The Great Depression and - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Great Depression

and

The New Deal

Slide2

Causes of the Great Depression

Tariffs and war debt policies

Crises in the farm sectorAvailability of easy creditUnequal distribution of income

Slide3

Hoover Takes the Nation

Election of 1928

Herbert Hoover v. Alfred E. SmithHoover wins the election easily and becomes the 31st president of the United States

Slide4

Living on Credit

Credit – buy now pay later – usually with high interest rates

Faced with rising debt, many consumers started cutting back on spending (slowed the economy)

Slide5

Economic Troubles on the Horizon

Industries in trouble:

Mining and lumberingRailroadsRadioSteel

Automobiles

All of these industrial weaknesses signaled a declining economy

Slide6

Agriculture and the Farmers

Prices for crops had been at an all-time high during WWI

After the war prices dropped by over 50%A lot of farmers were unable to repay their loans and lost their farms

Slide7

Uneven Distribution of Income

More than 71% of the population earned less than $2500 per year

The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer

Slide8

Stock Market

Speculatio

n – people were buying stocks and bonds on the chance of a quick profit while ignoring risksBuying on margin – paying a small percentage of a stock

’

s price as a down payment and borrowing the rest

Both speculation and buying on margin caused stock prices to rise

They caused over-investment because people bought more than they could pay for

Slide9

The Stock Market Crashes

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929A record 16.5 million shares were soldMillions more could not find buyers

People who had bought stock with loans were stuck with huge debt and unable to pay

Slide10

Financial Collapse

The stock market crash was the first sign of the Great Depression

Period between 1929 and 1940 in which the economy plummeted and unemployment skyrocketedThe Great Depression was not just isolated to America – it was felt around the world

Slide11

Bank and Business Failures

Banks also invested in the stock market – and they too lost their money

In 1929 around 600 banks closed – people could not get their money from the bankBy 1933 11,000 of the nation

’

s 25,000 banks had failed and lost their money

Millions of Americans lost all they had

Slide12

Unemployment

1 out of every 4 Americans did not have a job by 1933

Those who did have a job were working for very little money with very little hours

Slide13

Hoover Struggles with the Depression

Slide14

Hoover

’

s Cautious StepsAsked employers not to cut wages

Asked employers not to lay off workers

Asked workers not to go on strike

In the end, none of these steps were working

Slide15

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

1930

Established the highest protective tariff in United States historyDesigned to protect American farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition

But had the opposite effect…..

Slide16

Hawley Smoot Tariff cont…

By reducing the flow of goods in to the U.S. other countries lost revenue – which they were using to repay their loans to the United States

Also made unemployment higher World trade declined almost 50%

Slide17

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

Agency established in 1932

Provided emergency financing to banks, life insurance companies, railroads, and other large businesses

“Trickle-Down”

Slide18

“

Hoovervilles

”Americans started calling all the shantytowns that had popped up

“

Hoovervilles

”

Directed at the president for not doing enough for the poor during the depression

Slide19

Bonus Army

Between 10,000 and 20,000 WWI veterans (1932)

Gathered in Washington to demand their pay promised to them and their families for time served in WWI

Most dispersed in peace

The ones that stayed are gassed and pushed away with force

This incident made Americans dislike Hoover even more

Slide20

Boulder Dam

Later renamed Hoover Dam

Started in 1930 – completed in 193630 miles from Las VegasProvided jobs & water/electricity to SW

Slide21

Hardship and Suffering During the Great Depression

Slide22

Depression in the Cities

People lost their jobs

Evicted from their homesEnded up with nothing, wandering the streets

Shantytowns – little towns consisting of shacks (built out of anything they could throw together for shelter)

Slide23

Depression in the cities cont….

