Great Depression (1929Ish to 1940Ish)

Great Depression (1929ish to 1940ish)

Causes- - Reduced foreign trade - High tariffs - Global depression (video) - Crisis in agriculture - Over availability of credit - Highly unequal distribution of wealth (today?) - Stock Market Crash (maybe?)

Economic Problems- Banks – 1. Many were lending irresponsibly 2. Market Crash leads to many bankruptcies / loan defaults 3. Citizens come to get $ and it’s not there 4. Leads to panic as everyone wants to withdraw simultaneously 5. By 1933, 11,000 of nation’s 25,000 banks failed -no gov’t insurance on deposits -today we have FDIC for this Business – - between 1929 and ’32 nation’s GNP cut in half as companies close -approximately 90,000 businesses close Unemployment – - rises from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933 - 13 million workers without a job (families suffer too…) - those with jobs suffer from oversupply of labor Effects- Cities – -Jobless end up on the streets in shantytowns (Hoovervilles) (pic) -soup kitchens and bread lines only means of survival -Bonus Army “invades” D.C. Rural Areas – -Markets collapse and many farmers lose land -forced into subsistence farming as tenants -Dust Bowl makes matters worse -overfarming kills grass -ensuing drought leads to (big!) dust storms -Many families head to California as migrant workers (pics) Great Depression Notes (part II)

1932 election -Roosevelt (Dem) beats Hoover (Repub.) easily -preaches active gov’t involvement in fighting poverty -balanced budget less important than ending unemployment

New Deal -Roosevelt’s plan for beating the Great Depression -uses “fireside chats” (radio addresses) to communicate with people -Programs -FDIC (insures bank deposits) -SEC (regulates stock market) -TVA/CCC/CWA/WPA/AAA -all work to create jobs -assist impoverished areas of country (TN electricity) -revitalize monuments (Civil War battlefields) -improve infrastructure (highways/dams) -assist farmers (limit farm production) -Social Security (retirement/welfare benefits) -Organized labor receives support

Criticism -some say Roosevelt acting like a king -does try to pack Supreme Court -others say not doing enough to help people -still 7 million unemployed in 1937

Results -Roosevelt is quite popular among “average Joes” -Democratic Party gains solid majority, but is changing… -working class, socialists, women, minorities loyal -Southerners/businessmen becoming disgruntled -Beer’s back!

Run-up to WWII -Much of Europe looks to dictators to end Depression -rearmament in late ‘30s ends Depression for most of western world