Boom Times to Hard Times

Boom Times to Hard TimesCh 20 Postwar Social ChangeCh 21 Politics & ProsperityCh 22 Crash & DepressionCh 23 The New Deal

Postwar Social ChangeChapter 20

Society in the 1920s•Women became more liberal•Started working and being independent•People moved from rural to urban•African Americans moved north for jobs•Suburbs boomed

Mass Media•Movies became very popular•“Talkies” – movies with sound•Newspapers had circulation wars•Radio reached 10 million in 1929•Stations broadcast shows and news

Jazz Age•Grew out of African American music•Clubs and Dance halls drew young crowds•People feared its improvisational ways•Spurred painting, literature, and other

arts•Harlem Renaissance – center of jazz

movement

Cultural Conflicts*Prohibition

•Purpose = eliminate drunkenness, prevent absenteeism and job accidents

•Bootleggers – made and sold alcohol illegally

•Speakeasies – bars that operated illegally•Usually run by organized crime (mob)•Most famous: Al Capone

Religion•Fundamentalism

movement•Basic belief that Bible is

absolute truth•Teaching evolution

became problem•Scopes Trial – teacher

arrested for evolution lesson

Racial Tensions•Violence against

African Americans rose

•KKK resurged•Crimes against

all kinds of minorities

•NAACP tried to help

Politics and ProsperityChapter 21

A Republican DecadeThe Red Scare

•Fear of communism from Russia•Jailed radicals without evidence•Supreme Court ruled to limit freedom of

Speech

•Labor Strikes▫Fueled fears of communism▫Police, steel workers, miners▫Most saw unions as problem makers▫Strikes declined as wages rose

Harding Presidency •Isolationism – avoiding political or

economic alliances with other countries•Wanted disarmament – give up weapons•National Origins Act – quotas on

immigration•Corruption in administration•Tea Pot Dome – Sec. of Interior

gave illegal oil drilling rights for bribes

Coolidge Presidency•Took over when Harding died•Continued Laissez Fair economy•Kellogg-Briand Pact – 60 nations

vowed to outlaw war, didn’t work•Did not run again•GOP chose Herbert

Hoover instead

Business Boom •Credit used to buy anything•Electric power allowed for new inventions

to be produced •Mass-media ads for all products•Countries productivity rose

Ford and the Automobile •1908 Model T sold 30,000•Developed assembly line•Changed industry forever•1 car made every 24 seconds•Costs fell, everyone could own car•Tried to Americanize his workers

Economy in the Late 1920s•Prosperity seemed infinite•“Everyone Out to be Rich”•Uneven prosperity – rich got richer, poor

stayed poor•Personal debt went through the roof•Stock Market thought to “Get Rich Quick”•Too many goods, too little demand•Farmers and workers often lost

everything

Crash and DepressionChapter 22

The Market Crashes•Stocks rose above actual value•Black Thursday –October 24, 1929

▫Investors sold shares at half price▫President Hoover said everything was ok

•Black Tuesday – October 29, 1929▫16.4 million shares sold (4 times norm)▫Total loss = $30 billion▫4 million people felt immediate shock▫Spread to all 120 million people

Ripple Effect•Banks recalled loans, no one could pay•Bank failures wiped out savings•Factories stopped producing•Unemployment rose•Other countries suffered

due to US loss

Impact on the World•Countries depended on US for loans•US kept import taxes high•Countries couldn’t sell goods to US•As US economy fell, so did the world’s

Causes of the Depression•Unstable Economy

▫Wealth was unevenly distributed▫No one was saving money▫Too many goods, not enough consumers

•Overspeculation▫Buying stocks with borrowed money▫Used these as collateral to buy more stocks▫No actual money

•Government Policies▫Federal Reserve cut interest rates▫Lowered amount of money in circulation

Social Effects•“Hoovervilles” –

poor shanty towns•Farmers couldn’t

farm•Dust Bowl – dust

storms that blew soil away

•Families were strained

•Discrimination grew

Signs of Change•1933 – 21st Amendment – repealed

Prohibition•Organized crime decreased•Empire State Building began construction

Hoover’s Limited Strategy

•Built many public works•1930 – Hoover Dam begins construction•Hawley-Smoot Tariff – highest import tax

ever•Reconstruction Finance Corporation

(RFC)▫Gave credit to big companies to expand

•Hoover’s unpopularity grew

1932 Election•Franklin Delano Roosevelt pledged a

“New Deal”•Wife, Eleanor, experienced political

activist •Won by 7 million votes•1st Inaugural Address:

“So first of all let me assert my firmbelief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

The New DealChapter 23

The First Hundred Days

•Began “Fireside Chats”•Stabilized Banks

▫Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)▫Gov could check on all banks anytime

Created Jobs•Federal Emergency Relief Administration

(FERA)•Gov funded public facilities•Civil Works Admin (CWA)

▫Improve roads, parks, airports▫4 million employees

•Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)▫2.5 million young unmarried men▫Maintained forests, beaches, parks▫$30 a month, room and board

The Second New Deal•First one was good but had problems•FDR’s response to critics of 1st

•New agencies employed 8 million•Rural electrification was key•Wagner Act – helped Unions:

bargaining•1935 – Social Security established

▫Old age pensions▫Unemployment▫Aid for disabled

Limitations of the New Deal•Women were at disadvantage for jobs•Men got jobs first•Segregation was reinforced•Politicians thought Government was getting

too big•Added $$$$$$ to the National Debt

The End of the Deal•1937 – Recession hit again, doubled

national debt•Labor Unions organized sit-down strikes•Tried to get better pay and conditions for

workers•Arts increased due to federal grants•Artists painted murals on public buildings

New Deal’s Legacy•Public Works and Federal Agencies

▫All designed to help Americans•Social Security to help old and disabled•Restored hope