GACE Study Guide s1

Janelle Wagner EMAT 681 3/12/2011 GACE Study Guide SS5H5 The student will explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans. a) Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens. b) Analyze the main features of the New Deal; include the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. c) Discuss important cultural elements of the 1930’s; include Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens.

Great Depression Causes: -http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/enc/r.shtml 1. Lack of diversification in the economy - Most stocks were held in construction and automobile industry which felt decline in sales during the 1920’s. 2. Market Crash of 1929 (Black Tuesday, October 29) – Stock prices rose sharply between 1928 and 1929 and created an overinflated stock market. People investing were given too much credit that was difficult to repay along with increasing taxes and inflation. 3. Uneven distribution of wealth – Limited purchasing power among agricultural society created a weakness in consumer demand for goods and services. 4. Credit Structure – Farmers were unable to pay off loans because crop prices were too low to allow a profit plus the opportunity to pay loans. Many customers were forced to default on loans while many banks were over- investing in the stock market and making risky loans. 5. European industries were growing and creating less demand for importation of American goods. 6. International debt – After WWI all Allied European nations owed the U.S. money that they could not repay. Governments began borrowing more money from U.S. banks to repay loans which created a vicious cycle of greater debt.

Herbert Hoover – President from 1929 to 1933 -http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/travpres/hoovers.htm In spite of his belief in America’s future prosperity, Herbert Hoover was forced to respond to the economic crisis of the Great Depression. He urged labor leaders to ignore demands for higher wages and better hours in order to avoid layoffs of the current workforce. He attempted to use federal spending, called Public Works to fight the Depression but the amount proved not to be enough to create a turnaround in the economy and Hoover was reluctant to invest any more government money because he did not want an unbalanced federal budget. The economy continued its downward spiral and Hoover became a scapegoat for the economic crisis. Many Americans lost their jobs. The unemployment rate rose above 50% in some parts of the country and Shantytowns created by the homeless on the outskirts of large cities were nicknamed “Hoovervilles.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) – President from 1933 to 1945 -http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/presidents-day/franklin-roosevelt/timeline.html -http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1578.html -http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/enc/r.shtml Confined to a wheelchair after he was stricken polio in 1929, he returned to politics to challenge Herbert Hoover for the presidency in 1932. Roosevelt won by a landslide with 57.4% of the vote armed with his promise of a “New Deal.” He was inaugurated on March 4, 1933 and served an unprecedented 12 years in office.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937.

