The document provides details about life in the United States during the Great Depression from 1929 to 1933. It describes how the stock market crash led to widespread unemployment that reached 25% as many industries declined. President Hoover initially responded through voluntary programs but the economic situation continued to deteriorate. When Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933, he worked with Congress to pass New Deal programs that focused on relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal provided jobs through programs like the CCC and WPA and sought to reform the financial system through agencies and acts. However, the Depression had severe impacts and the New Deal faced obstacles from the Supreme Court and other critics.
3. Signs of Weakness
Older industries declining
Coal mining, railroads, & clothing manufactures
Agriculture in prolonged downturn
Stock prices soared
Margin buying: people bought stocks at ta fraction of
the cost at the outset & owing the balance
Gambled that prices would be higher when they were ready to
sell
4. The Stock Market Crashes
May 1928-September 1929
Industrial stocks doubled
Wednesday October 23rd
6 million shares of stock changed hands
Falling prices caused losses of $4 billion
Brokers who lent $ for people to buy on margin now recalled their loans
Investors who could not pay had to sell their stocks
Caused prices to drop even more
October 29, 1929
Black Tuesday
Stock market crumbled completely
Panicked traders rushed to sell (there were no buyers)
Investors who thought they had valuable stock had worthless pieces of
paper (millionaires lost their fortunes overnight)
Stock prices plunged over the next 2 weeks
5. The Great Depression Begins
Stock markets crash marked the start of a 12-year
economic & social disaster
6. Troubled Industries
Major cause of the Great Depression
Overproduction: a situation in which the supply of
manufactured goods exceeds the demand
Factories produced more than people bought (prices for goods
increased)
Housing & automobile manufacture were in decline
Supports prosperity during 1920s
Between 1926-1929 spending on construction fell from
$11 billion to $9 billion
1st nine months of 1929 car sales dropped by more than
1/3
7. Crisis in Banking
Nationwide banking crisis contributed to depression
Struggling farmers could not repay loans
When farms failed, banks also went out of business
City banks also invested in the stock market or loaned
$ to speculators
When market crashed people rushed to banks to
withdraw their savings
More than 5,500 banks closed between 1930 & 1933
Many depositors were left penniless
8. The Downward Spiral
W/ people unable to buy factory products, many factory
workers lost their jobs
Had less $ to make purchases
Led to declining sales, which led to more factories closings &
layoffs
Many companies forced into bankruptcy (financial failure
caused by a company’s inability to pay its debts)
These caused even more layoffs
Worldwide Issue
European countries defaulted on their loans owed to the U.S.
from WWI due to decline in international trade
As crisis worsened, investors cut back loans to Europe
Process of production cuts, layoffs, & bankruptcies repeated in
Europe
9. The Unemployed
1929-1933
Unemployment went from 3% to 25%
13 million people nationwide
Toledo, Ohio: 4 out of 5 workers had no work
Those that had jobs had hours & wages cut
10. Growing Poverty
Spirits crushed because of poverty
Jobless waited in long lines for food
Communities of rundowns shack built on outskirts of
big cities
Called Hoovervilles (blamed President Hoover for
failing to solve the crisis)
11. Impact on Families
Many fathers left families in search of work
Others were too ashamed to be apart of the family & left
Marriages were less common
Also had fewer children if married
Children faced hardships & uncertainty
Suffered lifelong health problems
Education suffered
1 million rural children under the age of 13 did not
attend school
12. Hoover Responds
Hoover’s advisers wanted him to do nothing
Hoover disagreed
Government Aid
Hoover wanted business leaders & local gov’t to take the lead
Encouraged city & state gov’t to create public works projects
Urged private charities to et up soup kitchens
1932
Voluntary action was not enough
Reconstruction Finance Corporation formed
RFC gave $ to local gov’ts to fund public –works projects
Economic situation did not improve
13. The Bonus Army
June 1932
Protest began that would end Hoover’s career
8 years earlier Congress approved a bonus of $1,000 for
every vet of WWI
Vets demanded payment as Depression grew worse
Was not paid until 1945
Hoover refused & 20,000 vets marched to Washington
Congress also refused (many marchers left)
2,000 stubbornly remained in tents or abandoned buildings
Gov’t forces used tear gas, tanks, & machine guns
1 killed, 100 injured (Americans were outraged)
15. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Nominated by Democrats to run against Hoover in 1932
known as FDR
was a wealthy New Yorker & distant relative of Theodore
Roosevelt
had served as assistant secretary of the navy & nominated as
VP in 1920
got polio in 1921 & relied on steel leg braces to help him stand
never allowed photographers to take his picture in a wheel
chair
1928 elected governor of New York
selected to run for President 4 years later
16. A Voice of Hope
Pledged “a new deal for the American people”
Later it would describe his entire political program
FDR beat Hoover by a margin of 472 electoral votes to
59
Received 57.4% of the popular vote
On March 4, 1933w/ the help of his son, he took the
oath of office
17. Bank Holiday
Day after taking office
Declared a bank holiday (4 day closing of the nation’s
banks)
Goal was to halt nationwide epidemic of bank failures
Gave FDR time to propose an Emergency Banking Relief Act
(provided more careful gov’t regulations of banks)
FDR restored Americans’ confidence in their banks by
delivering a fireside chat (radio talks; gave many
during his presidency)
When banks reopened many Americans re-deposited
money
18. Relief for the Jobless
FDR conferred w/ his advisors over what legislation to
send to Congress
They were nicknamed the “brain trust” because many of
them were college professors
During the 1st 100 days of FDR’s administration
Congress passed & the President signed 15 new bills
New Deal measures had 3 goals
Relief for the jobless
Economic recovery
Reforms to prevent futures depressions
19. Unemployment Relief
Some measures provided financial assistance
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Granted funds to states so they could reopen shuttered
relief agencies
20. Providing jobs
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Hired city dwellers to work in America’s national parks,
forests, wilderness areas, & countryside
Planted trees, built reservoirs, constructed parks, & dug irrigation
canals
CCC created jobs & protected the nation’s natural resources
The Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Put people to work building or repairing public buildings
Schools, post offices, & gov’t offices
Paved 650,000 miles of roads, raised more than 75,000 bridges, &
built more than 800 airports
Paid artists to paint murals in post offices & gov’t buildings
Hired writers to write stories, state guides, & histories
21. Promoting Economic Recovery
FDR needed to help industry & agriculture recover
National Recovery Administration
Aimed to keep prices stable while boosting employment
& buying power
Most of major industries agreed to pay workers a minimum
wage, to stop hiring young children, & to keep wages and
prices from falling too low
NRA succeeded in raising prices
Some critics charged them w/ favoring large businesses
Also failed to improve the economy
22. Public Works Administration
PWA
Was granted more than $3 billion to build large public-
works projects
Improved the nation’s infrastructure & employed many
people
New York’s Lincoln Tunnel, Florida’s Key West Hwy, & the
Grand Coulee Dam in Washington
Nearly every county in the nation could boast at least one
PWA project
Even so, the Great Depression continued
23. Tennessee Valley Authority
Formed in 1933
TVA
Built giant dams along Tennessee River
Dams could control flooding, provided cheap electricity, & increase
jobs and prosperity in one of nation’s poorest rural areas
1945
Power from TVA plants lit thousands of farms that never had
electricity
Failed to relieve region’s poverty
Conservatives criticized TVA for driving some property owners off
their land
Also argued it was unfair for gov’t to compete w/ private power
companies
Other argued TVA disrupted the natural environment (increased
air pollution)
24. Reforming the Economic System
Truth-in-Securities Act
Required corporations to inform the public fully about their
stocks
Corrected one condition that caused stock market to crash
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Protected bank depositors
Guaranteed individual deposits up to $2,500.00
Other agencies set fairness & safety standards for various
industries
Federal Power Commission (FDC)
Helped control the oil & gas industries
Food & Drug Administration powers were also increased
25. Obstacles to the New Deal
FDR was re-elected in 1936
Americans were enthusiastic about the New Deal
New deal faced challenges in the Supreme court
26. Supreme Court
1935 & 1936
Supreme Court declared several New Deal measures,
including NRA, to be unconstitutional
FDR proposed appointing up to six new Supreme Court
justices
Was opposed by conservatives (saw FDR’s plan to gain a
majority of justices)
Congress defeated FDR’s plan
He was able to win backdoor way
1937 a conservative justice resigned & FDR appointed a liberal
one in his place
27. New Deal Critics
Conservatives
Thought New Deal went too far in regulating businesses & restricting
individual freedom
Liberals
Some thought New Deal did not go far enough in helping the poor
Biggest critics
Huey Long: Democratic senator from Louisiana; argue d gov’t could
end Depression immediately; proposed to tax the wealthy & distribute
their wealth to the poor (Share Our Wealth plan)
Francis Townsend: called for a system of gov’t pensions (retirement
payments); retired Americans over the age of 60 would receive $200
each month as long as they pledged to spend all the money; plan was
never approved by Congress, but later helped set the stage for the Social
Security system
Charles Coughlin: used radio to attract followers; Catholic priest from
Michigan; distrusted FDR’s policies on banking & money; called for
gov’t to take over banks
Supporters of the “Big Critics” joined forces to back a third-party
candidate in 1936 (were not strong enough to combat FDR’s popularity
29. Women in the Depression
Many Americans felt women should stay at home
During the Depression women had to help support
their families
By the end of the Depression more women were
working outside of the home than before the
Depression
30. Women in the Workplace
2 advantages for women in the workplace
Female salesclerks & secretaries faced little competition from men
Jobs of women less likely to disappear, unlike factory jobs
Most women w/ jobs still struggled
Women trained in certain professions (teachers, librarians, etc.)
had to compete against men who had lost their jobs
Women factory workers were more likely to lose their jobs or have
wages cut
Maids, seamstresses, & housekeepers lost their jobs because people
could not afford their services
African American women suffered the most because they held the
majority of domestic jobs
To save money more women found themselves sewing clothes,
canning fruits & vegetables, & baking bread instead of buying
31. An Active First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
Most famous working lady
After FDR was stricken w/ polio she began to speak &
travel on his behalf
Transformed the role of First Lady
She served as the Presidents eyes & ears
In 1933 alone she logged 40,000 miles including a trip
down into a WV coal mine
Also made frequent radio speeches & wrote a daily
newspaper column
Used her position to fight for women’s rights
32. African Americans in the
Depression
Hit hard by the depression
Suffered more unemployment, homelessness, illness,
& hunger than whites
33. South & North
South
Plunging cotton prices forced African American
sharecroppers off their land
Move to southern cities (found traditional jobs done by blacks (i.e.
cleaning streets) were now done by jobless whites)
1932 more than ½ African Americans in South were unemployed
North
African Americans migrated north
Still hard to find work
Were last hired & first fired from jobs
In New York 50% of blacks were jobless
34. FDR’s Mixed Record
Most blacks backed FDR despite his mixed record on
civil rights
Example: FDR failed to support a federal antilynching
bill
W/ his wife’s prodding, FDR appointed at least 100
blacks to gov’t posts
Mary McLeod Bethune, a friend of Eleanor’s, became
top ranking African American in gov’t
Member of FDR’s “Black Cabinet”; advised FDR on African
American issues (William Hastie also a member of cabinet,
later became 1st black federal judge)
35. A Symbolic Moment
1939
Daughters of the American revolution (DAR) refused to
allow African American singer Marian Anderson to
perform at their hall
Eleanor resigned as a member of DAR in protest
Arranged for Anderson to sing on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial on Easter Sunday (drew crowd of 75,000; became a
symbol of the struggle for civil rights)
36. Mexican Immigrants Are Deported
Mexican immigrants
Lived in SW as migrant workers
Welcomed during good time by farmers (worked for low
pay & harsh conditions)
Whites flooded the area during the Depression looking for
work
American wanted gov’t to force Mexican out of the country
They rounded up 100s of thousands of people & deported
them (some were actual U.S. citizens born in the U.S.)
