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SWBAT • Explain the causes of the Great
Depression
Do Now:
• How did the growth of the automobile industry stimulate the growth of other industries?
• How did it influence the lifestyle in the United States?
The Stock Market Crash
• The Stock Market Crash- PBS
Why did the Great Depression Happen?
• Trigger = Stock Market Crash
- October 29, 1929
- “Black Tuesday”
- 16.4 million shares sold
- bank runs
- losses of 30 billion dollars
Causes of the Great Depression
Causes: 1. Weakness in Economy - farming depressed overproduction - unemployment economy showed signs of
underconsumption
Causes of the Great Depression 2. Unequal distribution of wealth - 87% of pop. owned 10% of wealth - 1% owned 59% - economy was dependent on the
spending of a few - people had trouble buying goods
because salaries did not increase overexpansion of credit (buying
on margin) underconsumption
Causes of the Great Depression
3. Weak banking structure
- 20,000 banks failed because people couldn’t pay their loans
Causes of the Great Depression
4. Weak international economy
- Americans did not invest abroad
- Financially weak foreign nations bought less from our country
defaulted on loans (tariffs) “diligent young
man seeks work”
Causes of the Great Depression
5. Government Policies
- stock market not regulated (buying on credit)
- tax policies favored the wealthy unequal distribution of wealth
- The Fed raised interest rates to discourage spending
Hard Times for Americans • Family Life –Many fathers left families
to find work –Children couldn’t go to
school b/c school boards didn’t have money to keep schools open
–Marriage rate decreased –Fewer children per family
b/c parents couldn’t afford to feed large families
“Migrant Mother” – mother of seven children struggling through the Great Depression in California
Hard Times for Americans • Deterioration of Health
–Many Americans suffered from malnutrition falling more easily to disease
Americans on line at soup kitchen
Hoover to the Rescue?
• Pres. Herbert Hoover (1928-1932) - Tried to restore confidence “prosperity is just around the corner”
Hoover to the Rescue? - “Trickle Down” Theory- gave $ to
businesses thinking it would eventually help the workers & consumers (no DIRECT aid to the people AKA rugged individualism)
- organized Reconstruction Finance
Corporation- lend $ to railroads, banks, & insurance companies
Hoover to the Rescue? - halted payments of war debts by
European nations- hoping European nations would help in our economic relief
Hoovervilles & the Dust Bowl
• Hoovervilles- unheated, shacks, built with cardboard, tin, & crates; those living in a Hooverville, used “Hoover blankets”, aka newspapers
Hoovervilles & the Dust Bowl
• The Dust Bowl- a prolonged drought in the Midwest during the 20’s worsened farmers’ already desperate situation
Wrap Up
• How did the weaknesses of the US economy lead to the Stock Market Crash & subsequently the Great Depression?
Homework
• Choose one of the following three photos. Place yourself in that photograph write a diary entry from the perspective of a person in the photo
– ½ page
– neatly written
SWBAT
• Explain the stages of FDR’s New Deal
Do Now:
• With a partner, come up with a campaign slogan to help you win against Hoover in the 1932 Election
Hoover Exits • Hoover leaves office very unpopular
due to the Great Depression, and the Bonus Army Incident (1932)
- WWI veterans demanded payment of their bonus
- When they didn’t get it, they refused to leave their camps in DC
- Hoover used army tanks & tear gas to disperse the veterans
Assessment of Hoover’s Policy
• He took some steps to improve the nation, but efforts were too little, too late
• He believed the economy would “right itself” eventually & believed in self-help, not direct relief
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.”
• FDR (1933-1945)
FDR - master politician (intelligent, self- confident, charming)
- master communicator (press conferences & “fireside chats”)
FDR - controversial (some believe he had too much power) - active 1st Lady: Eleanor Roosevelt - used the “brain trust”- a group of intellectuals who served as close advisors
The New Deal • The New Deal- a plan to combat the
Great Depression
- 3 R’s: Relief, Recovery, Reform
• Stages:
1. 1933-1935- Relief & Recovery, “First 100 Days” = lots of legislation passed
The New Deal 2. 1936- Second New Deal, focused on labor & social reform (high point of the New Deal)
3. 1937-1938- Recession/setbacks due to cutbacks in spending
4. 1938- New Deal ends due to opposition in Congress & preoccupation with WWII
Strategies of the New Deal 1. Use elastic clause to take
government action gov got involved in economy more than ever before
2. Stimulated economy by taxes & gov spending “Pump-Priming” theory
Strategies of the New Deal
3. Gov assumed responsibility for general welfare of people
4. Increased the regulatory role of the Federal Gov. over banks, businesses, & stocks exchange
3 R’s Review Relief- $ for those who were suffering
Recovery- jobs for the economy, so it can grow again
Reform- measures to avoid future depressions
New Deal
National Labor Relations Act aka Wagner Act
• Guaranteed right to form unions & practice collective bargaining
• Ensured that elections to unions were conducted fairly
• Power to stop blacklisting (now illegal)
Fair Labor Standards Act
• Set minimum wage (25 cents!) & maximum work week hours (44 hours)
• What are these now?
