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THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939

THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939. The Coming of the Great Depression. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939. The 1928 Presidential Election. 1924 Presidential campaign TURN TO PRESIDENTIAL INFO SHEETS. THE CANDIDATES Republicans = Calvin Coolidge Democrats = John Davis Calvin Coolidge wins

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THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939

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  1. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Coming of the Great Depression

  2. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The 1928 Presidential Election

  3. 1924 Presidential campaign TURN TO PRESIDENTIAL INFO SHEETS • THE CANDIDATES • Republicans = Calvin Coolidge • Democrats = John Davis • Calvin Coolidge wins • THE LESSONS • Most Americans • supported the laissez-faire policies of the Republican Administration because they believed those policies resulted in the prosperity enjoyed in the 20s • Some Americans • Disagreed with Republican policies & gave support to a third party

  4. 1924 Presidential campaign • Robert La Follette ran as third party candidate • Senator & former governor of Wisconsin • Nominated by the newly formed Progressive Party • Attracted large numbers of farmers and workers • Won 4,800,000 votes out of 29,000,000 cast • Impressive for a third party candidate • Historic role & impact of third parties • Not to win (usually) • Get the attention of the two major parties

  5. 1928 Presidential campaign A. A CAMPAIGN OF PERSONALITIES 1. R – Herbert Hoover 2. D – Alfred E. Smith 3. The parties differed little on issues so the focus was on the personalities of the candidates ( one of the dirtiest campaigns in US History ) Slogan used by Republicans against Smith : Rum , Romanism and Ruin

  6. 1928 Presidential campaign B. THE CANDIDATES 1. Hoover a. presidential image b. born in Iowa small town c. worked his way up (Stanford , engineer,)

  7. 1928 Presidential campaign Herbert Hoover • BOTH parties considered nominating Hoover for the presidency in 1920 • After he had spent several years during the WWI working for a Democratic president – Wilson • Food Administrator during WWI • Secretary of Commerce under Republican presidents Harding & Coolidge

  8. 1928 Presidential campaign Herbert Hoover • Represented the progressive wing of the Republican Party • Wanted to woo back the liberal (progressive ) Republicans lost to the Progressive Party in 1924 Presidential election • More concerned with separating himself from conservative Republicans than liberal Democrats • Prided himself in being above party politics • Sincerely acted on the growing popular belief that democracy was compatible with an active government

  9. 1928 Presidential campaign Herbert Hoover • “Rugged Individualism” Speech – 1928 • In the midst of “Republican Prosperity” • He says he is TRUE liberal = • Government’s role is to insure: • equality of opportunity • NOT equality of condition

  10. Homework • Read & annotate Hoover’s 1928 Speech • Analyze Doc A on 30s DBQ • STEPS 1-3 ( and start 4 on Prompt Analysis)

  11. DOCUMENTA • Candidate Herbert Hoover • New York – October 22, 1928 • What parts of this document support the idea that Hoover is a liberal ? • What parts of this document support the idea that Hoover is a conservative ?

  12. 1928 Presidential campaign “Al” Smith a. born poor in New York City b. Governor of New York State c. reasons for his defeat in 1928 1. Religion and Stand on Prohibition “wet” 2. The “Catholic Plot” campaign 3. Radio a. Bronx accent alienated Southerners and Westerners

  13. 1928 Presidential campaign C. RESULTS OF THE ELECTION 1. Republicans won overwhelming victory 2. even “Solid South” was cracked Republicans won FL, NC, TN, TX, VA 3. Electoral vote 444 to 87 4. Popular vote 21 million to 15 million 3. Socialist Candidate – Norman Thomas

  14. Great Depression • Worst, economic collapse in U.S. History • 1929-1939 • Included • Stock Market Crash • Rapid declines in production and sale of goods • Sudden, severe rise in unemployment (25%) • Business and bank closings • Loss of homes and savings • Hunger and personal depression

  15. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Great Crash

  16. The Great Crash • THE GREAT BULL MARKET • 1927 -1929 stock prices doubled in value while business relatively static • caused by the easy credit polices of brokerage firms & businesses

  17. Shares of stock • Certificates of ownership in a corporation • Traded (bought, sold) on stock market • Buy low , sell high = quick profit • Rampant stock speculation during the 1920s

  18. Speculation • A financial transaction that involves risk but is potentially profitable • 1920s stock market speculation widespread • Buying stocks for quick profit , ignoring risks • Belief that anyone could profit = less affluent Americans to speculate

  19. Buying on margin • Risky practice of buying stock on credit • Investors paid a small part of stock price and borrowed the rest • Hoped to sell the stock at high price to repay the loan and make a profit • Helped fuel bull market and stock speculation of 1920s

  20. Black Tuesday • September 1929 stock prices began to fall • October 23 & 24 – beginning of the crash • recovered with the help of big investment bankers • October 29 “Black Tuesday” = the crash • October 29 – beginning of the stock market crash • Investors rushed to sell stock , avoid loss • Many stocks became virtually worthless • Within a month , stocks lose half value and continued to decline for several years