37. The Indian New Deal
1924
Native Americans were granted citizenship
When Depression hit, 170,000 Indians lived in poverty on reservations
administered by the gov’t
John Collier
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
A white man who lived among Pueblo Indians of New Mexico
Developed a program called Indian New Deal
w/ federal agency funding: NA hired to build schools, hospitals, & irrigation
systems
Also wanted reservations under Indian control, stop sales of their lands, &
encouraged schools to teach Native American history & the arts
1934
Congress approved part of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)
Did restrict tribal land sales, but failed to bring self-gov’t or education promotion
38. The Dust Bowl
1930
Little rain fell, drought caused crop failure & dust storms
Lasted 5 years, 100 million acres of farmland became a
wasteland
39. Black Blizzards
Modern farming contributed to Dust Bowl
Large plots of land containing native grasses & sod was
removed by farmers (this held the soil in place)
Little rain caused rootless soil to blow away like powder
Dust Storms were called Black Blizzards
Made noon seem like midnight, buried fences, houses,
& killed people and animals
40. Okies Head West
Ruined farm families abandoned their dusty homes to
seek work elsewhere
In some areas 1 in 3 families left
Became known as Okies because many came from
Oklahoma
Conditions not better in California
Not able to buy land, they had to compete w/ local workers to
pick crops
Police closed some roads into California, but migrants kept
coming
41. Arts & Media of the Depression
John Steinbeck
Captured miseries of the Dust Bowl in The Grapes of
Wrath
Tells the story of the Joads, Okies who seek a better life in
California
42. Visual Arts
Photographers & painters used
the Depression as a theme
Under a New Deal program
called the Farm Security
Administration, photographer
Dorothea Lange recorded the
experiences of the Dust Bowl
migrants
Photograph remains the
symbol the Depression
WPA hired artists to paint
murals on public buildings
43. Movies & Radio
During the Depression
Movies: dealt realistically w/ social problems
The Grapes of Wrath & The Public Enemy
Also helped people forget about their problems
Mickey Mouse, King Kong, & Shirley Temple
Radio: used to broadcast FDR’s fireside chats
Popular bands & comedians, continuing dramas sponsored by
soap companies (soap operas)
45. Social Security
1935
FDR signs Social Security Act
Provided federal gov’t a major & lasting role in providing for
the needy
Social Security Act
Old-Age Insurance: key part of SSA
Guaranteed retired people a pension
Funded by a payroll tax (a tax that removes money directly
from workers’ paychecks
Matching contributions were required by employers
Business leaders opposed Old-Age Insurance
46. SSA included Aid to Dependent Children (ADC)
Helped children whose father s were dead, unemployed,
or not living w/ the family
Granted federal $ to states to help mothers stay home to
raise their children
SSA also provided for disabled & gave states $ to make
temporary payments to the unemployed
At SSA excluded some categories of labor
Agriculture & domestic workers not required to pay
Many African Americans, migrant workers, & poor rural
whites did not benefit from SS
47. Lasting Labor Reforms
Frances Perkins
Member of FDR’s committee who drafted the SSA
1st woman to serve in the Cabinet
Back major labor reform
48. New Laws Favor Workers
1935
Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act
Became known as Wagner Act
Guaranteed workers’ rights to organize into unions &
prohibited unfair business practices
Upheld collective bargaining (right of a union to negotiate
wages & benefits for all its members)
National Labor Relations Board
Required employers to participate in collective bargaining w/
unions
49.
50. 1938
Fair Labor Standards Act
Set minimu wages at $.25 per hour & max weekly work hours
at 44
Established time and a half payment for overtime work & put
an end to child labor in some businesses
51. A Powerful New Union
John L. Lewis
Head of the United Mine Workers
Formed Industrial Organization renamed later the Congress
of Industrial Organizations (CIO
CIO
Umbrella organization consisting of many other unions
Differed from the older American Federation of Labor (AFL)
AFL combined workers based on skills
CIO combined all workers in particular industry (skilled &
non-skilled)
Opened union membership to more women & African
Americans
52. 1936
United Auto Workers
Members of CIO
Launched sit-down strike (workers stay in the factory but stop
production) @ nation’s largest auto factory
After 6 weeks the strikers won their demands for higher wages
& shorter hours
Supreme Court later ruled sit-down strikes illegal
53. Scorecard on the New Deal
SSA & other reforms permanently enlarged the role of
the federal gov’t
Not everyone agreed gov’t should take such an active
approach to social problems
54. Arguments Against the New Deal
Critics say New Deal gave too much power to the
federal gov’t
Federal gov’t threaten individual freedom & free
enterprise
Favor a return to the tradition of laissez faire
Gov’t should interfere w/ the economy as little as possible
Worried about a massive increase in the nation’s debt
New Deal failed to fulfill its most fundamental goal
Did not end the Great Depression
Full recovery would not come until 1941 when the U.S.
began producing goods in preparation for WWII
55. Arguments for the New Deal
Employed millions of jobless people
Ended banking crisis
Reformed stock market
Save poor families from losing their homes
Improved working conditions
Built dams & bridges, preserved 12 million acres of national
parkland, brought electricity to rural America, & sponsored
the creation of lasting works of art
For many the New Deal also restored peoples faith in the
gov’t