1 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA Chapter 15

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered Section 2: Hard Times Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered

2 Objectives:

 Why did financial experts issue warnings about business practices during the 1920s?

 Why did the stock market crash in 1929?

 How did the banking crisis and subsequent business failures signal the beginning of the Great Depression?

 What were the main causes of the Great Depression?

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

3 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered

Warnings about business practices

 farm crisis  “sick” industries  consumers’ reliance on credit  stock speculation

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

4 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered

Reasons for the stock market crash of 1929

 Economic factors such as rising interest rates began to worry investors.

 Investors sold stocks.

 Stock prices dropped sharply, fueling panic.

 Heavy selling continued.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

5 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered

Events signaling the Great Depression

 Banks failed due to heavy defaults, margin calls, and heavy withdrawals.

 Bank failures deprived businesses of necessary resources and customers.

 Businesses closed and workers lost their jobs.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

6 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 1: Prosperity Shattered

Causes of the Great Depression

 The global economic crisis decreased exports.

 Unequal distribution of income reduced the total purchasing power available in the economy.

 Consumer debt undermined individuals and increased economic chaos.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

7 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 2: Hard Times

Objectives:

 How did unemployment during the Great Depression affect the lives of American workers?

 What hardships did urban and rural residents face during the depression?

 How did the Great Depression affect family life and the attitudes of Americans?

 How did popular culture offer an escape from the Great Depression?

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

8 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 2: Hard Times

Unemployment during the Great Depression

 rose sharply  created severe financial problems  created severe emotional problems

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 2: Hard Times

9 Hardships during the depression

 poverty  diminished expectations  low prices or lack of market for farm products  farm foreclosures  hunger  homelessness  deportation for aliens

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

10 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 2: Hard Times

Great Depression’s effects on family life and attitudes of Americans

 fractured some families, forced others to band together for survival  divorce rates up  birth rates down  many psychological problems

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

11 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 2: Hard Times

Popular culture during the depression

 movies  radio  comic books and popular novels

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

12 Objectives:

 Why did President Hoover oppose government-sponsored direct relief for individuals during the Great Depression?

   How did the Hoover administration attempt to solve the depression’s economic problems, and how successful were these efforts?

How did radicals and veterans respond to Hoover’s policies?

Why was Franklin D. Roosevelt such a popular candidate in the 1932 election?

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

13 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

Hoover’s opposition to government relief during the Great Depression

President Hoover believed that individuals and businesses should be self-reliant and that government help would create a bureaucracy.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

14 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

Hoover’s attempts to solve economic problems

 Public-works programs such as building Boulder Dam failed to relieve entrenched depression.

 The Federal Farm Board, which made loans, established cooperatives, and bought surplus goods, avoided some foreclosures, but failed to end the farm crisis.

 The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which loaned taxpayer money to stabilize industries, helped some companies avoid bankruptcy, but used money for businesses, not people.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

15 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

Radical response to Hoover’s policies

 staged protests  became involved legally

Veterans’ response

 gathered in Washington D.C. to demand payment of their pension bonuses

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON

16 HOLT

The American Nation

IN THE MODERN ERA

Section 3: Hoover’s Policies

Reasons for Roosevelt’s popularity

 Roosevelt’s optimism and enthusiasm contrasted with Hoover’s gloom.

 As governor of New York, Roosevelt had designed new relief programs.

HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON