The Great Depression 1929 1940 Migrant Mother by

The Great Depression 1929 - 1940

Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange

Introduction • • • Global depression lasting more than a decade Unemployment Loss of land & other property Homelessness Starvation Strains on social & political fabric of the nation

The Coming of the Depression • Stock prices rising in 1928 • Widespread speculative fever • Some offering easy credit to those buying stocks

The Great Crash • Oct. 29, 1929 • Depression had earlier beginnings & causes

Causes of the Depression Causes Effects • Govt. failure to regulate stock market • Decrease in consumer spending • Uneven distribution of wealth • Overproduction of goods • Huge farm surpluses • High tariffs & insistence on collecting war debts • allowed soaring prices to continue unrestrained • led to underconsumption of goods & services • limited the income of most families • led to falling prices • led to drop in farm prices • interfered w/world trade; destroyed market for Am. goods

Progress of the Depression • Crash exposed larger weaknesses in economy • Collapse of much of the banking system • Bankrupt or closing • Depositors lost billions • Money supply fell

Progress of the Depression, cont. • • Decline in purchasing power Deflation 25% unemployment Underemployment

The American People in Hard Times • John Maynard Keynes • British economist • Deficit spending

Unemployment and Relief • Suffering extended into every area of society • Industrial Northeast & Midwest • Increasing # of families turning to state & local public relief systems • Private charities

Unemployment and Relief, cont. • Rural areas’ conditions were worse • “Dust Bowl” in 1930 • Migrations • Agricultural migrants • “Okies”

African Americans and the Depression • Experienced more unemployment, homelessness, malnutrition, & disease than before • Many leaving the South • Relief going mostly to whites

African Americans and the Depression • Traditional patterns of segregation & disenfranchisement survived • Scottsboro case in 1931 • NAACP working toward winning positions for blacks in unions

Hispanics and Asians in Depression America • Many Mexican Americans leaving U. S. , sometimes involuntarily • Relief was limited, few hospitals, schools • Many Asians lost jobs to whites

Women and Families in the Great Depression • Strengthened belief that a woman’s proper place was home • Both single & married women worked • Professional opportunities declined

Women and Families in the Great Depression, cont. • • Industrial positions declined Strain on families Anxiety, precariousness Sewing, preserving food

Women and Families in the Great Depression, cont. • Eroded strength of many family units • Decline in divorce rate but informal breakup of families • Marriage & birth rate declined

Values and Culture • Individual in control of fate • Didn’t entirely destroy “success ethic” • Many blamed themselves • Deep-rooted social injustice • Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein

Values and Culture, cont. • • • John Steinbeck Richard Wright Escapist diversions Radio Movies

The Allure of the Left • For some, commitment to radical politics • American Communist Party • Took a firm stand in favor of racial justice • Socialist Party of America

The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover • Elected in 1928 (R) • Al Smith (D) Catholic

The Hoover Program • Attempt to restore public confidence in economy • Voluntary cooperation for recovery • “Rugged individualism” • Tax increase in 1932