Economic downturn and recovery (1929-1945) Flashcards
when was the wall street crash?
October 1929
what did the wall street crash cause?
economic depression
GREAT DEPRESSION
Was there a Welfare state during the great depression?
no, usa didn’t have a welfare system
what is a ‘breadline’
line in which people in extreme poverty who could not buy food would queue up for food handouts
what is a ‘hooverville’?
name for shanty towns built during the great depression
(Named after President Hoover)
what is a ‘hobo’?
workers who travelled around the US looking for work
how many Hobos travelled around the US looking for work?
estimated 2 milliion
travelled by foot, cars or on the railroad
When was the Bonus March?
March 1932
What was the Bonus March?
group of unemployed war veterans marched to Washingotn demanding that their Bonuses be paid early
How many people marched in the Bonus March
between 20,000 to 40,000
(war veterans and their families)
How many veterans chose to stay in a hooverville by the Capitol Building during the Bonus March?
roughly 15,000
How was the Bonus March resolved?
Congress refused to pay the Bonus BUT offered to pay for marchers to regain their homes
What happend to the hooverville built by the Capitol building during the Bonus March?
President Hoover sent in troops with tear gas and tanks to remove the marchers and their Hooverville.
How did the Bonus March affect Hoover’s popularity?
made him even more unpopular
- seemed as if he didn’t care about people’s suffering caused by Great Depression
How many shares were sold on ‘Black Thursday’?
13 million
How many unemployed by the end of 1929?
2.5 million
How many unemployed by 1932?
13 million
what percent were unemployed in 1933?
black people- 50%
white people- 20%
how did the republican GOVT handle depression?
laissez faire approach
(no interference)
rugged individualism
(personal liberty and free competition)
1929 Agricultural Marketing Act
set up Federal Farm Board.
intended to help keep prices for farm produce high by buying up anything farmers could not sell at market
was the 1929 Agricultural Marketing Act effective?
no, as it encouraged farmers to continue to overproduce
as a result price of farm produce continued to fall.
Who were ‘Okies?
farmers from the state of Oklahoma who had lost their farms
What did ‘Okies and Arkies’ do?
migrated across USA to California looking for work (growing fruit)
What is the ‘Dust Bowl’?
name given to large area of land where over farming led to soil being impossible to farm
how many ‘Okies and Arkies’ were there?
more than 1 million
Did ‘Okies and Arkies’ manage to find jobs?
Farmers in the west were happy to employ
them as they worked for low wages.
Suicide rate in 1932
17.4 per 1000
Which President won the 1932 election?
ROOSEVELT
(by a landslide)
How many states voted for Hoover in the 1932 election?
6 out of 48
What was the New Deal based on?
RELIEF
RECOVERY
REFORM
What were fireside chats?
personal explanations of his policies on the radio
THEY RESTORED CONFIDENCE TO PEOPLE
What was Roosevelst first Fireside chat about?
BANKING CRISIS
He assured the US people the banks would only
open when they were secure.
FERA
Emergency relief $500 million for
unemployed
what was the CCC
creation of jobs for men aged between 18-25
e.g. planting trees.
2 million men were given work via this agency
what was the NRA
set fair prices, wages and working
conditions.
Symbol of the blue eagle.
Who opposed the New Deal?
Huey Long
Politicians from both parties
Supreme Court
What are the ALPHABET AGENCIES?
US GOVt agencies founded to create jobs & provide servives to help RECOVERY
PWA
Public Works Administration
spent $3.3 billion on public building projects to provide work for the unemployed. This included the building of schools, hospitals and roads.
When was second new deal established
1936 after roosevelt gained his second term
What did the second new deal focus on?
welfare and rights of workers
example of a second new deal act
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
provided benefits for the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed, widows and orphans
Successes of the NEW DEAL
confidence rest0red
banks were stabilised
millions of jobs created
pensions provided
Oppositions to the NEW DEAL
Huey Long (governor of Louisiana) said more should’ve been done to share America’s wealth
Some agencies discriminated against African Americans
Example of alphabet agency that DISCRIMANTED African Americans
CCC Segregated African Americans from white Americans.