Roosevelt’s New Deal -http://www.fdrheritage.org/new_deal.htm

Initiative Description Outcome Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDR closed business for all banks Gave consumers more confidence that (FDIC) (Emergency Banking Act) to allow they would not lose all their money if a government inspection of the health of bank failure were to occur. Inspectors banks. This lead to Congress forming the decided most banks were in good FDIC which insured all bank deposits up condition and allowed about 2/3 to reopen. to $5000. After banks reopened for business, deposits soon exceeded withdrawals. Federal Emergency Relief Administration Harry Hopkins led this program and Allowed many relief organizations in (FERA) believed that people should be put to work danger of closing to continue funding rather than just given handouts. This programs. agency sent $5million to local relief agencies within two hours of opening operations. It also funded public works programs. Civil Works Administration (CWA) A public work program that gave the Helped to relieve some of the burden of unemployed opportunities to work in unemployment facing 4 million workers. building/repairing roads, airports, parks, etc. Civilian Conservation Corps Allowed unmarried men to work for Many men and women were taught to live $1/day + room and board maintaining and independently and, therefore increased restoring forests, beaches and parks. Also their self esteem. funded similar programs for 8,500 women. Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 Gave unallocated lands to Native Positive cultural and economic outcomes American groups and stopped the sale of for Native Americans. tribal lands. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) Formed to help businesses by boosting In the end the NIRA was declared June 1933 declining prices of goods. Also allowed unconstitutional because it was only unions to regulate wages, working effective for a short time until higher conditions, production and prices of goods wages drove up prices and reduced and set a minimum wage. consumer spending again. Became too complicated and rigid. Public Works Association (PWA) Created projects such as the Grand Coulee One of the most successful programs Dam on the Columbia River. sponsored by the NIRA. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Result of the Federal Securities Act of Proved critical for the long-term health of May 1933. The SEC required all U.S. businesses. information regarding the sale of stocks to be disclosed and regulated the stock market. The Federal Reserve Board was given permission from Congress to regulate the purchase of stock. Home Owners Loan Corporation HOLC refinanced the mortgages of many Many homeowners were kept out of (HOLC) / Agriculture Adjustment homes in order to help middle income foreclosure because of the HOLC. Administration (AAA) home owners to keep their homes out of Farmers killed animals and crops as they foreclosure. were told to do by the AAA. This practice The AAA tried to regulate the production was eventually declared unconstitutional. of specific crops and animals in order to raise prices on farm prices. It used money from a new tax to pay farmers and felt that lower production would in turn raise prices and drive agricultural economy. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) May Authorized and financed the completion of Improved water transportation, eliminated 1939 a dam at Muscle Shoals, Tennessee River flooding in the region and provided and supported other similar efforts in an electricity to thousands of people who had area of the country that was one of the not previously had it. The Tennessee least modernized in the country. Valley remained impoverished long after in spite of the efforts. Works Progress Administration (WPA) Designed to address immediate needs and Decreased unemployment by provided 2.1 1935-1943 provided 8 million jobs building and million jobs and pumping money into the renovating schools, airfields, roads, economy. bridges and hospitals. Farm Security Administration (FSA) Provided over $1 billion to set up camps Created better living conditions for for migrant workers. workers following the seasonal crops. National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Legalized practices such as, closed shops Helped improve working conditions and Act) which employed only union members and wages. collective bargain. Also set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to impose regulations. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 Set a minimum wage and made child labor Progressive-era social reformers illegal. considered this a triumph. Social Security Act Established a system to provide pensions Helped Americans feel more secure about for the elderly, survivor’s benefits for their financial future. survivors of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance and aid for mother and children and the blind and handicapped. It also created a payroll tax that could later be drawn upon by individuals after retirement.

*Roosevelt’s programs dealt with immediate needs of the people but did not end the Depression. The United States decision to enter World War II is what really boosted the economy because it ramped up the war industries and put people back to work.

Soup Kitchens during the Great Depression -http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/p/greatdepression.htm The first Soup kitchen was start by the notorious gangster, Al Capone in Chicago in an attempt to clean up his image, but the idea quickly caught on in nearly every city in America due to the rising unemployment rate. Soup and bread were generally served because water could be added to the soup to serve a greater number of people. Soup kitchens were often sponsored by church groups and social activist groups.

(Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.) Farm Security Administration - Works Progress Administration: Unemployed men eating in Volunteers of America Soup Kitchen in Washington, D.C. (Circa June 1936) The Dust Bowl of the 1930s -http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1583.htm -http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html Causes: - Farmers who migrated to the Midwest were unaware that the grasses and trees were essential for holding the topsoil of the fertile land in place and they stripped it all in order to use more land for farming. - High demand crops such as wheat were over-farmed year after year and land was not allowed to rest in order to replenish much needed nutrients. - A drought began in the early 1930s and farmers continued to plow and plant, further depleting the already arid soil. Effects: -After the drought began, the dry soil was whipped up by winds, creating dust storms that lasted hours to days. The dust drifted like snow and seeped into the cracks of homes creating a layer of dust on everything. -The Dust Bowl had the most devastating effects in the southern plains – Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. -Continued plowing in hopes of rain only made conditions worse. The National Weather Bureau reported 14 dust storms in 1932 and 38 dust storms the following year. -Farming families who normally would have been safe in an economic depression because of the ability to feed themselves, were living on cornbread, beans and milk and dying of dust pneumonia. -A mass exodus ensued. Many families gave up hope and migrated west in hope of finding work or better farmland elsewhere. After moving, families leaving the plains, nicknamed “Okies,” found that many people were already out of jobs due to the Great Depression. -The Depression was no doubt prolonged due to the drought and dust storms of the Dust Bowl years.

