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History Paper 1 and 2 > USA Topic Two - Depression and New Deal 1929-1938 > Flashcards

USA Topic Two - Depression and New Deal 1929-1938 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the impact of the Wall Street Crash on unemployment in America?

A
  • October 1929: 500,000 unemployed
  • December 1929: over 4 million unemployed
  • 1933: 15 million unemployed
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2
Q

What overall impact did the Wall Street Crash have?

A
  • it had shattered public confidence
  • it had plunged the USA into deep economic depression
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3
Q

What % of US banks collapsed due to the Wall Street Crash, what was the impact of this?

A

20% of US banks
- brought ruin to those who had savings invested in them

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4
Q

How were real wages impacted by the depression (1929-1931)?

A

1929-1931: real wages fell by 16%

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5
Q

How was construction impacted by the depression (1929-1931)?

A

construction fell by 78%

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6
Q

How was investment impacted by the depression (1929-1931)?

A

investment decreased by 98%

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7
Q

Why did workers and families suffer because of the depression?

A
  • there wasn’t any jobs for workers
  • families had no income at all
  • families were sometimes left homeless
  • families broke down
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8
Q

How were workers and families effected by the depression?

A
  • Hoover encouraged voluntarism (aid through voluntary work)
  • 1930: soup kitchens and bread lines established in towns to provide direct help to those impacted by the depression
  • Nearly 1 million workers left home in search of work (hobos)
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9
Q

Why did ethnic minorities suffer because of the depression?

A
  • many had suffered racial discrimination for generations
  • they struggled to gain and maintain work
  • the situation was worse in the South
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10
Q

How were ethnic minorities effected by the depression?

A
  • rapid decline in economic activity led to a rise in racial discrimination
  • employers had a preference for white workers
  • during the depression, 500,000 Mexicans were forced to leave the USA
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11
Q

Why did farmers suffer because of the depression?

A
  • overproduction and lack of demand led to loss of profit
  • farmers were in debt from machinery bought in WW1
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12
Q

How were farmers effected because of the depression?

A
  • 1929-1932: farm incomes fell by 2/3
  • fall in demand caused over-production
  • the collapse of the banking sector damaged farmers who lost their livelihoods
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13
Q

Why did veteran soldiers suffer because of the depression?

A
  • not able to work in some cases
  • no benefits in place to help through the period of economic downturn
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14
Q

How were veteran soldiers effected because of the depression?

A
  • people who fought in WW1 were particuarly effected by the depression
  • 1932: 21,000 protestors marched on Washington
  • demanded that bonuses due to be paid out in 1945 should be paid immediately to help with the effects of the economic depression
  • Hoover declared their marches a threat to democracy and the army responded to the marchers violently
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15
Q

Who was Herbert Hoover?

A
  • 31st President of the USA
  • business man
  • self-made millionaire (his career symbolised the American Dream)
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16
Q

What political standing was Herbert Hoover, what policy did he believe in?

A
  • Republican
  • laissez-faire
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17
Q

When was Herbert Hoover elected President?

A
  • elected in November 1928
  • became President in January 1929
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18
Q

What and when were the key events of Hoover’s presidency?

A

1929: Hoover sets up the Federal Farm Board
1930: Hoover signs the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act
1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation set up by Hoover
1932: US Army ordered to remove the Bonus Army Veterans by Hoover
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Hoover in the election

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19
Q

How was Federal Government limited through the depression (1929)?

A
  • 1929: Federal government expenditure was only 3% of GNP
  • 1990s: Federal government expenditure was 20% of GNP
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20
Q

Was Federal or State and Local Government more powerful in 1929?

A
  • State and Local Government was more powerful
  • budget was 5x greater for state and local government than Federal government in 1929
  • Hoover initailly sought to work through local government iniatives
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21
Q

When was the Federal Farm Board created by Hoover?

A

1929

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22
Q

What was the Federal Farm Board?

A
  • it aimed to supervise a cutback in production in order to deal with over-production following WW1
  • uneffective as Hoover limited the scale of the intervention
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23
Q

Why was the Federal Farm Board a failure?

A

led to the creation of the Dust Bowl through overworking the soil - worsened the sitaution of farmers

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24
Q

When was the Hawley Smoot Tariff Act?

A

1930

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25
Q

What did the Hawley Smoot Tariff Act do?

A
  • raised duties on a range of farming products and manufactured goods
  • raised duties now at an average level of 42%
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26
Q

Why was Hoover criticised for the Hawley Smoot Tariff?

