3B The impact of the New Deal on ethnic minorities

Question 1

How many jobs did the WPA find for black Americans?

Answer 1

WPA, led by Harry Hopkins: 1936-40 found work for 350,000 black Americans every year

Question 2

How many black Americans were employed as teachers?

Answer 2

5000

Question 3

How many young black Americans received skills training through the NYA?

Answer 3

500,000

Question 4

How did black Americans role in government change?

Answer 4

First black Congressman, Arthur Mitchell. Democrat
Representative for Illinois, first elected 1935

Support from many prominent people in FDR’s government, e.g. Eleanor Roosevelt and Harold Ickes

Mary McLeod Bethune, National Youth Administration. Some refer to the “Black cabinet”, made up of black Americans to advise on issues of race - but none on FDR’s official cabinet.

Question 5

What did the number of black civil service employees change by?

Answer 5

150,000 by 1941

Question 6

What order in 1941 outlawed discrimination in the defence insturty?

Answer 6

Executive Order 8802 outlawed discrimination in defence industry and set up the Fair Employment and Practices Committee (FEPC).

Question 7

What was order 8802?

Answer 7

outlawed discrimination in defence industry and set up the Fair Employment and Practices Committee (FEPC).

Question 8

How did Black Americans voting behaviour change?

Answer 8

Traditionally, black Americans voted Republican, as this had been Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery party who had won the Civil War (1860s)

During the New Deal, complete shift in allegiance (mainly in the North as only 5% of black Americans in the South could vote)

1940, all 15 black-American wards in 9 major cities voted for FDR. Black majority area Harlem, New York, Roosevelt won 85% of the vote

Question 9

What was the limits of AAA for black Americans?

Answer 9

poor black Americans farmers and sharecroppers received no help, especially in South

Question 10

What was the limits of the NRA codes for black Americans?

Answer 10

allowed for whites to be paid more for the same job

Question 11

What was the limits of the CCC for black Americans?

Answer 11

CCC run by a Southern racist, not many black Americans joined, and those that did faced strict segregation - only 200,000 joined 1933-42

Question 12

What did FDR fail to achieve?

Answer 12

Anti-lynching bills 1934, 1937 - FDR did not support them and both failed
FDR did little to end legal segregation, and black Americans on large remained second class citizens

Question 13

What was the 1934 India reorganisation act?

Answer 13

a break away from the former, harmful, policy of assimilation (1887 Dawes Severalty Act). Native American culture was celebrated whilst encouraged to modernise, for example, giving them control of land sales on reservations

Question 14

By 1939 what was the average income for Native Americans compared to the national average?

Answer 14

By 1939 average income was $500 compared to national average of $1,300

Question 15

How did the new deal help Native Americans?

Answer 15

Officials did their best to ensure native americans were part of alphabet agency employment, but scale of deprivation was so high that short term employment didn’t have much effect

Question 16

How many Hispanic workers where deported when the depression hit?

Why was this?

Answer 16

When the Depression hit, it is estimated that up to 2 million workers were deported back to Mexico, even if they’d been born in the USA.

This was to create jobs for Americans.

Question 17

What were wages like for Hispanic Americans who stayed during the depression?

Answer 17

Those who stayed saw wages fall from 35 cents an hour 1928, to 14 cents an hour 1933.

Question 18

How did the new deal impact Hispanic Americans?

Give example of where they were excluded?

Answer 18

Migrant workers were excluded from most of the New Deal legislation e.g. NIRA and Wagner Act, meaning they could not from labour unions. The AAA meant there was need for fewer workers as land was taken out of production.

Of all ethnic groups it is generally agreed that the Hispanic Americans fared the worst during this period.

Question 19

How many Black Americans were in the armed forced in 1941?

Answer 19

In 1941 there were fewer than 4,000 black Americans in the armed forces and only 12 officers

Question 20

What did the 1940 Selective Service Training Act state?

Answer 20

that stated no-one should face discrimination when applying for training

Question 21

How many Black Americans were severing in the army by 1945?

What kind of roles did they have?

Answer 21

by 1945 there were only 1.2 million black Americans serving

The military role of black Americans was in non-combat roles such as ferrying supplies, cooks and building installations.

Question 22

What was segregation like in army?

When did this change?

Answer 22

Segregation in the armed services for black Americans was extremely similar to discrimination and segregation back home. Armed services not integrated until 1948

Question 23

What was the army integrated?

Answer 23

1948

Question 24

How many Black Americans were involved in D-day?

Why were they needed?

Answer 24

Losses in battles meant that black soldiers were eventually needed for fighting. 17,000 black soldiers were part of the D-Day landings and many distinguished themselves in fighting roles.

Question 25

How many black Americans moved from the South to the North during the war years?

What discrimination did they face?

Answer 25

more than 1 million

Discrimination in job roles and housing

Question 26

What was called in 1941 by Black leaders?

What happened before it could take place?

Answer 26

Black leaders called for a March on Washington in 1941 to highlight their grievances - but FDR met with leaders the day before and the march was called off

Question 27

What was Executive Order 8805?

Answer 27

which banned discrimination in defence plants and set up the FEPC to make sure this was carried out.

Question 28

When was Executive Order 8805?

Answer 28

25 June 1941

Question 29

As a result of Executive Order 8805 how much did employment of black Americans in defence plants increased by?

Answer 29

4%

Question 30

When was the Double ‘V’ campaign?

Answer 30

1942

Question 31

What was the Double ‘V’ campaign?

Answer 31

1942: Encouraged black Americans both in the armed services and working on the Home Front to fight for victory against the Axis powers, and for victory against prejudice and discrimination at home.

Question 32

How many Native Americans at any one time were fighting in WW2?

Answer 32

25,000

Question 33

Where were native Americans mainly fighting?

What were there units like?

Answer 33

Mainly fought in the Pacific (against Japan)
Desegregated units (with white soldiers)

Question 34

How many native Americans were code breakers?

Answer 34

420 Navajo Indians became code talkers as language too complex for Japanese to crack the messages!

Question 35

How many Hispanic Americans joined the armed services?

Answer 35

500,000

Question 36

How many Hispanic Americans worked in ship yards in LA?

Answer 36

17,000

Question 37

What was the Bracero programme?

Answer 37

From August 1942 began to recruit Mexicans to work in Agriculture, mines, munitions and the railroads to meet the demand of shortages in labour. The majority were often paid at the lowest rate and faced discrimination and lack of opportunities.

Question 38

What were the “root-suiter” racial attacks?

Answer 38

June 1943 Around the LA shipyards, white workers and sailors randomly attacked young male hispanic Americans dressed in “zoot-suits”, fashionable among them at the time. Authorities turned a blind eye.

Question 39

What happened to Japanese Americans after Perl Harbour?

Answer 39

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, all the Japanese American population living on the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and relocate to internment camps in the desert.

Question 40

How many Japanese Americans were relocated to camps?

What is the estimated loss of money for them?

Answer 40

400,000 were relocated this way. Combined estimated loss of $400 million for which most Japanese Americans were not compensated for.