B.  The Great Depression (1929-1941)

 

     1.  What was “The Great Depression”?

                    a.  The Great Depression was the most severe economic “slow down” in

                         U.S. history.

                    b.  The Great Depression lasted longer than any other economic slow

                         down in U.S. history.

                         1) “Black Tuesday” – the day of the “stock market crash” on October

                               29, 1929; Black Tuesday is considered to be the beginning of the

                               Great Depression

 

     2.  What caused of the Great Depression?

a.  International Depression

1)      European governments were in debt from WWI.

2)      European citizens couldn’t buy American products because they

      were still trying to recover and rebuild from WWI.

        b.  Overproduction

               1)  Industrial Overproduction – U.S. factories produced too many goods

                    a)  By the end of the “Roaring 20’s, American businesses produced

                         more goods than Americans could buy;

                    b)  Eventually factories cut production and fired extra workers

                         which caused the economy to slow down.

                2)  Agricultural Overproduction – farmers were producing too much

                    a)  U.S. farmers grew more food than they could sell.

                    b)  Also, competition from European farmers drove down the price

                         of farm goods.

                    c)  By the end of the middle of the1920’s U.S. farmers were

                         already in a depression

                    c)  Many farmers stopped buying machinery and household goods

                         causing the economy to slow down.

        c.  Installment Buying

               1)  Many Americans bought goods on credit, but they

                    couldn’t afford to pay the bills for the things they had bought.

               2)  When the economy slowed down and people lost their jobs they

                   “defaulted” on their loans causing the economy to slow down.

                    a)  default – failure to meet and obligation; especially a financial

                         one. (also see bankruptcy)

                    b)  bankruptcy- the condition of being unable to pay one’s debts;

                         one’s property is managed or sold to pay those to whom one

                         owes money. 

        d.  U.S. Tariff Laws

              1)  During the Roaring 20’s the U.S. raised tariffs to keep foreign

                   goods them out of U.S. markets.

                  a)  “Haley-Smoot Tariff Bill” – this was a tariff law passed in the

                       1920’s which raised the price of foreign goods in the U.S.

                  b) Americans couldn’t afford to buy foreign goods.

              2)  Some people believe that U.S. tariff laws helped to create a depression

                   outside the U.S.

 

       3. What was it like during The Great Depression?

                    a.  The U.S. economy completely collapsed:

                                1)  U.S. GNP collapsed - U.S. GNP fell from $104 billion in 1929 

                                      to $ 58 billion in 1932.

                                2)  The Stock Market collapsed - The average value of shares on the

                                     N.Y. Stock Exchange fell from $375 a share in 1929 to $75 a

                                     share in 1932.

     3)  Banks failed and closed all over the U.S.

          a)  So many Americans defaulted on their loans that many banks

               went bankrupt.

          b)  Many Americans lost all their savings when banks went

               bankrupt.

                        b.  Many Amerians lost their jobs –

                                    1) 25% of the working population could not find a job. 

                                    2) The jobless rate in 2006 was between 4% and 5%.

                        c. The “Dust Bowl” occurred in the Mid-West (beginning in 1931):

1)      Severe drought and poor farming techniques ruined the topsoil on

farms in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.

2)      More farmers defaulted on their loans making the economy

even worse.

  

           4. What did the government do during The Great Depression?

  a. There were 2 Presidents during The Great Depression.

         1) Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) – President when the Great

             Depression started.

             a)  What was Herbert Hoover like?

                 (1) Both of his parents died when he was young; quiet, smart

                       and hardworking.

                 (2) Hoover was an engineer and geologist (specializing in mining)

                 (3) President Wilson appointed him to send food shipments to

                      Europe after WWI; he did a really good job and became very

                      popular.

                 (4) He served as Secretary of Commerce during Roaring 20’s.

         2) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“FDR”) (1933-1945) – President

             during the Great Depression and when World War II started.

             a) What was FDR like?

                 (1) FDR’s family was wealthy and famous (President Teddy

                       Roosevelt was his cousin); he was outspoken and popular

                 (2) FDR couldn’t walk after age 39; he was paralyzed below the

                       waist after becoming sick with what is believed to have been

                       polio.

                 (3) FDR had been Assistant Secretary of the Navy and

                      Governor of New York.

                 (4) FDR is the only President to serve more than 2 terms; he

                      was elected to 4 terms.

                 (5) FDR died in 1945 shortly after starting his 4th term.

   

 

                      b.  Hoover Administration (1929-1933)

                                    1) What were Hoover’s policies during the Great Depression?

