Great Depression Dust Bowl New Deal Period 7

Great Depression, Dust Bowl, & New Deal Period 7

Causes of The Great Depression ~These factors - uneven wealth, rising debt, stock speculation, overproduction, and the hardships of farmers and workers - clearly signaled trouble in the economy

Dust Bowl A region in the Great Plains where drought & dust storms took place for much of the 1930 s. Devastated the farms & economies of the Midwest.

Causes of The Dust Bowl Economic depression – people didn’t have money to buy anything Extended drought Unusually high temperatures Poor agricultural practices Wheat prices planting wheat Wind erosion These elements together made the perfect storm. = SURPLUS!!

Black Sunday – April 14, 1935 300, 000 tons of soil moved “dust pneumonia” The Dust Bowl

Migration 250, 000 ppl migrated west (Cali) “Okies” Competition with the Mexicans farm workers

The Dust Bowl

The New Deal Period 7

Election of 1932 - Hoover’s inability to address the effects of the depression killed his chances for reelection - FDR promised a “new deal”

First 100 Days Use of radio & fireside chats to communicate w/ the country Eleanor Roosevelt traveled the country speaking to audiences – seen as relatable Glass-Steagall Act (FDIC) Separated commercial banks & investment banks Amended the Volstead Act – made beer legal & raised revenue for the govt

Organized Labor Wagner Act Right to join unions AFL & CIO - Some leaders want to organize by industry rather than trade - Form the CIO (Congress of Industrial Org. ) “Sit-down” strikes

Opponents of The New Deal Business Leaders Communists American Liberty League thought New Deal was socialistic See labor unions as a threat to companies Thought New Deal wasn’t socialistic enough Huey P. Long – Share Our Wealth Society

FDR’s Challenges Conservative U. S. Supreme Court undermined his efforts Wanted to appoint 1 SC justice for every member who was over the age of 70 – would mean 6 more Claimed it was to speed up judicial review & reduce the workload “Court-packing” New Deal initiatives don’t bring the U. S. out of the depression WWII does

Court-packing