Fourth Party System [1890s–1932] VIII Flashcards
Review - Timeline: The Jazz Age - Redefining the Nation, 1919-1929
1920: Warren G. Harding elected president with landslide popular vote. 1923: Teapot Dome scandal rocks Harding presidency. 1924: Henry Ford sells Model Ts for $300; Congress enacts ‘National Origins Act’, establishing quotas for immigration. 1925: John Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in Tennessee. 1927: Charles Lindbergh flies solo across Atlantic Ocean; Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed in Massachusetts. 1928: Herbert Hoover elected president.
Timeline: The Great Depression, 1929-1932
1929: Hoover inaugurated president; Stock market crashes; Great Depression begins. 1930: Dust Bowl results from severe drought conditions and poor farming practices. 1931: Scottsboro Boys trial begins in Alabama. 1932: Hoover forms ‘Reconstruction Finance Corporation’; Bonus Army riot breaks out in Washington; Roosevelt elected president.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (A)
The prosperous decade leading up to the stock market crash of 1929, with easy access to credit and a culture that encouraged speculation and risk-taking, put into place the conditions for the country’s fall. The stock market, which had been growing for years, began to decline in the summer and early fall of 1929, precipitating a panic that led to a massive stock sell-off in late October. In one month, the market lost close to 40 percent of its value. Although only a small percentage of Americans had invested in the stock market, the crash affected everyone. Banks lost millions and, in response, foreclosed on business and personal loans, which in turn pressured customers to pay back their loans, whether or not they had the cash. As the pressure mounted on individuals, the effects of the crash continued to spread. The state of the international economy, the inequitable income distribution in the United States, and, perhaps most importantly, the contagion effect of panic all played roles in the continued downward spiral of the economy.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (B)
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the government was confident that the economy would rebound. But several factors led it to worsen instead. One significant issue was the integral role of automobiles and construction in American industry. With the crash, there was no money for either auto purchases or major construction projects; these industries therefore suffered, laying off workers, cutting wages, and reducing benefits. Affluent Americans considered the deserving poor—those who lost their money due to no fault of their own—to be especially in need of help. But at the outset of the Great Depression, there were few social safety nets in place to provide them with the necessary relief. While some families retained their wealth and middle-class lifestyle, many more were plunged quite suddenly into poverty and often homelessness. Children dropped out of school, mothers and wives went into domestic service, and the fabric of American society changed inexorably.
Great Depression - ‘Black Tuesday’
On ‘Black Tuesday’ (October 29, 1929), the Wall Street stock market crashed and entrenched the United States in the Great Depression.
Great Depression
After years of prosperity, the United States’ stock market collapsed on October 29, 1929. This marked the beginning of the Great Depression, which was the nation’s lengthiest economic downturn, lasting 1929 to 1941. Many causes are associated with the collapse, including rampant investor speculation on the stock market, the over-availability of consumer credit, and the general disregard of the American economy by the New Era Republicans consisting of Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. Many attempts were made at curtailing the financial collapse, but it would not be until the United States entered into the Second World War that the nation’s economy rebounded.
Great Depression - Recognize the role the stock market played in the collapse of the American economy in 1929.
During the 1920s there was rampant stock market speculation. Many investors purchased massive shares of stock, but mainly through loans and a minimum investment of roughly 10%. Most investors infused thousands of borrowed dollars into the stock market on various industries and products that did not have time to mature and be considered a proven, even valuable, commodity. A combination of market saturation and investors demanding the repayment of loans market earnings began to decline sharply. Without the money being repaid to the creditors, the financial structure of the United States crumbled.
Great Depression - Consumer credit and installment loans.
In the 1920s, banks and businesses decided to offer what became known as credit, so their customers could afford the boom in durable consumer goods. The problem was that many Americans could not afford the credit payments and defaulted on loans and installment plans. Banks and businesses lost a substantial amount of money. In 1931, this condition was exacerbated when the Federal Reserve Board decided to curtail credit and raise interest rates on current consumers.
Great Depression - Expound upon the policies of the Republican New Era presidents that aided the depression.