                                         a)  Hoover believed that the government shouldn’t help –

                                             (1) Hoover supported laissez-faire economic policies; didn’t

                                                  think the government should do anything to stop the Great

                                                  Depression.

                                             (2) Hoover believed that private voluntary charities (Red Cross,

                                                   religious charities like The Salvation Army) should organize

                                                   to help people who were hurt by the Great Depression.

                                             (3) Hoover and his supporters opposed government programs to

                                                   fight the Great Depression for 2 reasons:

                                                  (a)  It would be expensive - programs to fight the Depression

                                                        would be too expensive and may not do anything to help

                                                        the economy.

                                                  (b) The government would become too powerful - programs

                                                        to help the poor and to regulate businesses and the stock

                                                        market would expand the powers of the government

                                                        beyond what Hoover believed was stated in the                 

                                                        Constitution. 

                                         b)  Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) (1931) - created

                                              by Hoover to provide low interest loans to businesses and state

                                              and local governments that were hurt by the Depression

                                   

                                    2) What did people think of Hoover’s policies?

                                         a)  People didn’t like Hoover;

                                             (1) They thought his policies helped businesses but did nothing to

                                                  directly help people who had no money.

                                             (2) They thought he didn’t understand how bad the Depression

                                                   was; what he did “too little, too late”.

                                             (3) “Hoovervilles”- shacks built by the homeless all over the U.S.

                                                   out of scraps of wood and packing crates; Americans called

                                                   these shack cities Hoovervilles as a way to mock Hoover

                                                   and his policies.

                                         b)  The Bonus Army (1932)

                                             (1) What was the “Bonus Army”? - WWI veterans who came to

                                                   Washington during the Depression to collect a $1,000 bonus

                                                   Congress had promised to pay them in 1945; they wanted the

                                                  money now (1932) as a way to ease the Depression.

                                            (2) The Veterans created Hooverville city in Washington

                                                  while they waited to get the money.

                                            (3) Congress voted not to give the money to the veterans and

                                                  Hoover sent the U.S. army (including tanks!) to push the

                                                  Bonus Army out of Washington.

                                            (4)  Hoover’s treatment of the Bonus Army convinced many

                                                 Americans that Hoover was “out of touch” with their problems

                                                 and had no idea how to stop the Depression.

   

         c. Roosevelt Administration (1933-1945)

                       1)  What were Roosevelt’s policies during the Great Depression?

                            a) The “New Deal” – policies created by President Roosevelt to end

                                the Great Depression

                             (1) How did the New Deal work?

                                   (a)  relief – programs to provide direct emergency assistance to

                                         the poor; with jobs or cash! (FERA, PWA, WPA, CCC,

                                         NYA)

                                  (b)  recovery – programs to end the Depression. (NRA, AAA,

                                        NLRB/Wagner Act, SSA, FLSA)

                                  (c)  reform – programs to prevent another Depression. (EBRA,

                                        FDIC, SEC)

                             (2) “Hundred Days” – special session of Congress to deal with the

                                    Depression; banks were closed and the Emergency Banking

                                    Relief Act was passed. 

                             (3) “fireside chats” – were radio speeches made by Roosevelt to

                                     explain his programs to the people;

                                  (a) Roosevelt was the first President to use mass media to

                                        explain new programs.

                                  (b) “Fireside chats” were very popular.

 

         

                     2)  What did people think about The New Deal?

                          a) People liked Roosevelt because it seemed like he was trying to do

                              something (anything?) to end the Depression.

                          b) Many people believed that Roosevelt’s New Deal saved the

                              nation from the Depression.

                          c) Many people believed that Roosevelt’s New Deal created

                              programs that gave poor people a chance to earn a good living in

                              the U.S. economy.

              

           5.  Results of the Great Depression (How did the Great Depression change the 

    U.S?)

                     

                     a. The New Deal changed the U.S. economy-

                                 1) The New Deal gave the government more power over the economy.

                                       a) The New Deal created more regulation for businesses (including

                                           banks and the Stock Market).

                                       b) The New Deal created more regulations for farms.

                     

                                2) Some people say the New Deal created less capitalism and free

                                    enterprise and more socialism.

                                      a) Social Security Act (1935) created a government run pension

                                          system for all Americans, and unemployment insurance.

                                      b) FSLA created the first minimum wage laws; businesses were

                                          forced to pay their workers based on a government created

                                          minimum wage.

