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What Challenges Faced Democracy in the 1920S And The Great Depression ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT CHALLENGES FACED DEMOCRACY IN THE 1920S AND 1930S? Roaring 20s recap • The 1920s was filled with happiness at the end of World War I and bitterness from the fight over the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. • Reforms under progressive Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson slowed, but the “Roaring Twenties” was a decade of great cultural changes to American society. • The Twenties were known by various images and names: the Jazz Age, the age of the Lost Generation, flappers, the speakeasy, organized crime, cosmetics, the “new” woman, and the Harlem Renaissance. • All these changes created an iconic “world gone mad” that seemed it would never end... Economic Recovery Postwar European economies began to recover in the 1920s. Manufacturing and trade returned, and the middle class became wealthier. • Britain and France Some major owed a substantial European countries war debt to the owed a great deal United States. of money (war debt) and were not • Germany’s economy financially stable. was failing under its crushing reparations. US leads the way The United States emerged as the world’s leading economic power. American loans and investments backed the recovery of Europe. • A stable American economy appeared to benefit everyone because of our lending power. • Attempts by the Federal Reserve to maintain stability in the stock market failed. • In 1929, overproduction of goods and a crisis in finance in the United States led to a world economic collapse. Black Thursday The stock market crash of 1929 brings the roaring 20’s to a screaming halt. As you watch the video answer these questions: 1. Why did the stock market crash effect banks? 2. What is a bank run? 3. Why did president Roosevelt declare a Bank Holiday? https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/1929-stock-market-crash Stock Market Crash By the start of the 1930s, the economic crisis had spread around the world. Governments tried to protect their economies, but nothing helped and unemployment rose. The Great Depression spread around the world to Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Global Depression Throughout the world, governments tried many methods to solve the crisis, but with little success. • By 1931, one in four British workers was unemployed. • Strikes brought down the government in France. • Under U.S. President Herbert Hoover’s policies of nonintervention, the economy did not improve. • People began calling slums that popped up in city-parks Hoovervilles and inside-out empty pockets Hoover flags. Democracy begins to crumble • The Great Depression caused many people to lose faith in the ability of democratic governments to solve problems. • Some European nations turned to authoritarian leaders who promised to restore order Unemployed men in Britain take part in a and prosperity. “hunger march.” The New Deal In 1932, Americans elected a new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt • Stock market regulations introduced the • Protection of bank deposits New Deal, and kept the public • Aid to farmers informed with his • Job creation fireside chats. • Social Security pensions The New Deal failed to end the Great Depression, but it did ease some of its effects. Fireside chats The medium of radio allowed president Roosevelt to go into people’s homes and give them hope during the great depression. Read about this program and answer the analysis questions at the end of your notes. http://www.history.com/topics/fireside- chats Terms and People • general strike – a strike by workers in many different industries at the same time • overproduction – the situation that exists when production of goods exceeds demand • Federal Reserve – the central banking system of the United States • Great Depression – a time of global economic collapse • Franklin D. Roosevelt – elected President of the United States in 1932 • New Deal – a massive package of economic and social programs introduced by FDR Guiding Question What political and economic challenges did the leading democracies face in the 1920s and 1930s? In 1919, Britain, France, and the United States appeared powerful, but even some of the victors’ economies were ravaged after World War I. Overproduction lead to a worldwide depression in the early 1930s..
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