, the governor of Kansas. He attacked the New Deal as too expensive and wasteful. He promised to do the same things, but only cheaper. Roosevelt won easily. Laborers, farmers, and blacks were huge supporters. He won all but two states. Roosevelt saw this as a mandate to continue the New Deal. |
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| Supreme Court Battle to the Death |
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| Roosevelt's first action was to reform the Supreme Court. He wanted to appoint one new judge for everyone over the age of 70. This was referred to as Court Packing. He wanted to do this because the Supreme Court was attacking his New Deal. This measure was easily defeated and upset many. Saw Roosevelt as a dictator who was going against the separation of powers. He lost the battle, but won the war, because many of the Court started too vote in favor of the New Deal. |
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| Last Stages of the New Deal |
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| The AAA was passed in 1935 and the U.S. was trying to deal with the surplus of food. This program had little success and the problem won't really be fixed until WWII. PWA would build low cost housing but never met the need of decent housing for people. This group helped middle class people with loans save their homes and helped get fixed long-term mortgage rates. The Fair-Labor Standards Act set a minimum wage at .25 cents and hour with it raised to .40 cents in two years. It also prohibited anyone the age of 16 to work. |
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| People didn't give up their cars, and travel increased during the depression. Motels developed for the first time. Four out of five people traveled by cars. Tourism became the nations 3rd largest industry. This was the era of the electric appliances like the refrigerator. Also saw appliances more streamline, and often these were seen as a sign of progress and status. The electric washer and iron changed people's workday. Also saw more convenience foods during this time. |
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| Spectator sports became very popular. Also things like softball, mini golf, jukeboxes, pinball, and contact bridge became popular. The game Monopoly became popular and was very reflective of the time period. 1935-1938 were the era of Shirley Temple dolls, dishes, books, and clothing. In 1934 the Dionnne Quintuplets were born in Canada and 3 million people traveled to their home to see them. They endorsed everything. |
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| John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Tortilla Flat," which both dealt with the times and questioned the American Ideal. William Faulkner wrote "Sound and Fury" and "As I Lay Dying," which were more optimistic about life. Margot Mitchell wrote "Gone with the Wind," which showed that people are ready to escape. |
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| In 1929 10 million households had radios by 1939 27.5 million homes had radios. Radios were the source of music and news. The radio was the focal point of the living room, because of shows like Jack Benny, Lone Ranger, and soap operas. Radios became a social place for families to gather together. Radio had a tremendous influence on America. On October 13th 1938 Orson Welles broadcasted the War of the Worlds. Thousands of people thought that the United States was under attack and that Martians landed in New Jersey.60-90 million people went to movies every week. Talking films had a huge impact on attendance. For many people movie money was as important as food money. .25 cents got you four movies a week; movie, short subject, cartoon, and a newsreel. Often movies were in a series. Saw stars like Gretta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Walt Disney. |
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