SSUSH17 The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.

Great Depression

•The Great Depression was the greatest economic crisis in U.S. history.

a. Describe the causes, including overproduction, under-consumption, and stock market speculation that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. Farmers Overproduce:-The wide spread switch from horse-

drawn to mechanized farm equipment allowed farmers to increase their production of crops

-Instead of making more money though, overproduction led to major price reductions, causing farmers to lose money and the inability to pay back farm loans

-The result of farmers failing to pay back loans led many small towns banks to fail, creating a strain on other banks

Under-consumption

• Though more efficient machinery in factories and on farms led to overproduction, few consumers had the money to purchase these goods

• The average consumer had very little buying power

• Under-consumption led to lower prices which resulted in the loss of money for farmers and manufacturers

What happens to factory workers if

the product they produce isn’t being

purchased?

Causes of the Great Depression

Stock Market Speculation• In the late 1920s many Americans began to invest heavily in the

stock market

• Stocks give the owner the ability to share in the profits, if a company does well, or suffer losses, if a company does poorly

Speculators were those who tried to make quick money on the stock market: -Many speculators bought stock on margin -Buying on margin means that speculators borrowed money to buy stocks: this works if the stock price goes up, but is disastrous if the stock price falls -Many speculators of the 1920s borrowed 90% of the stock’s value (If a stock cost $100, you would borrow $90. If the stock price began to fall, you would then have to pay back the money you borrowed-which many speculators didn’t have!)

b. Explain the impact of the drought in the creation of the Dust Bowl.

• When farmers were unable to pay back their loans, many stopped planting crops.

• In 1932 a drought hit the Great Plains, turning much of the top soil into dust-with the lack of rain and crops, wind blew the dried soil for hundreds of miles.

c. Explain the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles.

• As more workers lost their jobs, they were unable to pay their rent or mortgage and were evicted.

• This new class of homeless began to build shacks on the outskirts of cities called shantytowns, or Hoovervilles.

Why did people call

shantytowns

“Hoovervilles”?

SSUSH18 The student will describe Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal as a response to the depression and compare the ways governmental programs aided

those in need.

a. Describe the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority as a works program and as an effort to control the environment.

• In 1933 the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal to control floods and bring electricity to rural America

• The TVA generated over 40,000 jobs building dams, power plants, roads and miles of wiring

What do workers do with

the money they earn?

How could the TVA help

the economy?

b. Explain the Wagner Act and the rise of industrial unionism.

Formed in 1935, the Wagner Act:

-guaranteed workers the right to unionize

-allowed for collective bargaining

-allowed for binding arbitration

-formed the National Labor Relations Board to monitor labor issues

The Wagner Act gave workers more power through the right to form unions.

c. Explain the passage of the Social Security Act as a part of the second New Deal.

• After two years of New Deal programs, the American economy showed little sign of recovery.

• To try and speed up the recovery process, Roosevelt launched his second New Deal.

Social Security Act• Passed in 1935 the Social Security Act provided :

- retirement benefits

- unemployment insurance

- welfare payments to the needy

d. Identify Eleanor Roosevelt as a symbol of social progress and women’s activism.

• Eleanor Roosevelt spoke to many women and African American groups and relayed their plight to the President

• Though little progress in race relations was made, Eleanor helped promote minority and women’s rights

e. Identify the political challenges to Roosevelt’s domestic and international leadership; include the role of Huey Long, the “court packing bill,” and

the Neutrality Act.

• Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs had opponents including Huey Long, a Senator from Louisiana.

• Started “Share the Wealth” clubs believing that the government should take money from the rich and give it to the poor.

• Wanted to run for President.

• Was assassinated 1935.

Court Packing

• The Supreme Court had struck down several of Roosevelt’s programs declaring them unconstitutional.

• In an attempt to control the Supreme Court, Roosevelt sent Congress a bill which would allow him to increase the number of justices on the court.

• This would allow Roosevelt to appoint justices who were “friendly” towards his New Deal policies.

Court Packing

• After much protest by Congress and many Americans, the bill was killed in the Senate.

• Roosevelt over estimated his power.

Neutrality Act

• As not only the U.S., but the world struggled to emerge from the economic depression, military dictators in several countries began to gain power (Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia).

• Worried that the U.S. would be drawn into another European war, Congress passed the Neutrality Act which made it illegal for Americans to sell weapons to any country at war and that goods purchased from the U.S. had to be paid in cash and transported on non U.S. ships.

