THE GREAT DEPRESSION

What were the warning signs of the Great Depression?

• Railroads, textiles, and steel were barely making a profit.

• Farmers faced problems.• Consumers buying on

credit.• Uneven income

distribution.• Stock Market-

speculation and buying on margin

What was Black Tuesday?

• October 29, 1929- Lose of 16.4 million dollars.

• Stock Market Crash• People who bought

stocks on credit were stuck with huge debts as prices dipped and others lost most of their savings.

What was the Great Depression?

• Period from 1929-1940, economy went down and unemployment rose dramatically.

• Goods and service cut in half.

• At height, 25% unemployment.

• Led to worldwide depression.

What was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)?

• Highest protective tariff in U.S. history.

• Designed to protect farmers and manufacturers.

• Had opposite effect and reduced trade with other countries.

• Other countries raised their own tariffs and hurt American economy.

How were average people’s lives affected by the Depression?

• Lost jobs, homes, and life savings.

• Shantytowns- little towns that were shacks.

• Soup kitchens- offering free or low cost food

• Bread lines- charities giving away food.

• Conditions for minority groups were worse because of job competition and discrimination.

What was the Depression like for farmers?

• Some farmers could still be self-sufficient and live off the land.

• Many farmers lost their land because they could not pay the mortgage.

• Dust Bowl- Severe drought from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska forced many to move West.

How were American families affected?

Hoboes- men that wandered the country hitching rides on trains and sleeping under bridges

• Women- starving and struggling to keep the family together.

• Children- health problems, poor schools, worried if they would survive.

• Many were ashamed of poverty and blamed themselves for not succeeding.

What was Herbert Hoover’s philosophy?

• Opposed direct relief to the needy.

• Believed in voluntarism which was encouraging businesses to find solutions.

• Worked horribly in fighting the Depression.

• Hoover was heavily criticized and run out of office.

What was the Boulder Dam?

• Provided electricity and flood control

• Regular water supply• Success of Herbert

Hoover

What was the Federal Home Loan Bank Act?

• Passed by Herbert Hoover in 1932.

• Lowered mortgages for homeowners and allowed farmers to refinance their farm loans.

What was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation?

• Authorized $2 billion for emergency financing in 1932.

• Trickle Down Economics theory

• Example of too little too late for government help.

What was the Bonus Army?

• 1932- WWI veterans demanded bonus that was due in 1945 early.

• Hoover called in the troops to put down their demonstration.

• Disaster for Hoover.

Who was Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

• Elected for 4 Presidential terms (1932-1945)

• New Deal

• “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

• Led America thru the Great Depression and World War II.

• Optimism

What was the New Deal?

• Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to get America out of the Depression.

• 3 parts- Relief, Recovery, Reform

• Fireside chats- FDR’s radio addresses about the New Deal.

What was the Glass-Steagall Act?

• Passed in 1933.• Created the Federal

Deposit Insurance Corporation.

• Protected money in the banks.

What was the Federal Securities Act?

• Passed in 1933.• Required corporations

to give company and stock information.

• Created the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Regulates stock market.

What was the Agricultural Adjustment Act?

• AAA- raised crop prices by lowering farm production.

• Criticized for slaughtered animals.

• Did help farmers.• Eventually, found to

be unconstitutional.

What was the Tennessee Valley Authority?

• TVA- Renovated dams, created thousands of jobs, provided flood control, hydroelectric power to impoverished areas.

• Still exists today

What was the Civilian Conservation Corps?

• Passed in 1933.• Young men ages 18-

25 work on building roads, developing parks, planting trees, helping soil-erosion and flood control projects.

What was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)?

• Passed in 1933.

• Provided money to states to create jobs in construction of schools and other community buildings.

• Created NRA which set prices and established standards.

• Found unconstitutional.

What was the Civil Works Administration?

• Provided 4 million immediate jobs in the winter of 1933-34.

• Built 40,000 schools and paid 50,000 school teachers.

• Built more than ½ million miles of roads.

What organizations were created to give food, clothing, and

shelter?• Home Owners Loan

Corporation• Federal Housing

Authority (FHA)• Federal Emergency

Relief Act

What were the criticisms of the New Deal?

• Deficit spending- spending more money than you have

• Father Charles Coughlin- wanted a guarantee of annual income, controversial

• Dr. Francis Townsend- Wanted a plan for the elderly

• Huey Long- Share Our Wealth Club, “Every Man is King”, ruthless

Father Charles Coughlin

Dr. Francis Townsend

Huey Long

Who was Eleanor Roosevelt?

• Wife of FDR and First Lady

• Great support and social reformer

• Supporter of equal rights for women and minorities.

What was the Works Progress Administration?

• Part of Second New Deal

• Headed by Harry Hopkins

• Created jobs to build airports, roads, public buildings, murals, write slave narratives, and perform theater.

What was the National Youth Administration?

• Part of Second New Deal

• Created jobs, education, counseling, and recreation for young people.

What was the Wagner Act?

• Federal government protected the rights of workers to join unions.

• National Labor Relations Board- heard about unfair business practices.

• Fair Labor Standards Act- Set maxim,um work hours to 44 hours per week. Banned hazardous work for those under 18.

What was the Social Security Act?

• Part of the Second New Deal.

• Gave old age insurance for retirees over 65 and their spouses.

• Unemployment compensation.

• Aid to families with dependent children and disabled.

Who was Frances Perkins?

• FDR’s Secretary of Labor

• First female in a Presidential cabinet.

• 82% surveyed in 1936 said women should stay home.

• Women faced discrimination at work.

How did the Depression affect African Americans?

• A. Philip Randolph- organized Sleeping Car Porters to fight for rights.

• Mary McLeod Bethune- hired by FDR in NYA. Helped provide opportunities for minorities.

• Marian Anderson- performs at Lincoln Memorial

• FDR made small steps, but did not commit to civil rights

Who was John Collier?

• Created Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

• American Indian lands would belong to their tribe.

• Reservation schools• Tribes could run their

own reservations.

What were the major movies of the Depression Era?

• Gone With the Wind• Wizard Of Oz• Snow White• Marx Brothers Films• Mr. Smith Goes to

Washington• Actors James Cagney

and Clark Gable

Marx Brothers

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

What was popular on the radio?

• Radio shows• Orson Welles and War

of the Worlds• Lone Ranger• Jack Benny• Bob Hope• Burns and Allen Show• News

Who were the famous artists of the Depression?

• Diego Rivera• Edward Hopper• Grant Wood• Thomas Hart Benton• Singers Woody Guthrie

(This Land Is Your Land)• Writers Richard Wright

(Native Son)• John Steinbeck’s Grapes

of Wrath

Diego Rivera

Edward Hopper

Grant Wood (American Gothic)

Thomas Hart Benton

What is the impact of the New Deal?

• Government has a responsibility to help people.

• Some fear the increase in the size of government.

• Others are happy the government has safety nets for the people.

• Legacy of Social Security, TVA, SEC, and NLRB in today’s world.