Great Depression 1929 1940 Period when economy plummeted

Great Depression: 1929 -1940 Period when economy plummeted and unemployment rose rapidly Chapters 22 and 23

The Economy Looks Ugly • Cause and Effect – New Homes – Living on Credit – Distribution of Wealth – Market Crash – Banks Close – Hawley-Smoot Tariff

II. Close-Up A. ) Decline in housing - led to job losses in many related fields (plumbing, design, carpentry, etc. ) B. ) Living on Credit: - Put more people into debt - Leads to lack of consumer spending

C. ) Uneven Distribution of Wealth: - Many poor, few rich - Fallout of middle class - Nobody to buy the surplus of goods D. ) Stock Market Crash (Oct. 29 “Black Tuesday”) - Millions lose their savings on the market E. ) Bank Closings: - Millions of Americans lose their savings accounts

F. ) Worldwide Depression: - Difficult for Americans to sell goods abroad G. ) Hawley-Smoot Tariff: - Raised tariffs (tax) - Increased unemployment in industries that could no longer export to Europe

III. ) Causes of the Depression (Recap) • Tariffs and war debt that cut countries out of American economy • Farmers overproduce (Can’t Sell!) • Easy Credit (Many go into debt) • Unequal distribution of income (No middle class to buy bulk of goods)

IV. ) Looking Ahead • How could the worldwide depression have helped leaders like Hitler take control? - Receptive to a leader that promised better times - Angry at other countries for Germany’s debt - Offered a scapegoat (The Jews)

Hardships and Suffering

I. People’s Lives A. ) City Life - Jobless, folks lived on the streets or in Shantytowns (Hoovervilles) - Many rely on bread lines and soup kitchens for food B. ) Rural Life - Many banks foreclose on farmers (take their property) - Dust Bowl on the Great Plains (1933 -1936) * Many farmers leave and move to Pacific coast Work as farmhands

Hooverville Kids

New York Bread Line

II. Family Life A. ) Men - Most wandered the streets/country looking for work - Feeling “down on their luck” B. ) Women - Kept families together (Grapes of Wrath) - Kept track of finances - Worked outside the home - It was just as hard for women to show their hardships

C. ) Life as a hobo - Travelled and worked where they could - Had a very defined sub-culture

Hobo Code

I. ) Dealing with the Depression A. ) Hoover - Believed in “rugged individualism” - Government should not help individuals - Indirect help for the poor What would you do?

II. ) The New Deal

A. ) F. D. R. (1933) 1. Glass-Steagall Act 1933 - Fed. Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) - Provided insurance up to $5 K 2. Federal Securities Act 1933 - Companies were liable for misinformation - Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

3. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) - set wages, established labor standards - wanted to ensure fair business standards/promote industrial growth

B. ) Critics of the New Deal - Huey Long: Believed FDR did not do enough - Conservatives believed New Deal gave too much control to the Fed. - Economists disliked Deficit Spending

IV. ) Eleanor Roosevelt • Helped her husband with social programs • Traveled the country, reported her findings • Help provide ideas for the New Deal

V. ) Second New Deal A. ) FDR’s second 100 days in office 1. ) Farmers - Many had lost their farms - Soil Conservation Act & Domestic Allotment Act 2. Students/Young people - High unemployment - Works Progress Admin. (WPA)

5. Retired Workers - Poverty - Social Security Act Set aside money for retirement 6. Disabled, Dependents - Social Security Act -- Unemployment Compensation: State tax on employers