Why would Congress insiston goods being transported on non U.S. ships?

SSUSH19 The student will identify the origins, major developments, and the domestic impact of World War II, especially the growth of the federal government.

a. Explain A. Philip Randolph’s proposed march on Washington, D.C., and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response.

• In 1941, A Philip Randolph, an African American Union leader began organizing a large protest march on Washington D.C. over discriminatory hiring practices in national defense jobs.

• In response to the threatened march, Roosevelt issued an executive order declaring that the defense industry would not discriminate based on race, creed, color, or national origin.

A. Philip Randolph with Eleanor Roosevelt

b. Explain the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the internment of Japanese- Americans, German-Americans, and Italian-Americans.

• Japan, an island country was dependent on the U.S. for many natural resources: oil, steel, and iron.

• In 1940 the U.S. placed an embargo on Japan, refusing to sell the Japanese airplane fuel and other goods which could be used for war against the British who had colonies in the Pacific.

• Upset with the embargo, Japan became allies with Germany and Italy.

• After Japan invaded China, the U.S. reduced the amount of oil being shipped to Japan.

Pearl Harbor• In an attempt to cripple the U.S. Navy’s pacific fleet,

the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, sinking or damaging 21 ships and killing over 2,400 Americans.

• The U.S. declared war on Japan the following day.

Internment • In December 1941, Roosevelt issued an executive order

requiring enemy aliens (Germans, Italians, and Japanese) to register with the police.

• Shortly afterward the president lifted the order for Germans and Italians, but not for Japanese.

• The attack on Pearl Harbor made many Americans feel that the Japanese, including Japanese Americans were a threat.

• In response to this fear, Roosevelt issued another executive order creating the War Relocation Authority.

Internment

• Under the order, 90% of the Japanese Americans living in California were forced to sell all their possessions and relocate to camps in several western states.

• The internments were challenged in 1944 under Korematsu v. U.S. but was upheld by the Supreme Court.

c. Explain major events; include the lend-lease program, the Battle of Midway, D-Day, and the fall

of Berlin. Lend-Lease Program:•Great Britain had declared war against Germany in 1939.•Though many favored helping the British, the U.S. remained neutral under the Neutrality Act. •By 1940 France had been overrun by the German army and Britain had run out of money to fight the war.•Fearing that if the British lost, the U.S. would be the next target of the Axis Powers, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act.

• The lend-lease program allowed the U.S. to send weapons to Britain if Britain promised to pay rent or return them after the war.

Battle of Midway (June 1942) • The Japanese planned on invading Midway Island in order

to lure U.S. aircraft carriers into a trap, and destroy the remaining U.S. Pacific fleet.

• Unknown to the Japanese, the U.S. had broken their secret code, and knew of the impending attack.

• The U.S. Navy sank four Japanese carriers, and shot down 320 planes badly crippling the Japanese navy.

• This battle is consider the turning point in the war against Japan-after Midway, the U.S. goes on the offensive against Japan.

Battle of Midway

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

D-Day

• The Allies chose to attack the Germans in France on the coast of Normandy.

• 100,000 soldiers and 23,000 paratroopers participated in the attack.

The invasion of France

caught the Germans by

surprise. Looking at the

map, where do you think

the Germans thought the

invasion would land? Why?

D-Day

• Though the D-Day invasion caught the Germans by surprise, heavy American casualties occurred at Omaha Beach.

• The invasion was the turning point of the war in Europe: within two months the Allies had over a million troops in France.

Fall of Berlin

• As American, British and Russian armies began to close in on Berlin, Hitler, the leader of Germany, committed suicide

• Within a week the German army surrendered, ending the war in Europe (known as V-E Day)

d. Describe war mobilization, as indicated by rationing, war-time conversion, and the role of women in war industries.

War Mobilization• To prepare the country for war Roosevelt created the

War Production Board to help regulate the switch to war time production.

• The automobile industry switched to almost exclusively making tanks, jeeps, trucks, and airplanes.

War MobilizationShip yards switched to producing “Liberty” Ships which were war time cargo vessels.

Rationing• During the war, Americans were asked to ration and reduce the

amount of goods they were using so that materials and food could be used for the war effort.

Role of Women in War Industries

• With many men fighting overseas, women took over factory jobs to help the war effort.

• The most famous propaganda

tool used to draw women

into the workforce was

“Rosie the Riveter”.