The failure of leadership by ‘New Era Republican’ presidents - Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover - during the 1920s may have been the foremost catalyst to the Great Depression. These individuals projected pro-business politics because they believed big business would provide prosperity for the nation. Coolidge repealed the progressive legislation of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and replaced it with a pro-business ideology. Simultaneously, the overproduction of goods led to a flooded market because average Americans could not afford to purchase products unless they pursued credit plans.
Great Depression - Understand the devastation caused by rampant unemployment.
The number of unemployed skyrocketed from 3 million in 1930 to roughly 13-15 million by 1933 or ~25%. Unemployment compensation was nonexistent during this time. The jobless resorted to desperate business practices, but most were unable to fund sustainable income. ‘Hoovervilles’ were makeshift cardboard and scrap metal homes that families were forced to inhabit due to foreclosure and eviction. Those in agricultural areas faired much worse than those in urban areas because of tariffs, overabundance of production from the creation of the tractor, and lack of consumer spending; along with an overuse of land and massive drought know as the ‘Dust Bowl’.
Great Depression - Interpret the cause of labor unrest among those with jobs.
The nation witnessed a number of labor upheavals as a result of economic conditions created by the Great Depression. In 1932, unemployed laborers from Ford launched a massive protest in Dearborn, Michigan; in 1934, Minneapolis Teamsters protested over union-related issues; in 1937, a labor strike broke out in the GM plant in Flint, Michigan; later in 1937, the Memorial Day Massacre in Chicago, Illinois laborers went on strike against Republic Steel. In each case violence broke out between protesters and police and/or strikebreakers with dozens of deaths.
Great Depression - Recall the greater problems for minorities.
African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians faced worse economic conditions and heightened discrimination. Many minorities were the primary targets of termination by businesses in major cities. When the farmers were told to reduce their production, sharecropper’s leases were immediately terminated due to the unavailable land (many sharecroppers were blacks and Hispanic). Roughly two million Mexicans were removed from the United States because of general disdain from whites. Civil Rights became virtually non-existent in the South where Jim Crow laws, white unite leagues, poll taxes, and violence against blacks dominated. Eventually, President Roosevelt cautiously began to offer federal services to African Americans.
Herbert Hoover (R)
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), America’s 31st president, took office in 1929, the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression. Although his predecessors’ policies undoubtedly contributed to the crisis, which lasted over a decade, Hoover bore much of the blame in the minds of the American people. As the Depression deepened, Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the situation or leverage the power of the federal government to squarely address it. A successful mining engineer before entering politics, the Iowa-born president was widely viewed as callous and insensitive toward the suffering of millions of desperate Americans. As a result, Hoover was soundly defeated in the 1932 presidential election by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
President Hoover’s Response (A)
President Hoover’s deeply held philosophy of American individualism, which he maintained despite extraordinary economic circumstances, made him particularly unsuited to deal with the crisis of the Great Depression. He greatly resisted government intervention, considering it a path to the downfall of American greatness. His initial response of asking Americans to find their own paths to recovery and seeking voluntary business measures to stimulate the economy could not stem the tide of the Depression. Ultimately, Hoover did create some federal relief programs, such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which sought to boost public confidence in financial institutions by ensuring that they were on solid footing. When this measure did little to help impoverished individuals, he signed the Emergency Relief Act, which allowed the RFC to invest in local public works projects. But even this was too little, too late. The severe limits on the types of projects funded and type of workers used meant that most Americans saw no benefit.
President Hoover’s Response (B)
The American public ultimately responded with anger and protest to Hoover’s apparent inability to create solutions. Protests ranged from factory strikes to farm riots, culminating in the notorious Bonus Army protest in the spring of 1932. Veterans from World War I lobbied to receive their bonuses immediately, rather than waiting until 1945. The government denied them, and in the ensuing chaos, Hoover called in the military to disrupt the protest. The violence of this act was the final blow for Hoover, whose popularity was already at an all-time low.
Hoover Dam - Explain the need for infrastructure and electricity in the west during the 1920s.
