Lecture ch24
Lecture ch24
Lecture ch24
Part One:
Introduction
Part Two:
Part Three:
Hard Times
Underlying Weakness
The crash did not cause the depression but revealed the underlying economic weakness. Industrial growth during the 1920s had not been accompanied by comparable increases in wages or farm income. The gap between rich and poor widened, as did that between production and consumption.
Mass Unemployment
The stock market crash led manufacturers to decrease spending and lay off workers. Weak consumer demand and bank runs turned the slump into a depression. By 1933, nearly one-third of the labor force was out of work. Unemployment took a tremendous personal toll and undermined the traditional authority of the male breadwinner. Chart: Unemployment, 19291945
Hoovers Failure
The enormity of the depression overwhelmed traditional sources of relief. President Hoover seemed unable to accept the facts of the depression. He vetoed measures to aid the unemployed. His Reconstruction Finance Corporation failed to restore business confidence. Efforts to make government credit available saved banks but did not encourage business growth.
Part Four:
Restoring Confidence
To restore confidence, on his first full day as president, FDR called for a four-day bank holiday. In his fireside chat a week later, he told Americans of the steps he had taken, strengthening public faith in his ability to help. Congress passed legislation that strengthened the banking system, helping to avert the immediate banking crisis.
Part Five:
Roosevelts Critics
Critics from the right lambasted the New Deal as being socialistic. More troublesome for FDR were critics who claimed the New Deal had been too timid including:
Upton Sinclair lost the California gubernatorial election race in which he called for a government-run production system. Francis Townsend called for providing $200 monthly payments to all persons over 60. Huey Long, who served as governor and then as senator for Louisiana, called for a Share Our Wealth program to redistribute wealth. Longs assassination in 1936 ended his probable third-party candidacy.
Part Six:
Map: The Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl, caused by farmers methods that stripped the landscape of its natural vegetation and left nothing behind to hold down the topsoil, swept through parts of the region.
Water Policy
Map: The New Deal and Water The New Deal built a series of water projects that allowed urban growth, agricultural expansion, and massive irrigation. These projects promoted flood control and supplied low-cost electricity. The consequence of these projects was that a few farmers became wealthy and thousands of Mexican workers labored in the fields for very low wages. A general decline in the environment also occurred.
Part Seven:
Depression-Era Culture
Part Eight:
Court Packing
By 1937, the New Deal was in retreat. FDR became frustrated when the Supreme Court overturned several key New Deal programs. He asked Congress to allow him to appoint a number of new judges. New Deal sympathizers feared this would disrupt the constitutional balance and blocked the effort. In time FDR got a more sympathetic court, but the battle cost him heavily.
Part Nine:
Conclusion
Media: Chronology