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History - USA: Boom, Bust and Recovery > The Spread of the Depression 1929-1932 (T2) > Flashcards

The Spread of the Depression 1929-1932 (T2) Flashcards

1
Q

What was the rate of unemployment rate during the Depression?

A

From 3.2% of the labour force in 1929 to 25.2% by 1933.

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2
Q

How many people were out of work?

A

12,830,000

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3
Q

What was the most likely figure of unemployed people?

A

17 million

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4
Q

What was the national wage bill in 1932?

A

Only 40% of the 1929 figure

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5
Q

How even was the spread of the Depression?

A

Unemployment and underemployment were spread throughout the country unevenly.

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6
Q

How many people were unemployed in New York State?

A

1 million unemployed.

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7
Q

How much of the workforce were unemployed in Cleveland?

A

50%

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8
Q

How much of the workforce were unemployed in Toledo?

A

80%

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9
Q

Who were the particular victims of the Depression?

A

Women and ethnic minorities

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10
Q

How many more black Americans were unemployed compared to white Americans?

A

Four to six times higher than the rate of white American unemployment rate.

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11
Q

What happened to the jobs that were reserved for Black Americans?

A

Poorly paid jobs such as those of waiter and lift attendant, were now increasingly offered to white people.

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12
Q

How many Black Americans were unemployed?

A

52% compared to 31.7% of white Americans.

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13
Q

How many Black Americans were unemployed by 1933?

A

50% compared to 25% of White Americans.

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14
Q

How many Black Americans left the South during the Depression years?

A

300,000

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15
Q

Who were the poorest of all Americans?

A

Native Americans

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16
Q

What was the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887?

A

Policy of allotment which meant that the old tribal units were broken up and the reservations divided into family-sized farms of 160 acres.

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17
Q

What did this destruction of Native American culture do?

A

Left people listless and apathetic.

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18
Q

Was allotment of Native American land a success?

A

Was a failure particularly for those Native Americans who were not farmers by tradition.

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19
Q

What was the land like that was given to Native Americans?

A

Most of the land allocated was unsuitable for productive farming.

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20
Q

How many acres were owned by Native Americans at the time of the Dawes Severalty Act?

A

138 million acres

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21
Q

How many acres of land had Native Americans lost by 1932?

A

90 million acres

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22
Q

How did the Great Depression impact Native Americans?

A

Native Americans found it more difficult to leave the poverty-stricken reservations in search of work.

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23
Q

How had attitudes towards the Dawes Severalty Act changed?

A

By 1926 a Department of the Interior inquiry confirmed that the Act had been a disaster and the policy of allotment should be reversed.

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24
Q

How were Hispanic Americans treated?

A

Had been widely recruited throughout the Southwest as seasonal workers to help agriculture.

