Impact of New Deal on Ethnic Minorities Flashcards
Effect of the Depression on black Americans
First to lose their jobs, usual menial jobs reserved for them taken by whites
By 1931, what percentage of BA in southern cities are unemployed?
33%
Who was the biggest employer of BA in Cleveland, Ohio? What was the impact on unemployment?
In Cleveland, Ohio, the federal gov was the largest employer of BA, reducing their unemployment from 50% to 30%
Proof of more opportunities in federal government?
- Robert Weaver, appointed as FDR’s Special Advisor on the “Economic Status of the Negro”
- Mary Bethune, advisor to FDR, was on the National Youth Administration and got her own department as Director of Negro Affairs,
Proof of gov supporting BA?
Harold Ickes (Secretary of the Interior) was also the president of the Chicago branch of NAACP, directly aided BA in PWA, esp housing division
What did the US housing authority do?
- Introduced racial quotas for construction projects to ensure black people got housing
- By 1940 BA occupied 1/3 of housing units provided
WPA (Works Progress Administration)
- Work, Education, Skills
- Provided work for 350,000 BA every year from 1936-40
- Educational programme: taught 250,000 BA to read and write, employing over 5000 BA teachers
- National Youth Administration: skills training for 500,000 BA
Civil Service
Tripled number of BA employed to 150,000 by 1941
CIO (Congress of Industrial Organisation)
Trade union body, actively recruited BA members= were more empowered with TU support
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
- 200,000 BA got jobs but most were low-skilled, poorly paid
- Racially segregated
- Ran by white Southern Conservative man who was discriminatory (Fechner)
AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)
- Supported white farming but no help to sharecroppers (mostly BA)
- 100,000 sharecroppers evicted due to policy of cutting production: gov destroyed products but sharecroppers did not receive subsidies
- Cotton section headed by Cobb: southern, white, Conservative, gave priority to whites
NRA
- National Recovery Administration
- “negro run-around”, discriminatory to BA
- forced shutdown of many small black businesses
- codes allowed for BA to be paid less than whites for same work
FDR’s actions
- Nothing to end legal segregation in Old South
- Did not pass anti-lynching bills proposed by NAACP and Bethune in both 1937 and 1940 (to not alienate Dixiecrats, needed their support)
How many BA in professional jobs by 1940?
Only 1/20 in white collar jobs compared to 1/5 white men
How many Native Americans in US?
330,000
Dawes Severalty Act 1887 and its effects?
- Allowed federal gov to break up tribal lands
- Policies of assimilation and allotment= lost their culture, land they were given often poor quality, not suitable for farming e.g. Navajos in Arizona lived on desert
What happened to land given to NA under Dawes Severalty Act?
Only 1/3 of land still owned by NA by 1934, majority sold off to speculators= their land exploited for oil, coal, gas
Indian Reorganisation Act 1934
- Replaced Dawes Severalty Act, first gov attempt at preserving NA culture
- Gave NA autonomy over their own communities: self-governing bodies, can elect their own tribal council, write own constitution, have their own legal and policing system
Role of John Collier?
- Commissioner of Bureau of Indian Affairs, promoted IRA and the reversal of the DSA
- Indian Arts and Crafts Board made to promote and preserve NA culture= some economic advancements for some NA groups
What provided some unemployment relief for NA?
CCC and PWA
In what ways was the Indian Reorganisation Act a failure?
- 75/245 Native tribes rejected it, including largest group, Navajos (opposed more gov intervention after negative impacts by previous acts e.g. Navajo Livestock Reduction Programme took away half of their livestock)
- Did very little to improve economic position, still desperately poor and excluded
What was passed in 1944?
- National Congress of American Indians, set up as a forum to voice NA concerns
- however 1944= far too late
What happened to Hispanic American employment after the Depression?
- Usually employed as seasonal workers to help in agriculture but many forced out of the country during the Depression to free up jobs for white Americans
How many Hispanic Americans were repatriated during the Depression years altogether?
400,000
How much did number of Mexican Americans drop?
- 1930: 600,000
- 1940: 400,000
How did New Deal legislation discriminate against HA?
Wagner Act (1935) and National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) excluded migrant workers from being able to form trade unions- without TU support= pay and conditions worsened
What were the cuts to migrant wages in South California?
Reduced from 35 cents an hour to 14 cents an hour in 1928 to 1933
How did AAA have a negative impact on Hispanic Americans?
Reduces jobs for farmers: production was reduced to stabilise prices= fewer workers required, more unemployed HA
Fair Labour Standards Act 1938?
Established minimum wage but excluded migrant workers
