The depression & the new deal Flashcards
When was the Wall Street crash?
1929
What happened at the Wall Street crash?
American economy crashed, destroying all prosperity from the boom
Banks went bankrupt
People lost their shares
Rich large scale investors who had invested money in banks lost it
What were the effects of the Wall Street crash?
By 1933, 14 million were unemployed Average wage fell by 60% Through 1931, 45 people died of starvation Farm income fell to $5 billion 4 million Americans had lost everything Suicide rate went up
What was the cycle of depression?
Reduced spending > Wall Street crash > Tons of citizens took their money out of banks at once which led to ‘The banking crisis’ > Banks collapsed causing big companies to collapse too which led to Unemployment > No jobs = No money
What did Hoover do?
He refused to admit there was a problem until 1932 > led to criticism, people said ‘In Hoover we trusted now we are busted’
Republicans didn’t want to change their policy of no intervening
1930-1932 he tried to re start economy by tax cuts so people had more money to spend
Tried to protect US industries by introducing tariffs but this effected international trade and made the depression worse
What was rugged individualism?
Hoovers belief that citizens needed to help each other and not just rely on the government
What was the bonus army march?
20,000 veterans peacefully camped in Washington asked for their war bonuses to be paid early. Hoover refused to meet & got General MacArthur to deal - he reacted with tear gas, police burned their camps ignoring Hoovers instruction to treat them with respect. MacArthur claimed they were communist agitators with no evidence. Hoover refused to admit he had failed to control MacArthur.
What were Hoovers successes?
1) Came up with Hoover Dam which gave men jobs
2) Cut taxes for citizens
3) Signed federal home back loan which gave financial help to help people buy their homes
What were Hoovers ‘failures’?
He made international tariffs rise to 40% - other countries retaliated and didn’t buy anything American > Farmers had too much stock
Tried to make Americans help each other when they couldn’t help themselves
What did Roosevelt promise?
Spread employment Legalise sale of alcohol Justice for war veterans Promised a new deal Restore agriculture Stabilise banking system
What were the election results?
Roosevelt won by 7 million votes and won the majority of seats in conquest.
Hoover was disliked by public as he didn’t help them in the depression
What happened in ‘The first 100 days’ of the new deal?
Firstly, closed all banks until they were gov checked to tackle banking crisis. 5,000 were re opened.
FDR sent 15 proposals to congress & all 15 were accepted
What was the FERA alphabet agency and what did it do?
FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION
Helped meet urgent needs of the poor
$500 million spent on soup kitchens, blankets, nursery schools and employment schemes
What was the CCC alphabet agency and what did it do?
THE CIVILIAN CONVERSATION CORPS
Aimed to help young unemployed (mainly men)
Around 2.5 million men were helped
Most work done by CCC was on environmental parks
What was the AAA alphabet agency and what did it do?
THE AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ADMINISTRATION
Paid farmers to reduce production of main items to drive up prices
Tried to help farming long term
Helped modernise farmers and helped them use methods to preserve soil
Also helped farmers with mortgages in desperate times
Helped farmers but modernisation but labourers out of work
Successes and failures of AAA?
Successes:
Led to better standards of living for farmers, total farm income rose from $4.5 billion to $6.9 billion
Dealt effectively with overproduction
Failures:
Received criticism as they were destroying food when many Amercians were starving eg. 6 million piglets killed which received an outcry even though some was given to feed unemployed
Successes and failures of FERA?
Successes: Helped people in need
Failures: Many state governments refused to spend more and said the poor were poor through their own fault
Successes and failures of CCC?
Successes: Helped 2.5 million young men
The men benefitted from the training they provided
Failures: Criticised for only focusing on white men
What was the PWA alphabet agency?
PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION (RECOVERY)
Hoped expenditure on public works such as roads, dams, hospitals and schools would stimulate the economy eg road building would lead to increase demand for concrete which would increase employment
Successes and failures of PWA?
Success: hundreds of thousands of people gained jobs through their projects eg. 50,000 miles of roads & 13,000 schools were built. Dams were built in west to produce electrify and 4 large national parks were created
What was the NRA alphabet agency?
NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION (Welfare)
June 1933
Set out to improve working conditions and to outlaw child labour
Set out fair wages
Successes and failures of NRA?
557 codes were drawn up covering most industries, there was criticism on how they operated > Supreme Court declared NRA unlawful
What was the trade union?
Association of workers in a trade, formed to protect their rights and interests
What was the Wagner act?
You could no longer sack someone for being in a union
Forced all employers to allow all trade unions to operate in their companies and let them negotiate with employers for better pay and conditions
Who opposed the new deal?
Supreme Court - mostly made of republicans
Republicans - they thought FDR was doing too much to intervene (they believed laissez faire)
Radical politicians - Some democrats thought FDR wasn’t doing enough and thought more needed to be done for disadvantaged groups
HUEY LONG - wanted to limit personal wealth to $3 million in a scheme called ‘share our wealth’ which government taxes would be shared with all Americans
When was FDR re-elected?
1936
What was 1930s culture?
Talkies introduced
More dancing
Leisure activities became more widespread
What was FDR accused of?
Being communist & undermining American values
How many African Americans benefitted from the new deal?
Around 200,000
Benefitted from CCC and housing projects
How did African Americans NOT benefit from the new deal?
FDR failed to pass a law against lynching in fear southern senators wouldn’t approve
A lot of agencies discriminated against them resulting in lower wages or no work
How many women were helped in the CCC?
Only 8,000 compared to 2.5million men
Who was Eleanor Roosevelt?
An important campaigner on social issues, significant because women didn’t get important roles in politics
How did Native Americans benefit?
They were helped to buy and improve land and helped to preserve their land to practise traditions and culture
What was the impact of the Second World War?
Ended unemployment
Supported Britain and the USSR
Joined in 1941
What was the Lend lease?
Began in 1941
Total of $50 billion worth of materials (Arms, food, medicine) were sent to USSR, China, France, Britain and other nations against Germany, payment was received yet but economy was stimulated
What was the war time production board?
Set up by FDR in Jan 1942
Large firms wanted to make money from helping the war effort
Half the worlds weapons were from America
How many women joined the armed forces?
300,000
How many women joined the workforce?
7 million
How many African Americans got to work in war industries?
750,000
How many extra workers were there in factories?
14 million
How many extra workers did General Motors take on?
750,000
How many people moved from rural south to the north? and why?
4 million, more manufacturing jobs were in the North
How did the economy recover?
Unemployment ended
Wages increased
More than 1/2 million new businesses started up (Eg, Coca Cola and Wrigley)
Farmers benefitted as they were making and selling food to allies
Americans invested their bonds which gave government more money for wartime production which boosted the economy
What were social developments in America during the SWW for WOMEN?
Nearly 200,00 joined armed forces
Married women with jobs went up 50% 1941-1945
What were social developments in America during the SWW for African Americans?
Over 1 million soldiers joined the armed forces
By 1944 2 million worked in factories
NAACP expanded form 50,000 members to nearly 500,000
AA and white soldiers mixed in bars etc while deployed
How much did government rise by during the world war?
Rose from $20bn in 1941 to $97b in 1944
When did isolationism end?
After the attack on pearl harbour