Soup kitchens – offered free or low-cost food

Bread lines – lines of people waiting to receive food Usually provided by charities or public agencies

Slide24

Minorities during the Depression

Often had it harder than did whites

Suffered higher unemploymentLower payAnd racial violence

Slide25

Depression in Rural Areas

Had one advantage over living in the city:

Some farmers were able to grow their own food

However, with falling prices, rising debt, and the drought, many farmers lost their land

Between 1929 and 1932 over 400,000 farms were lost through foreclosure

Slide26

The Dust Bowl

Regions that were hardest hit:

KansasOklahomaNew Mexico

Colorado

Texas

Farmers had cultivated so much land that there was nothing to hold the soil down

Exhaustion of the land from overproduction

Slide27

Women and Children during the Depression

Women

Had to manage tight household budgets; encountered opposition in holding jobs outside the home

Children

Suffered from poor diets and inadequate healthcare; many welfare programs and schools were shut down

Slide28

The New Deal

Slide29

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Elected president in 1932

Served longest term of all the presidents (12 years)

Slide30

Roosevelt

’

s New Deal

New Deal policies focused on three general goals:

Relief

(for the needy) – the immediate effort to help the one-third of the population that was hardest hit by the depression

Economic recovery

– the effort in numerous programs to restore the economy to normal health

Financial reform

– government intervention to stabilize the economy, and to balance the interests of farmers, business and labor

Slide31

The First 100 Days

March 4

th – June 16

th

Roosevelt and Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation

Slide32

The

“

Bank Holiday”

Roosevelt closed all the banks on March 5

th

Passed the Emergency Banking Act

Banks could only be re-opened under the Treasury Departments supervision

Federal loans were handed out as needed

Helped restore the publics confidence in the nation

’

s banking system

Slide33

Regulating Banking and Finance

Glass-Steagall Act (1933)

Established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Provided federal insurance on each bank account

Restored confidence to the customers with the banks

Slide34

Federal Securities Act (1933)

Required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings

Created the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate stock market

Slide35

Help for the Farmers

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

Sought to raise crop prices by lowering production

The government paid farmers to leave some of their land fallow (unseeded)

This lowered production which in turn raised crop prices

Slide36

New Deal Projects

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Put young unemployed men to work building roads, developing parks, planting trees, and helping in soil-erosion and flood-control projects

Slide37

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

Established codes of fair practice for Industries and to promote industrial growth

Example:

Public Works Administration (PWA) - Provided money to states to create jobs chiefly in the construction of schools and other community buildings

Slide38

Food Clothing and Shelter

Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)

Provided government loans to homeowners who faced foreclosures

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Furnishes loans for home mortgages and repairs

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Provided direct relief for the needy

Slide39

Deficit Spending

Spending more money than the government receives in revenue

FDR regarded deficit spending as a

“

necessary evil

”

to bring the United States out of the depression

Slide40

The Supreme Court Reacts

1935 found the NIRA to be unconstitutional

1936 found the AAA to be unconstitutional and struck it down

Slide41

FDR vs. Supreme Court

Supreme Court in the early 1930’s was more conservative (did not favor New Deal) & declared many programs unconstitutional

In 1937 FDR proposed a Congressional bill to reorganize the Supreme Court calling for 6 new justices (And by law, he gets to appoint those justices!!!)

Congress and press were outraged at his “Court-Packing” Bill – Why?

Eventually he gets his way as several justices over the next 4 years retire

Slide42

The Second New Deal Takes Hold

Slide43

The Second Hundred Days

Economy had improved during FDR

’s first 2 years as presidentHe still wanted more improvement

Unemployment rates remained high

Production still lagged behind 1920

’

s levels

Roosevelt decided to launch a Second New Deal - another burst of activity aimed at providing more help for farmers and workers

Slide44

Eleanor Roosevelt

The First Lady (FDR

’s wife)Helped her husband out every chance she got – very important part of the second new deal

Slide45

Reelecting FDR

1936 presidential election

FDR (democrat) vs. Alfred Landon (republican)Overwhelming victory by FDR

Slide46

Helping Farmers

Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act

Paid farmers for cutting production1938 – Second Agricultural Adjustment ActDid not include a previous processing tax to pay for farm subsidies

