Great Depression Flashcards
To what extent did the Great Depression affect different groups in society? Paragraph 1
Farmers were most affected by the Great Depression due to overproduction, bankruptcy and ineffective government intervention, also suffering the longest as their Depression started in the 1920s.
Harvesting costs exceeded selling prices (bushel of wheat price dropped from $2.14 in 1919 to $0.92 –> exacerbated pre-Depression impacts of agricultural overproduction and underconsumption
Millions, unable to meet mortgage payments, lost their farms to foreclosure
- 750,000 evicted between 1930 and 1935
Hoover’s Agricultural Marketing Act 1929
- Federal Farm Board: $500 million to buy and dispose of farm surpluses
- UNSUCCESSFUL: farmers maintained high production rates to maximise profit and sold the excess to the government, quickly exhausting government funds
Roosevelt’s Agricultural Adjustment Act 1933
- Government subsidies to destroy farm produce and increase commodity prices
- Destroying 76 million hectares of cotton and 6 million piglets –> raised wages from 4.5 to 6.9 million in 1934
- Subsidies paid exclusively to farm owners based on acres of uncultivated land - excluded the millions of tenant farmers, sharecroppers and small farm owners who were struggling the most
Historian Allan Nevins: agriculture was the “darkest spot” in US society
To what extent did the Great Depression affect different groups in society? Paragraph 2
The Great Depression affected workers to a lesser, but still significant extent due to unprecedented unemployment rates, low wages and poor working conditions, but were aided by some beneficial government intervention.
Consumer spending and subsequently industrial output dropped –> failing companies retrenched workers and there were few alternative employment opportunities
- Labour Research Association: 17 million in 1933
- Coal workers were doubly affected: cleaner energy (1920s) –> falling coal prices and meagre $2.50 weekly wages
Boost productivity, employment and morale: Roosevelt’s New Deal introduced organisations such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (1933), Public Works Administration (PWA) (1933) and Fair Labour Standards Act (1938)
- CCC: successful work relief program, monthly $30 wage to young, unskilled, unemployed men on environmental projects
- PWA: run by Harold Ickes under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)
- employed 4 million skilled men through 34,000 federal, state and local projects
Historian David Kennedy: “renewed faith in their country and way of life”
- Hesitation to spend federal money on public projects –> extremely slow trickle down of money into the economy and lack of immediate aid
Both failed to address long term unemployment and did not aid all workers
- Some anti-Republican states refused to provide aid
Worsened working conditions as companies reduced wages and safety standards
- Fair Labour Standards Act (1938): maximum 40 hour work week, minimum 40 cent wage, abolished child labour
- despite conservative Southern opposition: raised the wages of 12 million workers by 1940
- Unemployment rate at 17%, actual hourly wages as low as 10 cents
To what extent did the Great Depression affect different groups in society? Paragraph 3
African Americans - unemployment, displacement and discrimination (but life was already bad)
Exacerbated pre-existing racial conflict - African Americans were fired first as employers favoured white workers over blacks
- Poorly paid jobs traditionally reserved for African Americans (e.g. waiters, lift attendants) were increasingly offered to whites
- 1931 magazine The Nation: estimated AA unemployment rates were 4-6 times higher than whites
- AA wages, rarely above $200 were less than a quarter of the average white worker’s annual wage
AAA’s land-based government farming benefits - provided minimal relief (only 20% of black farmers owned land)
- displaced more than 200,00 African Americans as farm owners reduced production and labour supply
- moved to industrial cities (e.g. Harlem) –> housing shortage and racial segregation –> excessive rents for deteriorating and crowded buildings –> disease and premature death
- Federal Housing Administration’s refusal to provide mortgages for black families in white areas
- rejection from the Social Security Act’s unemployment insurance and welfare programs
Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed 1 million African Americans by 1939
- however many state governments refused to provide mandated government aid
Historian Hughes: the depression brought “everyone down a peg or two…but Negroes had but few pegs to fall”
To what extent did the Great Depression affect different groups in society? Paragraph 4
Women were affected by the Great Depression to a moderate extent, as while they still suffered greatly due to society’s prejudice they had a higher likelihood of secure employment and domestic stability.
