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THE GREAT DEPRESSIO
N & The New Deal
Chapter 14/15
The Human Impact of the Great Depression
Millions of people found themselves jobless, homeless, &penniless.
Hungry people lined up at churches & soup kitchens.
Many slept on park benches or in makeshift shelters (“Hoovervilles”)
Conditions
Thousands of men sneaked onto empty railroad cars and road from town to town looking for work.
Psychological impact Suicide rates soared
during the 1930s.
The Human Impact of the Great Depression
Dust Bowl (caused by severe draught) Impact of commercial farming Exodusters or “Okies”– uprooted farmers
and families from the South and Midwest who moved to California. (800,000)
The Human Impact of the Great Depression: Culture
The Golden Age of Radio and Film
Programming 1920s movies & radio –
undermines establishment (gangsters)
1930s movies & radio – good guys win; effort to show struggles of common people; return to traditional values
The Hoover Depression Program
No individual aid from government.Wants private sector to solve
problem.Near the end of his administration he
does begin limited public works programs (Hoover Dam) and lends money to states and financial institutions and agricultural coops.
Cooperation with private sector rather than direct government intervention.
The Bonus Army
WWI veterans marched on Washington– wanted 1945 bonus (pension) early – Congress grants half now, half later.
“Bonus Army” cleared out by U.S. army
Bonus Army Camp Library of Congress
The Election of 1932
1932 election—Franklin D. Roosevelt (Dem.) beats Hoover (FDR uses radio during campaign)
Restoring Hope
His upbeat personality communicated joy and hope- as did his campaign song, “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
He was much more flexible and willing to experiment than Hoover.
“I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people.” - FDR
President Roosevelt in Bismarck N.D. Library of Congress
Roosevelt Responds:New Deal
Two ways to view New Deal: radical or conservative; threat to capitalist system or preservation of system
Does not give in to communism or socialism.
New Deal is not cohesive, efficient, or well organized; no overall blueprint.
Two goals: Relief and reform
The First New Deal(1933-1935)
First 100 daysSaving the Banks
Emergency Banking Act 4 day Bank holiday – stabilizes system
Federal Deposit Insurance Commission FDR’s “fireside chats” assured banks’ safety “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Abandons the Gold standard to raise prices
Ends ProhibitionSEC (Securities and exchange
commission) effort to regulate stock and bond market
The First New Deal(1933-1935)
Relief for the Unemployed - Government relief (welfare) distributed through states
The First New Deal(1933-1935)
Relief for the Unemployed Work relief – Civilian Conservation Corps Tennessee Valley Authority
The First New Deal(1933-1935)
Planning for Industrial Recovery Public Works Administration
Construct bridges, buildings, tunnels, etc.
National Recovery Administration (NRA) Effort to control wages, forty-hour
workweek, end child labor, etc. Doesn’t work well and is
eventually found unconstitutional by Supreme Court (1935)
The First New Deal(1933-1935)
Planning for Agriculture Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(AAA) Lowers production to raise prices
They attempted to raise commodity prices (and thereby farm incomes) by paying farmers to reduce crops and herds.
Farm income increased and federal farm programs came to dominate the nation’s agricultural economy.
Voices of Protest
Supreme Court rules NRA and AAA unconstitutional
Industrialist (right)Socialists and Communists (Left)Father Charles Coughlin, the “radio
priest”Huey P. Long from Louisiana
“Share our Wealth” program – income redistribution; helped push FDR to Social Security
A Second New Deal (1935)
Work Progress Administration (WPA) Work relief for the jobless Built buildings, airports, schools, etc. Creates jobs for writers, artists, historians, etc.
Social Security Act (SSA) Pension fund for retired people over the age of 65 Unemployment insurance, welfare, etc.
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Gives workers the right to strike / join unions
Revenue Act of 1935 (Wealth tax) Raised tax rates on the wealthy and corporations
A New Deal for Women
Redefined the role of a presidential spouse
Served as FDR’s “eyes and ears,” as well as his conscience.
Crisscrossed the nation in support of women’s causes, humanitarian causes, and minority rights. Eleanor Roosevelt
Library of Congress
Second Administration
The Election of 1936 Blacks vote Democrat for 1st time FDR pushes through a federal anti-lynching law FDR appoints some (few) blacks to public office
Problems Court Packing Plan; FDR seen as undermining
system of checks and balances Recession of 1937
A Second New Deal
The Decline of the New Deal
Recession of 1937 John Maynard Keynes – Government can spend
its way to recovery FDR initially ignores this and the economy slumps
New Deal does not end Great DepressionWWII would return the American
economy to full production and full employment by massive government spending.
Foreign affairs begin to consume more of FDR’s time
Legacy of the New Deal
New Deal changes government’s role The power of the national government
greatly enlarges. Emergence of broker state, mediating
among interest groups. The government has the responsibility
to ensure a minimum level of well-being for all Americans.
1928 Herbert Hoover elected president
Significant Events
1929 “Great Crash” of stock market 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff chokes off world trade 1931 Temporary Emergency Relief Administration 1932 Reconstruction Finance Corporation created
Bonus Army marches on Washington 1933 Roosevelt inaugurated; Hundred Days legislation enacted 1934 SEC created
Huey Long organizes Share Our Wealth Society to redistribute wealth
1935 WPA created 1937 Roosevelt announces his court-packing plan
1939 War in Europe breaks out