Soil conservation: Through FDR’s New Deal Program, the government began to offer relief to farmers. The money spent to help to help the poor did not end the Depression or the effects of the Dust Bowl but helped to relieve poverty and reduce unemployment rates.

Hugh Hammond Bennett led a campaign to teach farmers how to reform their practices long before Roosevelt became president and called for new approaches to farming in order to halt spread of soil erosion to more states in the nation and to avoid similar ecological disasters. His work helped persuaded Congress to pass the Soil Conservation Act in April 1935. Roosevelt gave his full support behind the program.

President Roosevelt also ordered the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to plant a huge line of more than 200 million trees from Canada to Abilene, TX, to serve as a wind break, hold the soil in place and hold water in the soil. Education of farmers on better farming practices, including crop rotation, strip farming, terracing, and contour plowing were also initiated by the administration. One dollar per acre was paid to farmers practice one of the new methods being encouraged and by 1938 this conservation effort had reduced the amount of dust storms by 65 percent, but the drought conditions continued and poor agricultural yields continued. In the fall of 1939, after almost a decade of drought, dirt and dust, rain returned to the region. Once dry fields became fertile again upon the rain’s return and crops began to grow. The Dust Bowl ended as quickly as it had begun. Popular Culture in the 1930’s People were looking for hope, humor and escape during this time period. Many of the cultural products that were most popular were created with this in mind. Due to high rate of unemployment, people had more time but less money to spend on entertainment. More economical forms of entertainment began to emerge and what we think of as “popular culture” took shape. The social commentary that existed seemed to center on reigniting hope and helping people to remember the ideals and goals of Americans throughout history.

Radio – a community experience in which groups of people would be invited into a home or huddle around a radio plugged into a car battery to listen to radio programming. - Comedians - Jack Benny, George Burns, and Gracie Allen became popular. - Adventures – Superman, Dick Tracy, The Lone Ranger - Celebrated events – World Series, Academy Awards, Political Conventions - Soap Operas – nicknamed because of the soap advertisements aimed at women who often listened to the dramas during the day in the home. - 1937 – Broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster in New Jersey. - Halloween 1938 – Orson Wells’ fictional broadcast about alien invasion that had people panicking because they thought it was real. Books - Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (1936) – seemed to take people’s minds off of their own troubles, remembering the civil war and southern culture of that time period. - John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939) – social commentary about the dust bowl and the “Okies.” Movies – movie sales declined at the start of the depression, but picked up again by the mid-1930s. Sound and color by the end of the decade increased popularity even more. - Little Ceasar ((1930) - The Public Enemy (1931) - King Vidor’s Our Daily Bread (1932) - Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - It’s a Wonderful Life - John Ford’s adaptation of Grapes of Wrath (1942) - Walt Disney’s “Mickey Mouse” shorts began appearing in movie trailers and his first feature length cartoon, Snow White appeared on the movie screen in 1937. Music – Big band jazz and swing emerged during this time period. - Duke Ellington – one of the originators of big band jazz music. - Fred Astaire - Billie Holliday - Fats Waller Sports – Leagues and franchises were making cuts along with every business in America but they did not halt the popularity of sports in the U.S. - Jesse Owens – Men’s track and field. Ran in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. First American to win four gold medals in the Olympics. As an African American, he discredited Hitler’s master race theory. - Mildred “Babe” Didrickson – women’s track and field 1932 Olympic Games (2 gold medals and 1silver medal). - The Stanley Cup Toronto Vs. New York - Helen Wills Moody – women’s tennis, won seven major title including five at Wimbledon - Bronko Nagurski – Chicago Bears running back and member of the first group inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. - Joe Lewis – some believe he is the best boxer of all time. - Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees – Beat the Giants in the 1936 World Series - Seabiscuit – winningest race-horse during the 1930s. -http://www.jesseowens.com/about/ -http://www.sportplanet.com/sbb/apfas/30R.HTM