Slide47

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Designed to help the nation

’s youth, professionals, and other workersHeaded by Harry Hopkins

Provided the unemployed with jobs in construction, garment making, teaching, arts, and other fields

Slide48

National Youth Administration (NYA)

Created to provide education, jobs, counseling, and recreation for young people

Also provided financial aid for high school, college, and graduate school

Slide49

Wagner Act

Reestablished the NIRA provision of collective bargaining

Protected the rights of workersAllowed them to join unions without pressure from management

Slide50

Social Security Act

1935

3 major parts:Old-age insurance for retirees 65 or older and their spousesUnemployment compensation system

Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled

Slide51

The New Deal Affects Many Groups

Slide52

New Opportunities

Several Women appointed to government positions

Frances Perkins first female Cabinet Member (Secretary of Labor)

Slide53

African-American Activism

1930’s saw growth of activism for African Americans

Laid groundwork for Civil Rights Movement (1950’s-60’s)“Black Cabinet” – Group of influential African Americans to advise Roosevelt on racial issues.

Slide54

Culture in the 1930

’

s

Slide55

Motion Pictures and Radio

Very profitable during the 1930

’sBy 1940 65% of Americans were attending the movies at least once a week

90% of American households owned a radio

Slide56

Movies

1939

Two of the most popular films of all timeActed as a

“

get-a-way

”

from the everyday hardships of the Great Depression

Slide57

Fireside Chats

Families usually spent several hours a day together listening to the radio

Allowed FDR to speak directly to the people.

Spoke to them as if he were a friend, not the President.

Comforted the common man

Slide58

Orson Welles

Actor, director, producer, and writer

Created “War of the Worlds

”

(1938)

Slide59

Grant Wood

American painter

Painted “American Gothic

”

–

1930

FDR appointed writers and artists to paint murals to cheer up Americans

Slide60

The Grapes of Wrath

1939

Written by John SteinbeckAlso received assistance from the Federal Writer’

s Project

About the lives of a group of people from Oklahoma and their hardships during the Dust Bowl

Slide61

The Impact of the New Deal

Slide62

New Deal Reforms

During 2

nd Term in office FDR sought to create a Third New DealFDR did not favor deficit spendingEconomy had slightly recovered, and Congress pressured FDR to scale back the New Deal

Caused more unemployment

By 1939, FDR more concerned with Europe (Hitler’s Rise in Germany)

Slide63

Critics of New Deal

Critics – Typically Conservatives

New Deal Made Federal Government too largeGovernment stifled free enterprise and individual initiativeLiberal Critics claimed that Roosevelt did not go far enough

Slide64

Supporters of the New Deal

Supporters – Typically Liberals

FDR Struck a reasonable balance between two extremes (unregulated capitalism and overregulated socialism)Helped Country recover from economic difficulties

Slide65

Deep Debt

Federal Government had to go deeply into debt to provide jobs and help Americans

Slide66

Lasting Effects

Workers Rights

National Labor Relations BoardActs as a mediator in labor disputes between Unions and WorkersStill Around today

Banks and Finance

FDIC – Banking regulations and protection

SEC – Monitors stock market

Slide67

Lasting Effects

Social Security

One of the most important legacies of New DealOld Age insurance and unemployment continues to help families.

Impacted millions of Americans since 1935

Rural Scene

AAA – Helped farmers keep farms.

Rural Electrification Administration (REA) – Provided electricity to people in rural areas.

Slide68

Lasting Effects

Environment

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – Provided jobs to thousands of workers in the regionPrevented floods in the Tennessee ValleyProvided cheap electricity to the region

Slide69

New Deal Legacy

Brought hope and gratitude to some people for the benefits and protections

Also brought criticism from those who believed it took too much of their money in taxes.

United States does not fully recover until after World War II