• Banned child labor
• Assisted in regulating interstate commerce
Your Task
• Read the “Ballad of Roosevelt”, 1934 by Langston Hughes & answer questions with a partner
Wrap Up
•What’s the difference between Hoover’s “Trickle Down” theory & FDR’s “Pump-Priming” theory?
SWBAT
• Explain how minorities were effected by FDR’s New Deal legislation
Do Now:
• What advances did women make in society during WWI and the 1920s?
New Deal: Effects on Minorities
• After reading the text, fill in the chart with a partner
• Read the letters to the President & Mrs. Roosevelt answer questions completely
Discussion Questions
• Why did African-American voters increasingly change political allegiance from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party after 1934?
• How did the Depression & New Deal programs affect women?
Cartoon Questions • How did McCutcheon make the man a
sympathetic character? • Why did he have a squirrel ask the
question? • What is he saying about the American
belief in personal responsibility?
• What New Deal program was created to guard against bank failure and help lift public confidence in the banking system?
Critics of the New Deal 1. Republicans/Big Business/Wealthy - gov taking too much responsibility &
becoming too powerful; FDR = dictator
- New Deal programs bordered socialism & communism (ex. unemployment insurance)
- high taxes on wealthy & corporations are unfair
Critics of the New Deal
2. Socialists/Progressives/Liberal Democrats
- FDR not doing enough to solve problems of the unemployed & poor, ethnic minorities, women, & elderly
- More should be done to distribute nation’s wealth among all Americans
Critics of the New Deal 3. Demagogues (leaders who manipulate
people with lies & scare tactics)
- Father Coughlin, Huey Long (US Senator), Frances Townsend
all critics of FDR; proposed redistribution of wealth ($2500 income, car, college education), & guarantee pensions for elderly
Wrap Up
“Roosevelt is the only President we ever had that thought the Constitution belonged to the [poor] man too…”
– George Dobbin, mill worker 1939
• What evidence from New Deal programs supports this quote?
New Deal Supreme Court Cases
SWBAT:
Explain the significance of 2 landmark Supreme Court Cases and
FDR’s Court Packing Plan
Schechter Poultry v. US
Background:
- Schechter Poultry Co. went against the codes/prices set by the NIRA (FDR) & was underselling chicken
- 4 brothers convicted by the gov. & appealed to the Supreme Court
Schechter Poultry v. US Issue: Is the NIRA
constitutional? Opinion: Supreme Court
ruled the NIRA unconstitutional only Congress has the power to make laws regulating interstate commerce/trade, NOT the President
Schechter Poultry v. US
Significance: Congress may not delegate power to the President without clear guidelines to legislate this case weakens some New Deal policies
US v. Butler • Background: Does the federal gov.
have the right to regulate/control agriculture, or is it a state power?
(10th Amendment- Federalism)
US v. Butler Opinion: Court struck
down the AAA as unconstitutional Federal gov. does NOT have right to control agriculture (this is a power of the states)
US v. Butler
Significance: This case further weakens New Deal policies, upsets FDR leads to Court Packing Incident
Court Packing Plan • After the
Supreme Court ruled some of the New Deal programs unconstitutional, FDR came up with a new plan…
Court Packing Plan
• Court Packing Plan- 1937
- Increase the number of judges from 9 to 15 if judges refuse to retire at age 70
Cartoon Questions
• Explain what FDR is really asking for.
• What does FDR mean, by “they’re through”?
• How does the cartoonist exhibit checks and balances?
Court Packing Plan
- Result: very unpopular idea with the people b/c it would not be an independent judiciary
never became law b/c it was a threat to the separation of checks & balances
** Roosevelt ends up appointing 7 Supreme Court Justices
How effective was the New Deal?
• WWII was largely responsible for ending the Great Depression. The New Deal did not solve unemployment, underconsumption, or farm problems
How effective was the New Deal?
The New Deal Accomplishments: 1.Helped people cope & get through the
Great Depression gave them HOPE 2.Preserved the free-enterprise/
capitalistic system 3.Brought more power to the President expanded Fed. Gov. responsibility in people’s lives
Programs Remaining • Programs that still remain a part of our
government today: - FDIC - SEC - Social Security - Unemployment Insurance/Welfare - Infrastructure, hospitals, schools built
during this era
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