Female employment rose from 4 to 9% between 1890 and 1920
However, the Great Depression saw a rise in anti-working women sentiment, as they were seen to be taking away jobs from males.
- Although many worked out of necessity, they were seen as “secondary” wage earners
- 1936 Gallup Poll revealed that 82% of Americans thought women should not work if their husband worked
- Legal workplace restrictions: over 75% of school authorities refused to hire married women in 1930
- Fired first: nearly 400,000 unemployed women in 1933
- Over one-quarter of NIRA codes set lower minimum wages for women
- organisations such as CCC and PWA almost exclusively hired men
However, the workforce’s gender segregation saw traditionally female jobs, such as teachers and clerical insistent, suffer wage loss but little unemployment compared to the male-dominated manufacturing and industrial sector
Domestically, women’s roles became more important as they supported the household
- economised by sewing clothes, substituting paid labour with home labour
What’s your overall judgement for an “assess the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation” essay?
What are your four paragraphs?
Significant extent, with both positive and negative impacts
- Short term improvement in living conditions
- Long-term deterioration of living conditions due to easy credit –> long term cause of the GD
- Social Divisions
- Racial tensions
Assess the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation - Paragraph 1.
Temporarily improved the quality of American life
Industrialisation occurred during wartime production, which necessitated a rapid increase in output
- After the war, these companies shifted to consumer goods
- Production of consumer goods doubled from 1920 to 1922 as the majority of the economy’s productive capacity was redirected to domestic needs
Historian Galbraith: a period marked by “change and innovation”
Improvement in convenience and quality of life as the invention of electrical power and the automation of the factory’s assembly line reduced the cost of labour-saving devices, such as vacuums and washing machines
- Model T Ford: price dropped from $950 to $290 in 1926: boom in car industry created jobs in the car manufacturing industry, road construction, sourcing of materials (e.g. oil, vulcanised rubber and steel)
Greater affordability for a wide range of goods and services and greater economic prosperity
- e.g. labour-saving devices gave women more time and freedom
Hoover: “I have no fears for the future of our country. It is bright with hope.”
Assess the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation - Paragraph 2.
However, this rapid industrialisation fuelled a culture of consumerism and reliance on easy credit, which led to an unstable economy and was a long-term cause of the GD.
As industrialisation increased, it fostered a culture of consumerism, wherein individuals desired to buy the latest gadgets despite not having the funds. –> over-reliance on easy credit
- by 1929, $7 billion worth of goods were sold on easy credit
- decreasing quality of goods as producers valued quantity over quality
Despite an unstable economy fuelled by unfounded speculation, rediscount rates were decreased from 4% to 3.5% in 1927, reducing the cost of debt repayments and fostering the culture of consumerism based on easy credit.
- caused economic instability due to the increasing volatility of the financial secotr
This led to the crumbling of the bank sector from 1925-29, as consumers failed to repay their debts, leading to a decrease in consumer demand. The lack of wage protection meant declining demand resulted in falling wages and unemployment, with a 25% unemployment rate and plummeting GNP.
- However, industries maintained high levels of production to maximise profits –> met by underconsumption –> exacerbated cycle of unemployment and falling wages
- Agriculture: harvesting costs exceeded selling costs - price of a bushel of wheat fell from $2.14 to $0.92 in 1929
Consumerism and easy credit, bolstered by industrialisation –> long term cause of the GD
Assess the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation - Paragraph 3.
SOCIAL DIVISIONS
While leading to increased prosperity, urbanisation and industrialisation also led to heightened social divisions, as it exacerbated both the class divide and tensions between the rural and urban world.