  21. Video – Stock Market Crash

  22. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Causes of the Depression

  23. Causes of the Great Depression 1.Lack of diversification in U.S. economy in the 1920s • Prosperity dependent on a few basic industries 2.Uneven distribution of wealth during the 1920s • Too few Americans were able to purchase goods produced by American Industries 3.Credit structure of the economy • Some of the major banks did not have enough reserves to withstand an economic downturn 4.America’s position in international trade • American industries & banks involved in the European economy • Collapse of international credit structure hurt by US policy of loaning less money to foreign countries

  24. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Progress of the Depression

  25. PROGRESS OF THE DEPRESSION • The closing of over 9,000 American banks between 1930 and 1933 resulted in a decrease in the money supply • At first national leaders talked as if nothing wrong “Prosperity just around the corner”

  26. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The American People in Hard Times

  27. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Unemployment and Relief

  28. UNEMPLOYMENT AND RELIEF • the unemployment rate in 1932 peaked at 25 percent • industrial Northeast and Midwest experienced the collapse of city and state relief systems • 1929 – 1932 : Dust Bowl • high temperatures • decline in rainfall • decline in farm prices • overproduction in agriculture

  29. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 African Americans and the Depression

  30. AFRICAN AMERICANS • Suffered hardship because • unemployed whites want positions formerly held by blacks • the sharecropping system unprofitable • blacks not receiving fair share of relief benefits • Scottsboro Case • eight young blacks sentenced to death • an organization associated with the Communist party came to the aid of the youths • never acquitted by southern juries • all of the youths eventually gained their freedom • Equal rights advanced when many blacks allowed to join labor unions

  31. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Hispanics and Asians in Depression America

  32. HISPANICS • Experienced hardships similar to blacks • Received less relief than whites • Suffered social discrimination • Being last hired & first fired • But … HISPANICS encountered the additional problem of having little access to public school and hospitals

  33. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 Women and Families in the Great Depression

  34. WOMEN AND FAMILIES • 25 percent more women were working • By the end of the 1930’s, the American feminist movement had reached its lowest point in nearly a century • the Great Depression caused a decade-long decline in the birthrate

  35. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Depression and Values

  36. THE DEPRESSION & VALUES • Social values seemed to change relatively little • sociological study of Muncie, Indiana, found Americans still committed to the traditional value of individualism • blamed themselves for their economic difficulties • But traditional “success ethic” undermined in some ways indicated by the fact that many Americans : • accused corporate moguls and international bankers of causing much of the distress • looked to the government for assistance in a situation that was basically society’s problem • Dale Carnegie’s 1936 bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People • adaptability to one’s environment and making others feel important are the more effective routes to success

  37. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Depression and the Arts

  38. THE DEPRESSION & THE ARTS • Writers and photographers portrayed the distress • primary group addressed = southern tenant farmers and sharecroppers • Employed by Farm Security Administration in late 30s • Documentary photographers traveled through the South recording what they say • Dorothea Lange - Migrant Mother

  39. Photo by Dorothea Lange (1936) Watch video clip MIGRANT MOTHER

  40. THE DEPRESSION & THE ARTS • Paintings, Music, literature sometimes somber, serious, expressed hardships • Dorothea Lange - photos • Woodie Guthrie - music • Literaturethat addressed social problems and political solutions • John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath • John Dos Passos’s U.S.A. trilogy • Clifford Odet’s Waiting for Lefty

  41. THE DEPRESSION & THE ARTS • Radio shows, movies, and literature often reflected America’s desire to escape hard realities of the Depression • About wealth , good times, adventure, romance , justice • Best selling novel = Harvey Allen’s Anthony Adverse • Films : The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind • Radio Broadcasts : Lone Ranger , soap operas

  42. THE ALLURE OF THE LEFT • The American Communist party of the 1930’s was: • active in • the formation of the Lincoln Brigade • Volunteer Americans to fight fascists in Spain • an alliance of anti-fascist groups = “the Popular Front” • the Washington, D.C. , hunger march of 1931 • supervised by the Soviet Union (Comintern) • obeyed Stalin’s policy orders in 1939 to abandon “the Popular Front” = criticize American liberals • Norman Thomas • Leader of the Socialist party of America • Turned anti-communist • Distinguished his socialist positions from revolutionary Marxism

  43. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover

  44. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 The Hoover Program

  45. Herbert Hoover’s early response to the Depression • create a federal program to help farmers raise agricultural prices • Supported the Agricultural Marketing Act (1929 pre-crash) to help farmers through loans without having to give federal subsidies • persuade businessmen not to cut production or lay off workers • Raise agricultural tariffs • Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) • ask Congress for an increase in spending on public works programs

  46. The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 • Attempted to improve conditions for farmers • failed because relied on voluntary cooperation rather than federal control • Created the Federal Farm Board • lent money to farmers primarily to organize producers’ cooperatives

  47. Hawley –Smoot Tariff of 1930 • Extremely high protective tariff • Intended to aid U.S. farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition • Had opposite effect • Many countries retaliated by raising tariffs • Made unemployment worse • Caused the world wide depression to deepen • Reduced world trade = world wide depression

  48. HOOVER DAM • A federally financed public works project supported by Hoover • Voted for by Congress under Coolidge • Begun in 1930 under Hoover • Completed in 1936 under FDR

  49. MUSCLE SHOALS BILL • Vetoed by Hoover as “socialistic” • Public works project to dam the Tennessee River creating a government electricity service • Later passed under FDR as part of the controversial TVA

  50. THE GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 A Deepening Crisis

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