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The Development of the USA, 1929–2000

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The Development of the USA, 1929–2000 WJEC EDUQAS WJEC GCSE HISTORY GCSE HISTORY EDUQAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE USA THE DEVELOPMENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE USA 1929–2000 Steve Waugh • John Wright Series editor: R. Paul Evans , 1929–2000 Steve Waugh Waugh Steve John Wright CONTENTS Introduction 4 Chapter 1 Economic downturn and recovery 6 Chapter 2 The economic impact of the Second World War and post-war developments 20 Chapter 3 The issue of civil rights, 1941–70 26 Chapter 4 Political change, 1960–2000 54 Chapter 5 Social change, 1950–2000 66 Chapter 6 Cold War rivalry 80 Chapter 7 The search for world peace since 1970 94 Examination guidance 108 Glossary 115 Index 118 Sample proofs: copyright material 3 868146_WJEC_GCSE_History_FM.indd 3 23/06/16 12:57 PM 1 Economic downturn and recovery The USA was badly affected by the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It led to the Great Depression in both the cities and the countryside, with millions of people out of work. For many, life during the Depression was difficult. People lost their homes, jobs and family life was affected. The Republican President Herbert Hoover became increasingly unpopular as he appeared to do little to ease the effects of the economic downturn. In 1932 Hoover lost the presidential election to Franklin D. Roosevelt who introduced a New Deal to help those badly affected by the Depression. However, the New Deal was met by opposition from a variety of groups and individuals, especially the Supreme Court. The impact of the Wall Street Crash and life during the Depression After the First World War (1914–18), the USA experienced to fall quickly. The following Thursday, 24 October, became an economic boom and people thought that the country known as ‘Black Thursday’ as nearly 13 million shares were would prosper for many years. The policies of successive traded and share prices collapsed. Thousands of investors Republican presidents as well as the advanced techniques lost millions of dollars and were ruined. This event became of production used by the car industry helped to further known as the Wall Street Crash – named after the street the boom. During the 1920s, more and more Americans where the US stock market was based. began to invest in shares and prices kept rising. In 1928, however, shares did not rise as much as in previous years. Unemployment This led to less confidence in the market and a drop in The impact of the Wall Street Crash was quite spectacular. share prices. When, in the autumn of 1929, some experts By the end of 1929, there were about 2.5 million started to sell their shares before their value fell even unemployed in the USA. This figure increased dramatically further, small investors panicked and rushed to sell their during the years 1929–32 (see Figure 1.1) due to the own shares. collapse of the US economy and a fall in world trade. Many The real panic selling began on 19 October 1929. Nearly businesses closed due to the fall in demand for American 3.5 million shares were bought and sold and prices began consumer goods both at home and abroad. 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 Sample proofs:7 copyright material 6 5 4 Unemployed (millions of people) 3 2 1 1929 1930 1931 1932 Figure 1.1: The growth of unemployment, 1929–32 6 868146_WJEC_GCSE_History_01.indd 6 23/06/16 2:18 PM 1 Economic downturn and recovery Depression in the cities Depression in the countryside The crisis gathered momentum and it was not long before Bankruptcy among farmers grew because they were unable factories began to close down. People stopped spending, to sell their produce. In many cases, food was left to rot in and production had to slow down or stop. The industrial the ground. The drought of 1931 compounded the farmers’ cities saw a rapid rise in unemployment and by 1933 almost problems as reduced prices and falling output meant there one-third of the workforce was unemployed. was no hope of breaking even financially. As people lost their jobs, they lost their homes. Some built Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas were the alternative ‘homes’ in what became known as Hoovervilles states worst hit by the drought. Poor farming methods (see page 8). Many of the unemployed in cities slept on the had exhausted the soil, and in the drought the soil turned streets. Some drifted across the country as hobos. They caught to dust. When the winds came the soil blew away, creating rides on freight trains in search of work (see Source B). It was dust storms. The affected