(The New Deal & the economy) The economy in 1940 Flashcards
What was the context of the economy before 1940, in 1939?
3
Unemployment = still high
Membership of unions increased to 27% of workforce and industrial unrest was a problem in some major cities.
5 huge corporations controlled 85% of all income generated by business.
What does the context of the economy before 1940, in 1939 suggest about the New Deal?
It had limited success in recovering the economy.
What did the context of the economy before 1940, in 1939 do?
Laid the foundation for what came next.
What happened in 1939?
What followed in 1940?
Europe was at war
US rearmament began
What happened to the law in 1939?
What did this mean?
The 1935 Neutrality Act was repealed.
Belligerents could buy munition from the USA.
What is a belligerent?
A country at war.
In 1939, the 1935 Neutrality Act was repealed.
Give evidence of this.
Within a year there were orders for 10,800 aircraft.
What did FDR introduce?
What did this mean?
Lend-lease
The US loaned Britain and USSR weapons, which would in theory be paid back.
What is to be noted about military spending?
Give evidence.
It was huge.
July 1940 - $4 billion toward US Navy
October 1940 - $17 billion towards defence
How did WW2 change the US economy?
Give evidence.
Appeared significantly healthier than when the New Deal began in 1933.
GNP = 1933, $68.3 billion - 1940, $113 billion