                    

                    b. Labor Unions became stronger and larger

                               1) NLRB/Wagner Act guaranteed the right of workers to form unions.

                               2) NLRB/Wagner Act allowed workers to “bargain collectively” for

                                   better pay and working conditions.                    

                   

                    c. Women enter the workforce

                               1) Women were the first factory workers (in the early 1800’s)

                                   but factory workers were a small part of the economy then.

                               2) In World War I, women worked in the factories because the men were

                                   in the army; when the war ended women lost their jobs to the men.

                               3) In the Depression, many women re-enter the workforce because their

                                   families needed the money to survive.

                               4) Working women faced discrimination in the Depression – why?

                                     a) People believed that if a women was working she was taking a job

                                         away from a man who was trying to provide for his family; married

                                         women were often fired.

                                     b) Many people (including many women) thought that is was “proper”

                                         for women to stay at home and take care of the home and the kids.

                              

                    d. Eleanor Roosevelt – (The First Lady; 1933-1945) – her political career

                        began with the election of her husband during the Great Depression.

                              1) Mrs. Roosevelt encouraged the President to create relief programs for

                                  the poor.

                              2) She became a hero to many people because she worked for 

      equal treatment under the law for all Americans (especially women

      and African Americans).

                              3) She was the first First Lady to offer opinions:  She spoke out and

                                  wrote about U.S. and world events at a time when it was not

                                  considered proper for a woman to have opinions!

                             4) After the President died, she helped to create the United Nations.

                                     a) She served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. from 1947 to

                                         1952.

                                     b) She helped to create The U.N. Universal Declaration of Human

                                         Rights; a “bill of rights for the world”.

 

 

 

Review                                                                   Name:

The Great Depression

 

Instructions:  Use your textbook and class notes to complete each section of this review on a separate

sheet of paper. 

 

Vocabulary:  Use the glossary in your textbook to provide complete definitions for each of the following

terms. 

 

stock exchange                                     on margin                                              default

relief                                                       public works                                         Hundred Days

New Deal                                               work relief                                              subsidy

Dust Bowl                                             migrant worker                                      pension

Second New Deal                                 Social Security Act                              unemployment insurance

bankruptcy                                            dividend                                                Hoovervilles

 

Main Ideas:  Answer each question in a complete sentence.

 

1.  What was the Great Depression?  When did the Great Depression occur?

2.  When was “Black Tuesday”?  Why is “Black Tuesday” an important event in 

     American history?

3.  List the 4 causes of the Great Depression.

4.  Why did Europe have a depression after World War I?

5.  What is “overproduction”?  How did overproduction help to cause the Great

     Depression in the U.S.?

6.  What is a stock market/stock exchange?  What is a dividend?

7.  What is “installment buying”?  How did installment buying help to cause the Great

     Depression in the U.S.?

8.  Why did U.S. tariff laws hurt the world economy during the 1920’s and 1930’s?  How did

     U.S. tariffs help to cause the Great Depression?

9.  Describe what life was like during the Great Depression in each of the following

     areas of the U.S. economy: 

a. U.S. GNP                            c. The Stock Market/Stock Exchange

                b. “Unemployment”             d. U.S. banks

10.  What was the Dust Bowl and why did the Dust Bowl occur? Where was the Dust

       Bowl (list the states where the Dust Bowl occurred)?

11.  List the 2 people who were President during the Great Depression.

12.  Explain 3 reasons why Herbert Hoover disliked government programs that were

       designed to end the Great Depression.

13.  Why did people dislike Hoover’s policies during the Great Depression?

14.  What was The Bonus Army?  How did President Hoover handle the demands made

       by the Bonus Army during the Great Depression?

15.  What is a “Hooverville”?

16.  Why did people like President Roosevelt’s policies to end the Great Depression?

17.  The items listed below are from the Roosevelt Administration.  Explain what they

       are:

                a. Hundred Days

                b. “fireside chat”

18.  Which term is used to describe President Roosevelt’s programs to end the Great Depression?

19.  What were New Deal programs designed to do? (give 3 examples)

20.  Explain how each of the following items were changed by the Great Depression:

                a. government power over the economy                         c. capitalism and free enterprise

                b. labor unions/trade unions                                              d. women in the labor force

21. What role did Mrs. Roosevelt play in the creation of New Deal programs?

22. Why was Mrs. Roosevelt an unpopular person during her husband’s time as the President?

23. Why was Mrs. Roosevelt a popular person during her husband’s time as the President?

24. What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?  Who helped to create this document?