area, about 20 million hectares, estimated that in 1932 there were more than 2 million hobos. became known as the ‘dust bowl’. When the Great Depression began, black workers were often More than 1 million people left their homes to seek work the first to be sacked. Black unemployment was 50 per cent by in the fruit-growing areas of the west coast. Farmers and 1933, whereas it was about 20 per cent for white Americans. their families packed what they could, tied it to their cars or wagons, and set off towards the west coast. Those Source A: From Hard Times by Studs Terkel, 1970. It from Oklahoma were nicknamed ‘Okies’ and those from is from an interview with a black American who lived Arkansas were ‘Arkies’. Farmers in the west were quite through the Depression happy to employ these people as they worked for very The Negro was born in depression. The Great Depression low wages. They would set up camps at the edge of towns as you call it didn’t mean much to him. The Depression only and seek work wherever they could get it. They were often became official when it hit the white man. resented by locals because they were taking their jobs. Source C: From the memoir of Dorothea Lange, The ActiVitiES Assignment I’ll Never Forget: Migrant Mothers, 1960. Here she is describing meeting one of the migrant workers who 1 What can you learn from Source A about the Depression? had arrived in California 2 What do Sources B and C show about the extent of the I approached the hungry woman . She told me she was 32. Depression? She said she had been living on frozen vegetables from 3 Was the Wall Street Crash a turning point in America’s surrounding fields and birds that her children had killed. economic development? She had just sold the tyres from the car to buy food. Practice question 1 Explain why the lives of many farmers changed during the Depression. (For guidance, see page 112.) Sample proofs: copyright material Source B: Hobos by a freight train, early 1930s 7 868146_WJEC_GCSE_History_01.indd 7 23/06/16 2:18 PM WJEC Eduqas GCSE History: The Development of the USA, 1929–2000 Family life The Depression had a tremendous effect on family life. n Young people were reluctant to take on the extra commitment of marriage. Marriages fell from 1.23 million in 1929 to 982,000 in 1932. The birth rate also fell. n The suicide rate rose dramatically from 12.6 suicides per 1,000 people in 1926 to 17.4 per 1,000 at its peak in 1932. n In some states, such as Arkansas, schools were closed down for 10 months of the year because there was not enough money to pay teachers. n The magazine Fortune estimated that by 1932 about 25 per cent of the population was receiving no income. Because there was no national system of social security, the unemployed and their dependants relied on charitable organisations such as the Red Cross. Hoovervilles Those Americans who lost their homes as a result of becoming unemployed moved to the edges of towns and cities. They built homes of tin, wood and cardboard. These became known as Hoovervilles. There was even a Hooverville in Central Park, New York City. President Hoover was blamed for the lack of support and relief, and the sarcastic name for the dwellings soon caught on. It has been estimated that at their peak, several hundred thousand people across the USA lived in Hoovervilles. Hoovervilles had no running water or sewage systems and were therefore a public health concern for the towns and cities in which they were built. There were frequent attempts to move the inhabitants on, but there were still Hoovervilles in existence as late as 1941, when the federal government gave powers to state and city authorities to remove the Hoovervilles. There were other terms, heavy with irony, which used Hoover’s name: ActiVitY n ‘Hoover blankets’ were layers of newspapers n ‘Hoover flags’ were men’s trouser pockets turned inside out to show they had no money What does Source D show n you about Hoovervilles? ‘Hoover wagons’ were cars with horses tied to them because the owners could not afford petrol. Sample proofs: copyright material Source D: A Hooverville in Seattle. The Hooverville existed from 1932 to 1941 8 868146_WJEC_GCSE_History_01.indd 8 23/06/16 2:19 PM 1 Economic downturn and recovery The Bonus Marchers The Bonus Marchers were First World War veterans who had been promised a bonus for serving in the war, payable in 1945. The veterans felt that they could not wait that long to be paid. In May and June 1932, a Bonus Expeditionary Force, made up of over 12,000 unemployed and homeless veterans from all over the USA, marched to Washington DC to voice their support for a bill which would allow early payment of the bonuses.
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