View of the New Deal at the National Level
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
“THE BEST FORM OF ASSISTANCE ALWAYS IS THE KIND THAT ENABLES FOLKS TO HELP THEMSELVES”: PUBLIC REACTION TO THE NEW DEAL IN HANCOCK, SENECA, AND WOOD COUNTIES OF OHIO Anthony J. Bolton A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2021 Committee: Rebecca Mancuso, Advisor Michael Brooks © 2021 Anthony J. Bolton All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Rebecca Mancuso, Advisor The Great Depression and New Deal had a profound impact on the United States. It led to the need for fundamental changes in the nation, especially regarding the federal government’s role and size. The beginning of the Great Depression marked the end of the “New Era” that the United States had experienced in the 1920s. However, one group of Americans—farmers—did not participate in this “New Era,” including those in three Northwestern Ohio counties: Hancock, Seneca, and Wood. This study analyzes through voting and media analysis how these three counties reacted to the Great Depression and the New Deal from 1929 to 1936. As the Depression continued to worsen, their suffering continued and even worsened, and with Herbert Hoover’s inability to provide relief or a path to recovery, these counties and the rest of the nation turned to Franklin Roosevelt and his promise of a “new deal” to provide that relief. Within these counties, the New Deal was initially seen as successful; however, it was soon seen as having a corrosive effect on traditional American values. Because of this, these counties rejected Roosevelt and the New Deal in 1936, while the rest of the nation overwhelmingly supported him. While there has been historical scholarship published on rural farming in the Midwest during the Great Depression, there has been little analysis of Northwest Ohio and especially these three counties. There has also been little historical scholarship published on the New Deal’s impact on a more local level. I argue that Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties’ citizens saw traditional American values as the best solutions to economic problems. If federal relief was deemed necessary, it should only provide enough to allow those values to resume their effectiveness. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Rebecca Mancuso and Dr. Michael Brooks for agreeing to serve on my committee. All of their comments and feedback throughout this process have been most appreciated. I would also like to thank all of the Bowling Green State University faculty who have helped me through my six years here. From the History Department, Dr. Amilcar Challu, Dr. Benjamin Greene, Dr. Walter Grunden, Dr. Ruth Herndon, Dr. Scott Martin, and the Political Science Department, Dr. David Jackson, Dr. Melissa Miller, and Dr. Marc Simon. All of them helped me to become a better writer and historian. I also wanted to extend thanks to my cohort members who helped make these a memorable two years. I would also like to thank my friends Tyler Marchok, Mark O’Malley, Mike Schaefer, and Thomas Tedesco, who helped to provide many opportunities to forget about this thesis and relax. Finally, I wanted to thank my parents, my sisters, and all of my family. Without your love and support, I would not be here, and for that, I am forever grateful. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I. THE RISE AND FALL OF A “NEW ERA”: 1929-1932 ................................. 11 The United States During the 1920s ............................................................................. 11 The Beginning of the Great Depression ........................................................................ 14 A Rise in Crime and Fear.............................................................................................. 20 Hoover’s Relief Efforts ................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER II. “A NEW DEAL FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”: 1932-1933 .................. 36 Possible Solutions to the Depression ............................................................................ 38 The Bonus March .......................................................................................................... 44 The 1932 Election ................................................................................................... 48 American’s Hope for Roosevelt .................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER III. ROOSEVELT’S NEW DEAL: 1933-1935 .................................................... 59 The Banking Crisis of 1933 .......................................................................................... 61 Banking Reform in the New Deal ................................................................................. 64 The New Deal and Economic Theory ........................................................................... 66 Farmers and the New Deal ............................................................................................ 69 Federal Relief Programs in the New Deal .................................................................... 73 Is The End Near? ....................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER IV. A RETURN TO TRADITION: 1935-1936 .................................................... 82 Criticism of New Deal Relief Agencies........................................................................ 83 Criticism of New Deal Agricultural Policies ................................................................ 87 vi The “New Deal Dissidents” .......................................................................................... 90 The 1936 Election ................................................................................................... 98 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 115 1 INTRODUCTION On October 24, 1929, the Great Depression began with the New York Stock Exchange crash. For over the next decade, the Depression impacted almost every facet of the United States and led to significant transformations. One such transformation came with Franklin Roosevelt’s election in 1932 and his promise of “a new deal for the American people.”1 Under the New Deal, there became expansive changes to the federal government and to the idea of what the government should do to help its citizens, a debate that continues to this day. This study examines how three Northwest Ohio counties—Hancock, Seneca, and Wood—reacted to the Great Depression and New Deal from 1929 to 1936. These three counties were chosen because they comprised “a microcosm of rural and urban America.”2 All three counties in the 1930s had a population between 40-50,000 and were also primarily rural counties, with Findlay being the largest city in the counties with 19,363 in 1930.3 Therefore, these counties had an economy based around agriculture, with the counties’ major metropolitan areas serving as the business centers for the surrounding farmers. These counties were also successful for farming, with The Ohio Guide stating “the rich river valleys” are “great flat fields of corn and wheat, and pastures full of cattle, sheep, hogs, and horses.”4 Because of this, farmers there operated “his own trucks and drives a large car into town,” while those in other areas of the state may still rely on “a Model T, or even in a buggy” to travel.5 1 Steve Neal, Happy Days are Here Again: The 1932 Democratic Campaign, the Emergence of FDR—and How America Was Changed Forever, (New York: Harper Collins, 2004), 313. 2 Bernard Sternsher, “The Harding and Bricker Revolutions: Party Systems and Voter Behavior in Northwest Ohio, 1860-1982,” Typescript, Accessed at Center of Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, 2. 3 “Table 4—Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930, 1920, and 1910,” U.S. Government, 1930 Census, Population—Ohio, 850, 859, & 863. 4 “The Farm and the Farmer,” The Ohio Guide, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1940), 84. 5 Ibid. 2 This study examines the years from 1929 to 1936 to determine the Great Depression and New Deal’s impact upon these three counties. October 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression with the stock market crash and would continue ultimately until the United States entered World War II in 1941. However, 1936 was chosen as the end date for this study due to its reliance on these three counties’ voting analysis. For this study to have the most significance, it must cover the elections in which the Depression and New Deal were of most significance to the voters. After the 1936 election, and even during the election, there became a much greater concern with what is happening in Europe, specifically Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. After the 1936 election, not many major New Deal legislation or programs were enacted. The primary source base for this study consists primarily of newspaper editorials from the counties. These editorials are essential because these newspapers served as the primary source of news for the counties’ residents, with the Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin delivered to 99.3 percent of the city’s residents.6 Because of this, the newspaper editors wielded significant