By the 1920s, many Americans were eager to build a dam on the Colorado River that would prevent it from flooding, harness water for drinking and farming, and generate electricity for a growing West. With the West poised for growth, many Americans, including President Herbert Hoover, wanted to control the river and use its power by building a dam at the Nevada-Arizona border.
Hoover Dam - Identify Hoover’s background in deciding to build the dam.
Even before he became president, Hoover, himself a former engineer, was an advocate for the project. He supported this effort as Secretary of Commerce and president as a way to develop the country’s infrastructure and invest in future growth. It also would provide jobs to thousands of people during the Great Depression.
Hoover Dam - Describe the hard work that went into the planning and building of the dam.
At the time, the dam was the most expensive and ambitious public works project ever conceived. In total, 21,000 men diverted the mighty Colorado River and built a dam that was twice the size of the Statue of Liberty and longer than four football fields. When it was completed in 1936, it was the largest dam in the world.
The Depths of the Great Depression (A)
The Great Depression affected huge segments of the American population—sixty million people by one estimate. But certain groups were hit harder than the rest. African Americans faced discrimination in finding employment, as white workers sought even low-wage jobs like housecleaning. Southern blacks moved away from their farms as crop prices failed, migrating en masse to Northern cities, which had little to offer them. Rural Americans were also badly hit. The eight-year drought that began shortly after the stock market crash exacerbated farmers’ and ranchers’ problems. The cultivation of greater amounts of acreage in the preceding decades meant that land was badly overworked, and the drought led to massive and terrible dust storms, creating the region’s nickname, the Dust Bowl. Some farmers tried to remain and buy up more land as neighbors went broke; others simply fled their failed farms and moved away, often to the large-scale migrant farms found in California, to search for a better life that few ever found. Maltreated by Californians who wished to avoid the unwanted competition for jobs that these “Okies” represented, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were left wandering as a result.
The Depths of the Great Depression (B)
There was very little in the way of public assistance to help the poor. While private charities did what they could, the scale of the problem was too large for them to have any lasting effects. People learned to survive as best they could by sending their children out to beg, sharing clothing, and scrounging wood to feed the furnace. Those who could afford it turned to motion pictures for escape. Movies and books during the Great Depression reflected the shift in American cultural norms, away from rugged individualism toward a more community-based lifestyle.
Hoover Dam - Legacy of the Dam
At the time, the Hoover Dam was the largest dam in the world, and it was revered as an ‘American pyramid’ on the scale of those built in ancient Egypt. It was a symbol of hope in pride in the middle of the depression. Most importantly, the dam enabled the West to continue its incredible growth. The dam remains in operation to this day, providing water and electricity to the same communities. More than that, many hail the dam as a model infrastructure and investment project for putting unemployed Americans to work during economic downturns.
Hoover and the Great Depression - Name the failed economic policies Hoover tried.
His policy of associationalism encouraged Americans in all professions to band together to develop solutions for the economic downturn. Hoover’s international campaign temporarily suspended European war debt repayment and raised protective tariffs. He also attempted to briefly expand the power of the federal government through new programs and aid distribution. Unfortunately, all of his policies failed. Many were unrealistic; some failed due to Hoover’s personal beliefs and decision making.
Hoover and the Great Depression - Name the failed economic policies Hoover tried - International Approach.
Hoover thought a possible solution to the Depression was through the international community because he believed that the major aspects of the downturn were outside of American borders. He first issued a temporary halt on loan payments owed by various European nations following the war. He also helped pass the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, which expedited the ability of American banks to convert European investor’s money into gold. His protective tariffs, known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, proved futile and potentially worsened the Depression.
Hoover and the Great Depression - Name the failed economic policies Hoover tried - Expanding the Government.
Hoover was against the expansion of the federal government, yet decided to approve limited-expansion measures because many of his other policies were failing. He approved the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to provide loans to various institutions that were willing to construct low-cost public facilities. However, he began eliminating federally created programs and supported raising taxes through the ‘Revenue Act of 1932’ because he did not like an unbalanced government. Hoover also limited the amount of federal assistance that was distributed to unemployed and suffering Americans since he believed that federal aid encouraged slothfulness, a lack of patriotism, and a dependence on the government.