Urbanisation saw the influx of people moving to industrialised cities such as New York and California for work
- cities became new centres of political and economic power
- by the 1920s, more than 50% of America’s population lived in industrialized cities and cities with populations of 100,000 or more tripled
- while urbanisation and industrialisation led to the average national income increasing from $460 in 1920 to $691 in 1929, 60% of the population lived on or below the poverty line
Historian Kenendy: revealed “deep-rooted structural inequalities” in American society
RURAL:
- increasingly radical ideas e.g. consumerism, the liberation of women, speakeasies
- Rural world saw these as evidence of the “moral laxity” of the “New World” (Historian David Kennedy)
- Became increasingly conservative in response to the frivolousness of urban America, as they feared the change in society would threaten their white superiority and traditional ideal of “Americanism”
Second Wave of the Ku Klux Klan, known as the “Invisible Empire”, rose in prominence in response to this period of radical change, where White Americans felt like a growing minority (immigration due to urbanisation and industrialisation) and desired a “Return to Normalcy” from the relaxed morals industrialisation had brought
- Represented the Conservative Americans and gave a sense of belonging, identity and power
- Provided purpose and glamour to everyday life
- Targeted those seen as outside conventional morality of the American way of life: “anti-black, anti-immigration”
- Amassed overwhelming support in rural areas and small towns, but gained little traction in urban areas
Assess the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation - Paragraph 4.
Urbanisation and industrialisation attracted immigrants with the promise of the “American Dream” with more than 20 million immigrants arriving between 1890 and 1920, sparking fears of the “Red Scare”
Racial violence became more prevalent: riots from March to November 1919 became known as the “Red Summer” as white supremacist terrorism and racial riots took place in over 3 dozen US cities
- Chicago riots July-August 1919: started with the stoning and drowning of black youth Eugene Williams + white mobs destroying businesses and homes on the south side of Chicago
- 37 dead, 527 injured and 1,000 black families left homeless
- Elaine Massacre in Arkansas, September 1919: estimated 100-240 black and five white deaths
- Tulsa Massacre on May 31-June 1 1921: white mob attacked and destroyed black residents, homes and businesses in a thriving business district in the affluent African American neighbourhood of Greenwood
- 300 dead, $1.5 million in property damage
What would your three paragraphs be for an essay on “How significant was consumerism in changing US society?”
- Short term improvements in living conditions (same as urbanisation + entertainment)
- Long term deterioration of living conditions (easy credit) (same as urbanisation)
- Advertising bolstered the artificial boom –> subsequent bust is bigger
How significant was consumerism in changing US society - Paragraph 1.
TEMPORARILY IMPROVED THE STANDARD OF LIFE
Industrialisation occurred during wartime production, which necessitated a rapid increase in output
- After the war, these companies shifted to consumer goods
- Production of consumer goods doubled from 1920 to 1922 as the majority of the economy’s productive capacity shifted to meeting and fuelling domestic demands
Invention of electrical power and assembly line
- Increasing convenience and comfort as the automation of the factory line meant labour-saving devices such as vacuums and washing machines were cheaper
- Model T Ford price dropped from $950 to $290 in 1926
- Boom in jobs in the car manufacturing industry, road construction, sourcing of materials (e.g. vulcanized rubber, steel and oil)
Greater affordability for a wide range of goods and services, improved way of life + wider economic prosperity
- e.g. labour-saving devices granted women more time and freedom
Hoover: “I have no fears for the future of our country. It is bright with hope.”
ENTERTAINMENT:
- By 1928, 17,000 cinemas in the US
- Only cost 1 nickel to watch –> watched by the poor so they could forget the harsh reality of their life and be immersed in a world of beauty and glamour
How significant was consumerism in changing US society - Paragraph 2.
LONG TERM DETERIORATION OF LIVING CONDITIONS
consumerism –> easy credit –> long term: overproduction and underconsumption –> GD
Consumerism: culture of being the latest gadget despite not having the funds –> over-reliance on easy credit
- By 1929 almost 7 billion worth of goods sold on credit
- Decreasing quality of goods as produced valued quantity over quality
Despite a shaky stock market fueled by unfounded speculation, rediscount rates were decreased from 4% to 3.5% in 1927, reducing the cost of debt repayments and fuelling the consumerist culture.
