GREAT DEPRESSIONUnit 8.4

CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Farm Problems Foreclosures Over supply

Credit Problems Installment plans Buying on Margin

Wealth Distribution Stock Market “paper

wealth”

International Crisis Dawes Plan International trade

decreasing

Isolationism Government Policies

Hawley-Smoot Tariff Less Regulation

Business problems Overproduction

BLACK TUESDAY

October 29th 1929 Why would it make a

difference if less than 3% actually owned stock?

WHAT IS HOOVER GOING TO DO?

Overall he believed that government should not be involved, but actually did more than any other President before him.

RFC – Reconstruction Finance Corporation Loans to banks (not

individuals) Cuts in other gov’t

programs to keep balanced budget

Volunteerism – businesses were asked to help out on their own. (Volunteer

Cooperation) Why would

businesses not do this?

BLAME IT ON HOOVER

Hoovervilles Hoover Flags

Bonus (army) March 1932, veterans of

WWI wanted their (1945) pension (bonus) early.

Hoover ordered the current army to their camp

What did FDR say when he heard about it?

DUST BOWL

Both a climate and environmental calamity.

Dust Bowl and “Okies” shown in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath Thousands of transient people roaming

around looking for work

EFFECTS ON WOMEN AND MINORITIES 1st to lose jobs

Backlash against Mexican Americans 50% of blacks unemployed Spread belief women shouldn’t work (but many

work p-t to help family)

Scottsboro Case (1931) Alabama, 8 black men accused of rape (later

overturned by Supreme Court, but shows continued race divide)

RURAL – URBAN DIFFERENCES

Hit urban areas harder as many in rural areas were already poor Rural areas – food wasn’t as much of a

problem Urban: Bread Lines & Soup

Kitchens

ENTERTAINMENT AS AN ESCAPE

Movies 1930s were Golden Age of

Hollywood. 1939 – Wizard of Oz,

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, & Gone with the Wind

Walt Disney – Snow White (1937)

Radio Orson Wells – War of the

Worlds (1938) Soap Operas Other Radio shows such as

The Lone Ranger NBC – largest broadcaster FDR would use it with his

Fireside Chats

LITERATURE

Magazines such as Life portrayed the Depression in pictures.

Saturday Evening Post Emergence of Comic books Richard Wright’s Native Son exposed urban

ghettos

HOOVER (BOULDER) DAM

Construction between 1931 and 1936 Started with Hoover as President

Large numbers of workers Las Vegas would boom

1932 ELECTION – MR. ROOSEVELT’S GONNA SAVE US ALL

Critical Election as Democrats took both houses and the executive branch from Republicans (Party Realignment)

What is a “Critical Election?”

Landslide in Electoral College – FDR 57% of popular vote

Between Election (Nov) and Inauguration (Mar), the economy would get much worse, but FDR would not do anything to help Hoover. (20th Amendment later)

LINKS

http://www.kennesaw.edu/pols/3380/pres/1932.html - FDR inaugural address

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl_J4J2mQpQ – War of Worlds pt. 1

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug99/vizzuso/wpaproject.html - art in Depression

http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/category/films-of-the-great-depression/ - movies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTC_pZj49yI&feature=relmfu – review of causes of GD

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

How much is Hoover truly to blame for the Great Depression?

How was the depression different for those in the cities compared to those in the countryside?

What happened in the 1930s in regards to the arts and literature?

What factors did FDR have in his favor in the 1932 election?