A
  • Hoover criticised for ‘choking off international trade’ when foreign markets were needed most
  • it produced retaliation from other countries who raised their taxes on American goods
  • it contributed to the downward spiral in world trade
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27
Q

What did Hoover establish to try and tackle the banking crisis, when?

A

the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in October 1932

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28
Q

What did the RFC introduce?

A
  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation
  • a capital fund of $500 million which could be leant to railroads, banks and other financial institutions- only $10 million was eventually spent by the bankers in control of the fund
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29
Q

Why was the RFC a failure?

A
  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation
  • too little, too late
  • by 1932: 522 banks had already collapsed
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30
Q

What are the left-wing criticims of Hoover?

A
  • he did too little, too late
  • he shouldn’t have clung to laissez-faire attitudes and voluntarism
  • he saw his job as only to encourage and reassure
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31
Q

What are the right-wing criticisms of Hoover?

A
  • he did too much
  • his iniatives harmed the morale of big business
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32
Q

What were Hoovervilles?

A

shantytowns formed mainly from cardboard for people who had lost their jobs and homes

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33
Q

How was Hoover’s reputation irredeemably destroyed?

A
  • the existence of Hoovervilles as symbolising his failures through the unprecedented economic depression
  • the violence occured against the Bonus Army Veterans in 1932 under his orders
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34
Q

Why may Hoover not be entirely responsible for the worsening economic position of America?

A
  • he had pressure to please everyone
  • Hoover initailly did not know the scale of the problem - as the rest of America didn’t
  • Hoover was basing his response on the past experiences of the short-lived 1921 recession - didn’t require much intervention
  • He had limited resources due to the lack of power of the Federal Government
  • Congress was very hostile towards Hoover following the 1930 election
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35
Q

What can the declining economic state of the US be seen as a result of?

A

the systematic failures of the entire US government

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36
Q

How was GNP impacted by the depression?

A

GNP fell dramatically

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37
Q

How was construction impacted by the depression?

A

Construction fell by 78%

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38
Q

How was manufacturing impacted by the depression?

A

Manufacturing decreased by 54%

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39
Q

How was investment impacted by the depression?

A

Investment decreased by 98%

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40
Q

How did the poor and unemployed receive aid under Hoover?

A
  • help came from voluntary organisations
  • President Hoover encouraged this
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41
Q

By 1930 how had aid for the poor and unemployed progressed?

A

Soup kitchens and breadlines were set up in towns to provide relief

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42
Q

How many people left home to search for work?

A

Nearly a million

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43
Q

By 1931 what was noted about school children in a survey?

A

All school children were inadequately fed

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44
Q

What did suicide rates rise by between 1929 and 1932?

A

14%

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45
Q

What did marriages fall by?

A

10%

46
Q

How many Mexican citizens were forced to leave the US because of a rise in racial discrimination?

A

almost 500,000

47
Q

What group of people were the first to be fired when the depression hit?

A

black Americans

48
Q

What did farm incomes fall by?

A

2/3

49
Q

What did the Bonus Marchers want?

A

To receive their bonus from WW1 immediately and not in 1945

50
Q

What does the RFC stand for?

A

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

51
Q

What did the RFC do?

A
  • introduced in January 1932

- $2 billion made available to rescue banks, trusts, credit unions and other financial institutions

52
Q

What did the Federal Farm Board do?

A

authorized to help farmers stabilise prices by buying surplus farm supplies and by subsidising farms

53
Q

What was the Hawley Smoot Tariff?

A

Raised the tariff to 60%

54
Q

What sort of action did Hoover encourage?

A

Voluntary action

55
Q

When was the Emergency Relief and Construction Act?

A

1932

56
Q

What was the Emergency Relief and Construction Act?

A
  • 1932

- appropriated funds for federal relief loans to the states and new public works construction.

57
Q

Why did Hoover fail to end the depression?

A
  • He didn’t do enough to help

- Believed that the cause of the depression was an international problem

58
Q

Why did Hoover not do enough to help end the depression?

A

believed that the government didn’t have a role in the economy

59
Q

Why did Hoover blame the cause of the depression on international reasons?

A

blamed the loans that the US had given out after WW1

60
Q

Why did the Hawley Smoot Tariff fail?

A
  • restricted international trade at a time when it was essential to boost the economy
61
Q

Why did the Federal Farm Board Fail?

A
  • didn’t have the power to halt production
  • encouraged over production
  • was paying well over market price for farm surplus
62
Q

How did FDR tackle banking in his first new deal?

