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The Great Depression and

the New Deal


How the greatest economic
crisis in American history
shaped American politics,
culture and society

I. The Stock Market Crash


Republican
responsibility for the
economy
Stock market
outraces real
economic growth
The problem of
buying stock on
margin
Public concern over
the stock market by
1929

II. The Great Depression


Initial governmental
optimism
Catastrophic
unemployment figures
Urban poverty,
especially for
immigrants, is the
worst
State and local
governments as well
as private charities
can do little

II. The Great Depression


Corporate failures
Drop in farm income
Even the wealthy
had problems
--Howard Johnson
restaurant chain
Riding the rails
looking for work
(Basically, men hopped on trains
and searched for work all
over the country.)

III. Contributing Causes to


this Economic Catastrophe
American farmer in
trouble
Unstable American
foreign trade
The Gold standard
forsaken in Europe
Weak and vulnerable
American banks
Large individual debt
Corporate profits
enriched only a few

IV. The Response of the


Hoover Administration
Positive statements
aggravate the
Depression crisis
HOOVER = HANDS OFF
POLICY
Creation of the
Reconstruction Finance
Corporation (1932)
Trickle Down Solutions
(And no. Its not what Peter
said. Coins dont rain
down like a waterfall.)

IV. Hoovers Response


(cont.)
Unemployment
continued and farm
prices dropped
dramatically
Violent farm protests
by 1932
Hoover was limited by
his own governmental
philosophy (HANDS
OFF)
Hoover championed
voluntarism as a
solution

IV. Hoovers Response


(cont.)
Growing inability to
compromise with
Congress
Hoovers
unpopularity grows
His name becomes
synonymous with the
Depression
Economic and
Political blunders
The Bonus March
(Summer of 1932)

Hoovervilles

(Not to be confused with Velociraptorvilles.)

V. The Election of 1932


Democrats nominated
Franklin Roosevelt
He was Senator of New
York for a short time
then served as the
Secretary of the Navy.
Republicans nominated
Hoover
FDR projects the image
that he will take action
as President, unlike
Hoover.

VI. The New Deal: A


Revolution?
Contrast with
progressivism
Major success =
restoration of
confidence

VI. The New Deal: A


Revolution? (cont.)
Bi-partisan support
for FDR publicly
and in Congress
How revolutionary
was the New
Deal?
New Deal may
have prevented a
revolution
Really not a
revolution in the
truest sense

VII. Changes Made


Federal government
directly provided
services to the American
people
-- welfare state
Vast centralization of
national power
Increase in power of the
presidency
Democratic party
becomes majority party
Blacks vote for
Democrats

VIII. Franklin Delano


Roosevelt: The Man
Strong president who
enjoyed leading
Great politician
Used the radio effectively
-- fireside chats
Not a systematic thinker
Great ability to project
empathy
Many Americans think of
FDR as part of the family
More loved and hated
than any other president

IX. First Lady Eleanor


Roosevelt
Creates model for
the active first lady
Activist, especially
for Blacks and
women
Real concern for the
poor
FDRs eyes and legs
Reputation for being
constantly on the go

The Social Security Act


(1935)
Myth of poor being lazy
exposed
13 weeks of
unemployment
insurance
Pension fund for retired
people over 65
Funds also for disabled
and single parent
families
Response to more
radical schemes

The Culture of the 1930s


Return to political
and social concern in
30s literature
--John Reed Clubs
John Dos Passos
-- U.S.A. (1938)
John Steinbeck
--Grapes of Wrath
(1939)
Richard Wright
--Native Son (1940)

XV. The Culture of the 1930s


(cont.)
Ill Take My Stand (1930)
Thomas Wolfe
William Faulkner
--Absalom! Absalom!
(1936)
James Agee and Walker
Evans
--Let Us Now Praise
Famous Men (1941)
1930s Movies
-- The Wizard of Oz
--The Marx Brothers

Roosevelts Second Term


(1937-1941)
Election of 1936
FDR vs. Alf
Landon (R-Kan)
Biggest landslide
since 1820
The Roosevelt
Recession of
1937-1938
Harsh CIO strikes

XVIII. Summary of the Results


of the New Deal
Did not end the Depression
Many agricultural problems unsolved, especially
for southern blacks and tenant farmers
Did restore national hope
Controls were built into the economy to avert
future crises
--Federal Securities Act of 1933 and SEC (1934)
The Government as broker state
Restoration of confidence in U.S. government
and economybut both different than before
1932

Great Depression in a
Nutshell
The Great Depression (1929-39) was
the deepest and longest-lasting
economic downturn in the history of
the Western industrialized world.
In the United States, the Great
Depression began soon after the
stock market crash of October 1929,
which sent Wall Street into a panic
and wiped out millions of investors.

Over the next several years, consumer spending


and investment dropped, causing steep declines in
industrial output and rising levels of unemployment
as failing companies laid off workers.
By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its
nadir, some 13 to 15 million Americans were
unemployed and nearly half of the countrys banks
had failed.
Though the relief and reform measures put into
place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped
lessen the worst effects of the Great Depression in
the 1930s, the economy would not fully turn around
until after 1939, when World War II kicked American
industry into high gear.

When the Great Depression began, the


United States was the only industrialized
country in the world without some form of
unemployment insurance or social
security. In 1935, Congress passed the
Social Security Act, which for the first time
provided Americans with unemployment,
disability and pensions for old age.
(From History.com)

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