the great depression and the new deal, 1929–1940
Post on 31-Dec-2015
215 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter Focus Questions
What were the causes and consequences of the Great Depression?
What characterized the politics of hard times? Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt and what were
the two New Deals? How did the federal sphere expand in the West? What characterized American cultural life
during the 1930s? What were the legacies and limits of New Deal
reform?
Sit-Down Strike at Flint
Flint/GM strike. Depression hard. GM resists UAW. Strikers seized plants. Community support. GM gave in. UAW recognized.
The Bull Market and the Crash
Stock prices rose. Easy credit. Market peaked, eased down. Worth 1/2. Margin buyers pay cash. Depression unseen. Chart: The Stock Market 1921–1932
Underlying Weakness
Crash not cause. Economic flaws seen Industrial growth Up, wages static. Rich-poor gap widened.
Mass Unemployment
Manufacturers spend less Workers laid off. Bank runs No consumer demand 33% idle in ‘33. Social male role overturned. Chart: Unemployment, 1929–1945
Hoover’s Failure
Relief sources overwhelmed. Hoover vetoed aid. Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Banks saved, but no growth.
Roosevelt’s Critics
Socialistic. Too timid including:
Upton Sinclair. Francis Townsend. Huey Long.
Strikes demonstrations
Labor’s Upsurge: Rise of the CIO
Committee for Industrial Organization . John Lewis organizes. Flint GM success led to victories. Reinvigorated labor movement.
The New Deal Coalition at High Tide
FDR reelected 1936. His supporters included:
traditional white southern Democrats big-city political machines trade unionists depression-hit farmers ethnic voters
Southern Farming and Landholding
1930, Southern land ownership. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Subsidies helped owners/hurt workers. Migration.
Water Policy Map: The New Deal and Water Water projects.
urban growth , agricultural expansion massive irrigation.
Flood control. Low-cost electricity. Consequence:
a few farmers rich. Mexicans got low wages.
Environment declined..
A New Deal for Indians
Harmful practices reformed. Indian Reorganization Act. Some tribes rejected IRA. Bureau of Indian Affairs:
restore tribal rights. Restore cultural rights.
A New Deal for the Arts
American culture. New Deal’s Federal Project No. 1:
artists and intellectuals. The Federal Writers Project theatrical performances orchestra tours new compositions new art
The Documentary Impulse “Documentary impulse”. Farm Security Administration
photographers. John Steinbeck portrayed Okies.
Film in the 1930s
Movies an enjoyable escape. Hollywood social issues. Walt Disney’s cartoons. Frank Capra’s comedies.
Court Packing
1937, New Deal in retreat. SCOTUS overturned key New Deal
programs. FDR asked for judges. New Dealers feared FDRs motives. FDR gets judges—at a cost.
The Women’s Network
New Deal affected women. Women gain influence. Eleanor Roosevelt. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. Women gain roles in society.
A New Deal for Minorities?
No new deal for minorities. Lower wages for black. Blacks unprotected. FDR banned WPA discrimination . 1936, black voters supported Democrats. Little help to Mexicans and Mexican
Americans.
top related