Mississippi in the Great Depression The Constitutional National

Mississippi in the Great Depression The Constitutional, National, Environmental and State Context for Understanding Mississippi’s History in the 1930 s

Goals 1. To understand Mississippi’s BAWI Act within the context of historic federal efforts to develop the American economy 2. To understand Mississippi’s BAWI Act within the context of the economic crisis of the Great Depression and the recovery programs of the New Deal 3. To understand Mississippi’s BAWI Act within the context of state efforts to foster economic recovery and growth

Federal Government and Economic Development U. S. Constitution as an economic document Currency Taxation Treaties Courts: protection of contracts Disposal of national land holdings Indian Removal

Antebellum Debates over Economic Development National Bank Tariffs Transportation Homesteading Economic debates were framed in the language of democracy, but the outcome of those debates determined who would gain and who would lose. Slavery

Post-Civil War Economic Issues Greenback Party Labor Agrarian Uprising q. Patrons of Husbandry q. Agricultural Wheel q. Farmers’ Alliance q. People’s Party Agricultural and labor organizations complained that government policies supported industrial development at the expense of farmers and workers.

Progressive Era Legislation Federal Income Tax Amendment Farm Credit Act Smith-Lever Act Regulation of railroads Anti-monopoly Federal Reserve System

Economic Legislation by States during Progressive Era Child Labor laws Banking regulations Health regulations Insurance regulation Road construction Standardization of commodity markets Industrial safety

Summary of Federal Economic Role U. S. government had been crucial to economic development from the beginning of the republic. Public debates over government and the economy were often framed in the rhetoric of democracy. The nature of federal (and state) legislation favored economic opportunity for some over others—generally capital over labor—and increasingly industry over agriculture. Over time, as the U. S. became more urban and industrial, economic legislation increased, and regulation of economic activities became more pervasive.

Depression, and the New Deal Mississippi Sharecropper Food line

Natural and Economic Disasters Soil erosion caused by cotton production Collapse of the timber industry Collapse of the Gulf Coast Boom Flood of 1927

Mississippi as Others Saw It “The Cotton Belt. . . is the least advanced part of the United States, and of all the Cotton States, Mississippi is the most unfortunate, for it lacks the coal and iron of Alabama, the trading opportunities of Louisiana, and the manufactures of Georgia and the Carolinas. In the midst of its hordes of barbaric peasants, there is native stock of excellent blood. But the young men of this stock, finding few opportunities at home, have to go elsewhere. Altogether, it seems to be without serious rival to the lamentable preeminence of the Worst American State. ” Charles Angoff and H. L. Mencken, “The Worst American State, ” American Mercury, XXIV (1931), 1 -16, 175 -88, 35571.

Statistics of Mencken’s Evaluation 84% Rural 2/3 Population farmers 72% tenancy rate: 50% white and 90% black 60 acres average farm size (national average: 157 acres) Average farm valued at $1, 800 (national average $7, 600) Loading cotton in Natchez

Per capita income in Mississippi was $173; in the Southeast $183; nationally $366 (1930); fell to $117 in 1933 20% Mississippi farm families owned an automobile or truck 10% farm families had a telephone 5% farm families had indoor plumbing Plowing with a mule

Illiteracy rate in Mississippi was 13. 1%; it was 4. 3% nationally 7/100 black children attended high school in Mississippi; 66/100 white children attended (1933) Plan for Rosenwald School

1, 165 plants closed 52, 000 manufacturing jobs in 1929 shrank to 28, 000 in 1933 State income revenues dropped from $1, 600, 000 in 1929 to $300, 000 in 1931 Natchez Street in 1930 s

Summary of Mississippi in the Great Depression History of cotton and race limited the state’s potential for economic growth A series of economic and natural disasters in the 1920 s undermined the state’s economy Despite cultural beliefs in the superiority of rural life during hard times, Mississippi government and individual Mississippians experienced enormous loss during the Great Depression.

New Deal in Mississippi

75% congressional support for New Deal in the first 100 days $400, 000 in New Deal Programs for Mississippi by 1939 AAA; TVA; CCC; WPA to raise cotton prices, provide electricity, restore eroded lands, and build roads, schools, courthouses, and

Hugh Lawson White and BAWI Legislation State Planning Commission State Advertising Commission Industrial Commission made up of one-full time and 2 part-time members Governor Hugh White

Political Divisions on BAWI Expectations of Political Support: Actual Support q Urban (75%) q Urban q Manufacturing (67%) q Industrial q Attorneys (69%) q Hill Counties with large q Businessmen (49%) white populations q Attorneys, businessmen, educators q Medical Professionals (86%) q Educators (39%) q Farmers and ministers (46%) q Hill Counties (48%) q Black Majority Counties (69%)

BAWI Requirements Industrial Commission empowered to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity Certificates issued when 20% of the registered voters petitioned Must demonstrate sufficient labor suppy to provide 150% of the workers needed Bonds could not represent more than 10% of the total assessed valuation of the property of the taxing unit Majority of the community’s registered voters had to vote in the election 2/3 of the voters must support the proposal

Challenge to BAWI Bill drafted by Blue While the justices recognized the act departed from traditional concepts of state power, they dismissed concerns that the program represented a “step toward socialism” and noted that “every intervention in the economic and social life of the citizen has been so branded. ” Albritton v. City of Winona, 180 Mississippi 100, 178 So. 799 Ribbon panel to circumvent the intent of 1890 Constitution Claimed to uphold the “general welfare” clause of U. S. Constitution Albritton v. City of Winona Mississippi Supreme Court upheld BAWI as constitutional under the general welfare clause

BAWI Plants Created Ingalls Shipyard Jackson County Mills W. G. Avery Body Company Grenada Industries Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company Lebanon Shirt Company Winona Bedspread Co. Real Silk Hosiery Mill Ellisville Hosiery Hattiesburg Hosiery Co.

BAWI in Practice Most of the industries that were certified under BAWI were low wage processing industries— textiles and many were fleeing union complaints in other states. Two exceptions were Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company in Natchez and Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula. Map of BAWI plant locations

Labor and BAWI Real Silk Co. as an example of low-wage, speed-up, anti-union company Training wages and fulltime employment Failure to implement a workman’s compensation law Ads for “friendly, native, Anglo-Saxon labor”

Summary of BAWI New BAWI plants improved Mississippi’s economic outlook in the 1930 s by attracting additional investment State assumed responsibility for economic growth and development Mississippi did not advance labor rights Although blacks were generally excluded from the direct benefits of BAWI, economic changes facilitated social changes However, the long-term legacy of BAWI may be a perpetuation of low wage, unskilled, no-benefits employment that has left the state at the bottom of the economic ladder Poster produced by Advertising Commission

Conclusion The Balance Agriculture With Industry Acts fit within the American political and constitutional system in which governments had played an important role in economic development Despite its rural economy, the Great Depression was felt personally by individual Mississippians and collectively in local communities and throughout state government New Deal investment in infrastructure, environmental reconstruction, and education had positive effects on the state’s ability to attract industry and improve the agricultural outlook The Balance Agriculture With Industry Acts represented the most significant effort by the State of Mississippi to accept responsibility for the economic welfare of its citizens Despite its progressive effort to improve the economy, Mississippi did not advance the rights of labor—and in this failure contributed to future economic problems for citizens of the state