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25
What did the Depression mean for Hispanic Americans?
Many were repatriated.
26
How were Hispanic Americans repatriated?
Under the aegis of the Federal Bureau of Immigration.
27
Why were Hispanic Americans repatriated?
To cut the budget for relief and free up some jobs for white Americans.
28
How many people were repatriated during the Depression?
400,000
29
Who were those that were forced to leave?
Many of those forced to leave were actually US citizens, some had never lived anywhere but the USA.
30
How were women treated during the Depression?
- Those in unskilled jobs were likely to be laid off before men. - Those in domestic service suffered because families could no longer afford to keep them on.
31
What did married women do during the Depression?
Often needed to work to keep the family solvent.
32
What were the attitudes towards married women who were working?
Often accused of being responsible for male unemployment.
33
What percent of American school authorities refused to employ married women?
75% by 1930
34
How many states had laws against the employment of married women?
Half of the 48 States.
35
What was the impact of the Depression on the coal industry?
Production in 1932 was at its lowest since 1904, and the workforce fell by 300,000.
36
What were the hours and wages of those in the coal industry during the Depression?
Many were only part-time and wages could be as low as $2.50 per day.
37
What was the impact of the Depression on textile firms?
75% of textile firms were losing money.
38
What was the impact of the Depression on iron and steel production?
Fell by 59% and US Steel Corporation's workforce was part-time by the end of 1932.
39
How much did car sales fall by during the Depression?
Fell from 4,455,178 in 1929 to 1,103,557 in 1933
40
What happened to the average number of people employed in Detroit?
Fell by 21.5% between 1928 and 1929
41
What was the impact of the Depression on the construction industry?
Saw the number of newly built residential units fall 82% between 1929 and 1932.
42
How much did construction contracts fall by?
Were valued at $6.6 billion in 1929 but only $1.3 billion 1932
43
How much did the growth rate fall by?
6.7% in 1929 to 14.7% in 1932.
44
What was the fall in GNP during the Depression?
From $203.6 billion in 1929 to $144.2 billion in 1932
45
What happened to credit during the Depression?
Had vanished, and the stock market went into serious decline.
46
What happened to banking during the Depression?
Bank closures multiplied.
47
What were the numbers of bank closures?
Over 10,000 between 1929 and 1933.
48
What were the majority of these banks which were closed?
Small banks that had overextended lending in the time of prosperity.
49
What happened to farmers in the Depression in relation to banking?
When they couldn't meet their mortgage repayments, the banks had to evict them and take the farms over.
50
What happened to the banks after these evictions?
The banks lost liquid assets in the form of mortgage repayments and gained bankrupt farms in exchanged.
51
What was the social impact of the Depression?
The USA was ill-equipped to handle unemployment.
52
Was there any government policies to help unemployment?
There was no federal unemployment benefit.
53
What were attitudes towards the unemployed at this time?
The work ethic was very strong in America and unemployment was considered the persons fault.
54
What did the number of marriages fall by during the Depression?
Fell from 1.23 million in 1929 to 982,000 in 1932
55
What was the fall in birth rate during the Depression?
From 21.2 per thousand in 1929 to 19.5 per thousand in 1932.
56
What was the increase in suicide rates during the Depression?
Increased from 14 per 10,000 in 1929 to 17.4 per 10,000 in 1932.
57
Where did relief come from?
Provided variously by states, local authorities or charities.
58
Before 1932 what unemployment support was in place?
- Before 1932, no state had any kind of system of recognised unemployment insurance - Only 11 operated any kind of pension scheme.
59
How did the Depression affect the elderly?
The majority of elderly people lived below the poverty line.
60
How many pension schemes were in place?
In 1925 only 36,000 pensioners in receipt of pensions from 500 pension plans.
61
What did the low amount of pension schemes mean for elderly people?
Traditionally had to keep working, live on their savings or rely on their children for support.
62
How did the Depression impact these ways of support for elderly people?
These options were no longer viable.
63
What was happening to relief bodies?
They were running out of funds.
64
What had happened to charities?
Naturally suffered a decline in revenue.
65
What happened to money for States?
Received less in taxes as unemployment rose.
66
What did some States do to save money?
- Arkansas: schools were closed for 10 months in the year - Chicago: Teachers went unpaid during the winter of 1932-33
67
How much of the necessary funds could charities provide?
6% in 1932
68
What did states do in 1931 and 1932?
- Cut their relief appropriations. - Eg, Michigan reduced funds from $2 million in 1931 to $832,000 in 1932.
69
What was the result of this strain on resources?
Many people went hungry or were starving.
70
How many people were estimated to be receiving no income?
28%
71
What did this estimate not include?
11 million farm workers, many who were in acute difficulties.
72
What issue did many farms face?
Had their mortgages foreclosed when farmers could no longer pay them.
73
What happened to food prices?
Farm prices were so low that food could not be profitably harvested.
74
What happened to meat prices?
Were not sufficient to warrant transporting animals to market.
75
How many one-parent families headed by a woman were there?
3.8 million, only 19,280 receiving any aid.
76
What rose during the Depression years?
Crime and gangsterism
77
Who were two of the most famous outlaws?
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
78
Who was the Clyde Barrow Gang?
Ranged across the Southwest in the 30s, mainly robbing gas stations and stores.
79
How did the Clyde Barrow Gang gain its notoriety?
For the dozen or so banks they raided.
80
What was the background of Bonnie and Clyde?
They were small-time crooks from appalling backgrounds with a penchant for violence.
81
How many people did Bonnie and Clyde kill?
Responsible for the death of at least nine police officers.
82
When did Bonnie and Clyde lose much of public sympathy?
After their almost clinical execution of two young police officers near Grapevine, Texas in April 1934.
83
When were Bonnie and Clyde caught?
Were ambushed by a posse of Louisiana and Texas lawmen in Bienville Parish, Louisiana on 23 May 1934.
84
What happened to Bonnie and Clyde?
Were shot more than 50 times.

History - USA: Boom, Bust and Recovery (18 decks)

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