Transcript The Great Depression

The Great Depression &
the New Deal
1929-1939
The Great Depression began when
the stock market crashed in 1929.
•Many Americans had
invested in the stock market.
•Some used all their savings
to buy stocks.
•Others bought stocks with
money borrowed from banks.
•From 1925 to 1929, stock
prices increased, so people
borrowed more $ to buy more
stocks.
In October 1929, stock
Prices began to fall.
People tried to sell stocks,
but no one wanted to buy
them.
On October 29, 1929, the stock market
crashed as prices dropped rapidly. This day
is known as Black Tuesday.
1. ½ of all Americans were
poor.
2. Farmers overproduced
during WW1; they could
not sell them.
3. Factories also produced
more than people could
buy.
6. The government
refused to interfere
in business—”laissez faire”
5.
4.
Herbert Hoover was President
when the Great Depression began.
• He was sure it would end by itself.
• In 1932, he asked Congress to start an
agency that would lend money to banks
and businesses.
• Hoover’s plan failed!
•25% of Americans were unemployed
•many salaries were lowered
•people became homeless
By 1933,
1 million people
lived in
Hoovervilles!
The shack and box
“towns” were called
this because the American
people blamed President
Hoover for the depression.
Schools closed because teachers
could not be paid.
Bread & apples cost only 5 cents,
but jobless people couldn’t even
pay for that!
Many waited in lines for
bread, soup, coffee, and
other free food items.
Beginning in 1931, a seven year drought destroyed farms on
the Great Plains.
The soil dried up and blew away, causing great dust storms.
This became known as the
Dust Bowl.
Farmers could no longer earn a living.
Thousands of farmers sold their farms
and moved west to California.
They traveled from place
to place working on farms.
This made them migrant
farm workers.
The Bonus Army
In the summer of 1932, 20,000 WW1 veterans went to Washington, DC,
to demand the bonus money the US government had promised them.
•They were supposed to wait
until 1945, but were hungry!
•They didn’t want to wait any more.
When President Hoover refused
to pay the bonuses, the angry
veterans camped out in DC to
protest.
They became known as the
Bonus Army.
President Hoover sent
General Douglas MacArthur
and federal troops to force
the veterans to leave
Washington, DC.
This made most Americans mad at Hoover for
attacking the veterans.
By 1932, most Americans wanted a new president.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Promised a “New Deal” for the
American people in his inaugural
address on March 4, 1933.
He told a frightened nation:
“The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself.”
FDR’s New Deal
•closed all banks nationwide 2 days after
becoming President;
•safe banks were allowed to reopen after
government examination;
•people were encouraged to put savings
in banks again;
•first 100 days in office worked with
Congress to pass new programs.
Goals of the “New Deal”
1. Relief from poverty and hunger.
2. Recovery from the depression.
3. Reform (change) to prevent
future depressions.
New Deal,
New Agencies…
…to carry out the goals of relief, recovery &
reform.
•money to the poor
•helped farmers
•provide jobs for unemployed
•assist people with getting food, clothing &
other goods.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
•build dams to control floods
•build power plants that used waterpower to make electricity
Other government agencies hired people to build
bridges, plant tress and clean streets.
Correcting the Problems that caused the
Depression
• provides insurance for money
in savings accounts (banks).
• no longer would people lose their
money if banks failed.
• made it safer for people to
invest in the stock market.
Social Security Act (1936)
• all workers must pay a special tax
• in return, workers receive
pensions when they retire
at age 65
• provided money for poor
families with children
First Lady: Eleanor Roosevelt
•very popular
•traveled across the country to
work for equal rights for:
--women
--workers
--African Americans
Marian
Anderson
When a women’s group
refused to allow the
African-American singer
to sing inside its building,
Eleanor Roosevelt invited
her to sing in front of the
Lincoln Memorial.
Ms. Anderson sang “America” in front 75,000 people.
In 1955, she became the first African American to sing regularly
with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City.
America: My Country ‘Tis of Thee
My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside
let freedom ring!
First Female
Cabinet member
FDR appointed
Frances Perkins
as Secretary of Labor.
Stacking the Supreme Court
Felix Frankfurter
was the first
Jewish-American
appointed a
Supreme Court
Justice.
By 1944, FDR had appointed 7 of the 9 Supreme Court Justices.
The Black
Cabinet
• A group of African American
leaders who often met with
President Roosevelt.
• Mary McLeod Bethune was
one prominent member of
this group.
• Bethune led the Office of
Minority Affairs from
1935-1944.
• Many African Americans
became Democrats during
the New Deal.
Results of the New Deal
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made the federal government larger and more
powerful than ever;
increased taxes;
the national debt grew larger;
helped America by providing relief to the poor
and hungry;
New Deal agencies built bridges, dams, roads,
and airports;
saved the American democracy from the dictators
that took control when other nations experienced
depression.