The Great Depression, 1929 - 1941

1. The Great Depression,1929 - 1941 Unit 10: The Great Depression RUSH Mrs. Baker

2. Objectives: • Understand the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. • Understand the weak actions of Hoover to limit the damage of the Great Depression. • Understand the motivation and purpose of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. • Discuss the impact of these policies on America.

3. Do-it-now • The year is 1929. The U.S. economy has collapsed. Farms, businesses, and banks nationwide are failing, causing massive unemployment and poverty. • Discuss the following questions in a group setting: • What groups of people will be most hurt by the economic crash? • What can you do to find a paying job? • What can unemployed and impoverished people do to help each other?

4. The Causes of the Great Depression How did America go from the era of “Coolidge Prosperity” to the deepest depression in American history?

5. Long-Term Causes… • Weaknesses in the overall economy • Unequal distribution of wealth • Excessive buying on credit • Weak corporate structure • Weak banking structure • Inadequate government policies • Weak international economy

6. Short-term Cause • The Great Stock Market Crash

7. Hoover’s Response to the Great Depression: 1929 - 1933 What approach did Hoover take towards the growing depression in the United States?

8. Election of 1928 “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing among us. Herbert Hoover, 1928

9. Post-Crash Economic Plan… • “Prosperity is just around the corner.” • “Rugged Individualism” • People should succeed through their own efforts • Believed the government shouldnotbecome directly involved in the economy • Promoted programs that aided businesses • Trickle-down theory: • Put it into the businesses and it will reach the workers and consumers

10. Too little too late • Building the Hoover Dam • Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932) • Lent money to railroads, mortgage, and insurance companies, and banks on the verge of bankruptcy

11. Hoover’s Failures…Hoovervilles As unemployment skyrocketed, urban dwellers were forced out of their homes and built shantytowns on the outskirts of cities which provided a place to live and protection from weather.

12. Hoover’s Failures…The Bonus Army • Summer of 1932 • Thousands of unemployed WWI veterans and families marched to Washington D.C. • Demanded early payment of the bonus due to them for their war service. • Bill was defeated by Congress • Result: • Veterans refused to leave town • Hoover accused the veterans of being influenced by communists. • Called out the army to break up the Bonus Army’s camps and disperse veterans • Used tanks and tear gas against veterans • Destroyed Hoovers political career

13. Marching on Washington

14. Hoover Responds To Bonus Demands

15. The Election of 1932 What did the results of the election demonstrate about the American people during the Depression Era?

16. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Depression:1932 - 1941 How did FDR approach the crisis of the Great Depression? How was his approach different from the approach of Hoover?

17. First Inaugural Address:January 1933 “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” FDR, March 1933

18. The New Deal… “ I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” ~ FDR Relief Recovery Reform

19. Stages of the New Deal • 1933 – early 1935 • Focused on RELIEFand RECOVERY • Most of legislation was passed in 1st 100 days • 1935 – early 1936 • “2nd 100 days” or Second New Deal • Focused on REFORM • 1936 election • High point of New Deal • 1937 – 1938 • Recession led to collapse in weak economy • 1938 • New Deal ended

20. Relief Legislation • Emergency Banking Act, 1933 • Bank holiday to stop collapse of national banking system • Federal Emergency Relief Act, 1933 • FERA • Gave relief to unemployed and needy • Public Works Administration, 1933 • PWA • Built ports, schools, and aircraft carriers • Civilian Conservation Corp, 1933 • CCC • Provided jobs to young men to plant trees, build bridges and parks, and set up flood control projects • Works Progress Administration, 1935 • WPA • Employed men and women to build hospitals, schools, parks and airports • Employed artists, writers, and musicians • Tennessee Valley Authority, 1933 • TVA • Built dams to provide cheap electrical power to 7 southern states

21. Recovery Legislation • National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933 • NRA • Enforced codes that regulated wages, prices, and working conditions • Homeowners Loan Corporation, 1933 • HOLC • Helped homeowners save their homes from foreclosure • Federal Housing Administration, 1934 • FHA • Insure bank mortgages • Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1933 • AAA • Paid farmers not to grow certain crops • Declared unconstitutional

22. Reform Legislation • Glass-Steagall Act, 1933 • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Insured savings accounts in banks approved by government • Securities Exchange Act, 1934 • SEC • Authority to regulate stock exchanges and investment advisers • Social Security Act, 1935 • Provided elderly insurance, provided unemployment insurance for workers, & assistance to children dependent to the elderly • National Labor Relations Act, 1935 • Wagner Act • Guaranteed labor the right to form unions and practice collective bargaining • Fair Labor Standards, 1938 • Set minimum wage

23. Results of the New Deal programs

24. Results of the New Deal programs

25. Results of the New Deal programs

26. Opposition to the New Deal • Conservatives • Running the government on the verge of socialism • Liberals • Acts were too business friendly • Francis E. Townsend • Created a financially impossible plan to provide government pensions to the elderly • Father Charles Coughlin • Catholic priest who blamed business owners, especially Jewish ones, for the economic crisis • Huey Long • Senator from Louisiana • Proposed that income and inheritance taxes on the wealthy be used to give each American a $2500 income, a car, and a college education

27. Opposition to the New Deal • The Supreme Court • New Deal programs = unconstitutional • Court declares the NRA and the AAA unconstitutional • FDR responds • Judicial Reorganization Bill (“Court-packing plan”) • Law would permit the President to increase the number of judges from 9 to 15 if the judges refused to retire at the age of 70. • Goal = gain court support for New Deal legislation

29. Summary:Impact of the New Deal • Banking and finance = reformed • Government takes a more active role in the economy • Workers benefit from labor standards • Social Security continues to provide for the needy • Conservation efforts continue to preserve the environment • Frances Perkins = first female cabinet member

30. The Human Impact of the Great Depression How were American citizens impacted by the Great Depression? What was life like during the time period?

31. Struggling to Work & Eat… • Unemployment • By 1932, 12 million people (25%) were unemployed • Effect: • “Bread lines” • People waiting in long lines for the soup kitchens

32. Brother Can you Spare a Dime?

33. The Dust Bowl • “Okies”: Migrant workers from area moved to California in search of work. • Dust Bowl: 1930’s massive drought in Great Plains • Combined with poor farming methods • Loss of topsoil whipped into giant dust storms

34. Images of the Dust Bowl

35. Summary:The Big Ideas of the 1930s: • Fundamental weaknesses in the national and world economies caused the stock market crash and the Great Depression that followed. • Great Depression dominated every aspect of political, socials, and economic life of the 1930s. • President Hoover’s efforts toward economic relief did not succeed. • President Roosevelt’s New Deal worked for relief, recovery, and reform. • The New Deal was based on the belief that government had a responsibility for the social and economic well-being of citizens. • New Deal provided relief but only limited recovery, and left a legacy of economic and social reform laws.

36. Comparing Depression with the recession