A
  • The Emergency Banking Act March 1933
  • Fireside chats used to communicate via the radio his plans to the public
  • Glass-Steagall Act June 1933
  • The Gold Reserve Act January 1934
63
Q

What was FDR’s first move when dealing with banking in America?

A

created a bank holiday from 6-9th March 1933 which closed all the banks

64
Q

When was the Emergency Banking Act and what did it do?

A
  • March 1933
  • US Treasury investigated all the banks and only reopened them if they were financially secure
65
Q

When was the Glass-Steagall Act and what did it do?

A
  • June 1933
  • Separated investment and commercial banking
66
Q

How was the Glass-Steagall Act successful?

A

it helped to restore faith in the banking system

67
Q

When was the Gold Reserve Act and what did it do?

A
  • January 1934
  • Devalued the $ against the rate of gold
  • FDR hoped that this would make exports cheaper - this didn’t work
68
Q

Did FDR succeed in reforming banking in his first new deal?

A
  • FDR was able to restore confidence and trust in the banks which was arguably his most pressing issue
  • In this respect he was successful
  • he didn’t however make much progress in tackling deep rooted issues in America such as lack of branch banking
69
Q

How did FDR tackle agriculture in his first new deal?

A
  • The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) June 1933
  • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
  • The Rural Electrification Agency 1935
70
Q

When was the AAA established and what did it do?

A
  • Agricultural Adjustment Administration
  • June 1933
  • Set about stabilising prices
  • prevent agricultural surpluses
  • farmers would reduce the acreage under cultivation or reduce their production
71
Q

What was the impact of the AAA?

A
  • 1935 - 35 million acres had been removed from cultivation
  • Not all farmers benefitted such as black sharecroppers
  • The dustbowl left many farmers destitute
72
Q

When was the TVA established and what did it do?

A
  • Tennessee Valley Authority
  • May 1933
  • Helped farming communities across the south-east of the USA by improving flood controls and providing cheap electricity
73
Q

When was the Rural Electrification Agency established and what did it do?

A
  • 1935
  • Provided low interest loans to rural cooperatives that helped fund the coming of electricity to more remote areas in which big power companies had no interest
  • By 1939, 25% of farming families were enjoying electricity
74
Q

How did FDR tackle industry in his first new deal?

A
  • National Recovery Administration (NRA) June 1933
  • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
  • Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
  • Civilian Works Administration (CWA) November 1933
  • Public Works Administration (PWA) June 1933
75
Q

When was the NRA established and what did it do?

A
  • National Recovery Administration June 1933
  • Created codes of practise for each industry
  • Aimed to ensure fair competition, fair wages and hours of work
  • Many of the NRA’s codes were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935
76
Q

When was the CCC established and what did it do?

A
  • Civilian Conservation Corps March 1933
  • Offered conservation work to young men aged 18 to 25 for a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years
  • CCC programmes were supervised by the army
  • Workers lived in segregated camps and took part in hard manual labour
77
Q

When was FERA established and what did it do?

A
  • Federal Emergency Relief Administration 1933
  • Attempt to aid the unemployed
  • Under the control of Harry Hopkins
  • FERA had a budget of over $500 million
  • 5,000 public buildings were built
78
Q

When was the CWA established and what did it do?

A
  • Civil Works Administration November 1933
  • A temporary administration created to solve the problems caused by the winter of 1933 - 1934
  • Additional budget of $400 million
  • Hopkins hired 4.2 million workers in four months
  • CWA provided valuable infrastructure - encouraged further economic growth
79
Q

When was the PWA established and what did it do?

A
  • Public Works Administration June 1933
  • Long term programme which provided real jobs
  • Budget was $3.3 billion
80
Q

Were the New Deal programmes a success?

A

By 1934, FERA, PWA and CWA had offered work to 30% of the US workforce

81
Q

Who opposed the New Deal?

A
  • Huey Long
  • Father Charles Coughlin
  • Frances Townsend
  • Congress and the Supreme Court
  • American Liberty League
82
Q

Who was Huey Long?

A
  • Democratic Governor and Senator from Louisiana
  • Extremely unpopular for being so left laying
  • Assassinated in 1935
83
Q

Why and how did Huey Long oppose the New Deal?

A
  • Criticised Roosevelt for not doing enough for the poor
84
Q

What did Huey Long propose in place of the New Deal?

A
  • ‘Share Our Wealth’
  • Long promised to confiscate any personal fortune over $3 million
  • Proposed an annual income of $2000 to each family in America
  • Created 27,000 ‘Share Our Wealth’ clubs across the USA - acted as pressure groups to support Long’s ideas
85
Q

Who was Father Charles Coughlin?