- led to economic instability due to the volatility of the financial sector
Led to the collapse of the banking sector from 1925-29, as consumers were unable to pay back their debts, which led to a rapid fall in consumer demand. However, due to the lack of wage protection, decreasing demand resulted in falling wages and increasing unemployment - unemployment rate was 25% and plummeting GNP
- industries maintained high production rates to try and maximise profits - met by under-consumption –> exacerbated the harsh cycle of unemployment and falling wages
- Agriculture was especially affected: harvesting costs exceeded selling costs (cost of a bushel of wheat dropped from $2.14 in 1919 to $0.92 in 1929)
Easy credit and consumerism –> long term cause of the GD
How significant was consumerism in changing US society - Paragraph 3.
Advertising spurs the artificial boom, making the oncoming bust bigger, contributing to the poverty which was beginning to set in the late 1920s.
Need to create demand due to excess supply –> advertising used to entice individuals to buy the latest product
- Advertising industry earned more than $3 billion in 1926 and doubled their incomes from 1919 to 1926
However, in the 1920s production began outstripping demand as consumers were no longer in the position to be spending on non-essentials
- By 1929: more than 80% of Americans were living close to subsistence, despite being employed
- Historian David Kennedy: “fragile prosperity”
Continual need for consumption and growth –> overproduction and underconsumption –> GD
Social tensions - anti-communism and anti-unionism
Open door policy: approximately 1 million immigrants arriving each year
- Fear of the survival of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) –> feared immigrants would take their jobs due to their cheap labour
- Only north-west European immigrants were supported, as eastern European immigrants were associated with communism
Over 20 million immigrants arriving between 1890 and 1920 with the promise of the “American Dream” –> rise of the “Red Scare” (fear of communism
- Americans feared the Bolshevik Revolution would spread to the US - trade unions were seen as communist as they advocated for power to the people
- in 1919, 4 million workers went on strike for better working conditions and it was feared it was led by communists who sought a revolution in the US
Press barons took control of the press, movies and radios to spread fear in the American people and spell out the communist threat (rural Americans were told communists would steal their children and indoctrinate them)
Palmer Raids (1919-1920): a bomb went off prematurely on the doorstep of the deputy general Palmer and the terrorist was clutching a communist newspaper –> led to 6,000 arrests and 100 deportations due to the red scare
1927 Sacco and Vanzetti case: 2 Italian immigrants arrested and executed for armed robbery despite lack of concrete evidence
Social tensions - immigration restrictions and racial conflict
Significant racism contributed to shaping restrictive immigration policies and racial violence
Quota Act 1921: limited immigration to 3% per year of the total number of foreign-born persons from that country recorded in the 1910 census
National Origins Act 1924: restricted European immigration quota to 2%, excluded Asian immigrants entirely, revealing institutionalised racism
Immigration fell from 2.5 million in the 1920s to 350,000 by 1935
RACIAL VIOLENCE:
1919 Red Summer - series of riots across 3 dozen cities in the US
Chicago riots: started with the stoning and drowning of black youth Eugene Williams, white mobs destroyed black businesses and homes on the SOuth side of Chicago
- 38 dead, 527 injured and 1,000 black families left homeless
Tulsa Massacre: looting, arson on black residents and businesses in the affluent black business district of Greenwood
- Death toll of 300, property damage of $1.5 million
Elaine Massacre: 100-240 black people died, 5 white people
KU KLUX KLAN:
Second wave, known as the “Invisible Empire” rose in prominence, white Americans felt like a growing minority and desired a return to “Normalcy”
- represented conservative Americans and gave them a sense of importance and belonging
- added purpose and glamour
- targeted those seen as outside the conventional
- morality or American way of life: anti-black, anti-immigration
- amassed overwhelming support in rural areas, little in urban