A
  • Was anti-Semitic and expressed sympathy for Germany and Italy’s fascist regimes
  • Had a radio show with 35 million listeners
  • He became very unpopular and his radio show was cancelled
86
Q

Why and how did FR Coughlin oppose the New Deal?

A
  • Teamed up with Frances Townsend
  • Initially supported Roosevelt and the New Deal
  • Blamed bankers for the depression
  • His radical stance became more extreme and alienated many Americans
  • Claimed the New Deal was a communist conspiracy and Roosevelt was a dictator
  • Set up the National Union of Social Justice
  • Tried to gain better wages for workers
87
Q

Who was Frances Townsend?

A
  • Supported ideas of old-age pensions

- Townsend campaigned for a better deal for old people

88
Q

Why and how did Frances Townsend oppose the New Deal?

A
  • Criticised the New Deal as he felt it didn’t go far enough
  • The ‘Townsend Plan’ proposed a federal pension of $200 per month to everyone over 60
  • By 1935, over 500,000 people had joined his Townsend clubs to support his plan
  • As a result, Roosevelt proposed his own old-age policy, which was less generous
89
Q

What was the American Liberty League?

A
  • Conservatives who opposed the New Deal
  • formed in 1934
  • membership consisted mainly of wealthy business elites and prominent political figures
  • Emphasised private property and individual liberties
90
Q

Why and how did the American Liberty League oppose the New Deal?

A
  • The league labelled Roosevelt’s AAA ‘a trend toward fascist control of agriculture’
  • Wealthy donators dominated so that few bankers, industrialists and businessmen accounted for more than half of the League’s 1935 budget on the national level
  • Spent roughly $1,200,000 in total across its six-year life
  • Membership peaked at 125,000 in mid 1936
  • Membership declined rapidly following the 1936 election
91
Q

Why and how did Congress and the Supreme Court oppose the New Deal?

A
  • Struck down several New Deal measures as being unconstitutional
  • Declared the AAA unconstitutional in 1936 - killed the alphabet agency off
  • Had a legal stance and in 1935 it effectively declared the National Recovery Administration (NRA) illegal
  • Argued that Roosevelt had tried to impose the power of the federal government on state governments
  • 11 out of 16 of the Alphabet Agencies were declared unconstitutional
  • Argued that the entire premise of the New Deal was unconstitutional - the federal government didn’t have the right to impose its decisions onto states
92
Q

When was the Revenue Act passed?

A

1935

93
Q

What was the Revenue Act?

A
  • the Wealth Tax Act was passed to pay for New Deal programmes
94
Q

How was tax increased to under the Revenue Act?

A
  • increased the rate of tax from 63% to 79% on incomes over $5 million
  • Raised $250 million per year - not enough people earned that much
  • increased taxes on businesses
95
Q

Why was the Revenue Act passed and what did people think about it?

A
  • passed to appease Huey Long supporters (share our wealth)

- people called FDR a class traitor

96
Q

What act was passed under the Second New Deal in July 1935?

A

Wagner Act - known as the Labour Relations Act

97
Q

What was the 1935 Wagner Act?

A

enacted to appease the growing trade unions

98
Q

Who did the Wagner Act exclude?

A
  • agricultural workers
  • public employees
  • black Americans
  • Hispanic Americans
  • women
99
Q

When was the Social Security Act passed?

A

1935

100
Q

What was provision like for the elderly before the Social Security Act 1935?

A

no system to look after the elderly

101
Q

Why was the Social Security Act passed in 1935?

A

in response to Frances Townsend

102
Q

Who funded the Social Security Act 1935?

A

employers and employees

103
Q

What did the Social Security Act 1935 introduce?

A
  • pensions to be paid out at between $10 - $85 per month

- Unemployment benefit included at a max of $18 for 16 weeks only

104
Q

Who did the Social Security Act 1935 exclude?

A
  • farm workers
  • domestic servants
  • self-employed
105
Q

Why did veteran soldiers suffer because of the depression?

A
  • not able to work in some cases
  • no benefits in place to help through the period of economic downturn
106
Q

Who was FDR?

A
  • Franklin D Roosevelt
107
Q

Which election did Roosevelt win?

A

the 1932 election

108
Q

What political party did FDR belong to?

A
  • the Democratic party
  • meant he favoured government intervention
109
Q

What did FDR immediately state that Hoover never did?

A

the importance of a balanced Federal Budget

110
Q

What was FDR like as a President?

A
  • charming and charismatic
  • under the surface he was secretive and a ruthless politician

History Paper 1 and 2 (13 decks)

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