January 25 (Monday)- Absent.
January 26 (Tuesday)- Absent.
January 27 (Wednesday)- Got caught up on notes I missed on Monday and started 1930's video. Watched video on the causes of the Great Depression and the impact of the Great Depression had on people and our country.
January 28 (Thursday)- Today I'm supposed to make up my test that I missed. We also finished notes on the impact of the Great Depression.
January 29 (Friday)- Talked about extra credit opportunity for going to the presidential cockus. Got in groups of 4 for the group test. Went over the presentation about Hoover.
1930’s Topics:
1.-Causes of the Great Depression
- Overproduction of goods
- Under consumption of goods by consumers
- Agricultural slump in 1920's due to overproduction
- High protective tariff policies of the 1920's
- Taxes benefiting the rich-rich got richer, poor got poorer
- Stock market crash
- Banks closing
The Vicious Cycles of the Great Depression
- Companies lose money so they lay people off
- Unemployment rate goes up and less people buy goods as income has dropped
- Companies profits fall so they have to lay more people off or close
- Cycle repeats itself
2.-Impact the Great Depression had on people and our country
Hoovervilles- Shanty towns made of plywood not nice area of town on the outskirts of town. Breadlines were created. Men usually wore suits even if they didn't have money. Unemployment rates for African Americans was about 50%.
Soup Kitchens. Hobo's hopping freight trains. Selling apples. Made 2 or 3 cents per apple. Helped feed family for night. Dust Bowl. Okies- People from Oklahoma gave up farming because they were effected by the Dust Bowl and moved west to California.
3.-President Hoover’s attempt(or lack thereof) to help solve Great Depression
Only president born in Iowa. Based on our previous discussions, why do you think President Hoover struggled dealing with the Great Depression? Hoover was viwed as uncaring and a President who did very little to help with the Great Depression.
1928 Presidential Election
- Herbert Hoover (Republican)
- Al Smith (Democrat)
Hoover's Fight Against the Great Depression
- Encouraged people to be patient, stay positive and volunteer to help each other
- Federal Farm Board
-Stabilize prices and to promote the sale of agricultural products
- Norris-La Guardia Act
-Strengthen labor unions
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)- 1932
- Gave loans to banks, state and local governments, and business' to create projects/jobs for people
- Gave states loans for emergency relief needs
- Started under Hoover
- Not as successful as Hoover had hoped
- Dissolved in 1946 after WWII
- Good enough corporation that FDR continued it
Boulder (Hoover) Dam
- Boulder Damn (now Hoover Dam) is located near Las Vegas
- The Hoover Dam project including the dam, the All-American Canal, the town of Boulder City, highways, railroads and various other works, cost $165 million to build
- Why do you think there were a lot of dam projects in the 1930's
Hoover Moratorium
- One year halt on German war payments to France
- One year halt on war payments from Great Britain and France to the US
Mexican Repatriation
- Mexican immigrants were encouraged/forced to go back to Mexico
Revenue Act of 1932
- Increased taxes so US government had money
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
- Raised tariffs to record levels
4.-1932/1936 Presidential elections
1932- Herbert Hoover (Republican) vs Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat)
Hoover won. His platform was change to get us out of the Great Depression.
Hoover's Platform:
- Efficiency in government
- Republican record of prosperity
- Pro-business
- Promised to improve conditions for farmers
- Reform immigration laws
- Maintain America's isolationist foreign policy
- Supported Prohibition- an experiment noble in purpose
1936- Franklin D Roosevelt (Democrat) vs Al Landon (Republican)
Franklin D Roosevelt won. People didn't want another Republican president because they believed that's why things got bad.
5.-Bonus Army
- Americans were known as American Expeditionary Force.
- World War One veterans march on Washington DC for money
- Promised 1.2 per day for everyday they served in the military
- Would be given this money in 1945
- Wanted pension
- Congress debated on whether or not to give them money earlier so they were protesting to get this to happen
- They set up tents
- Hoover helped and provided water
- Treated decently at first
- Congress ruled against giving money to them early
- Most people left
- Hoover orders the military in with tear gas and horses to force veterans out
MacArthur Eisenhower, and Paton
- 3 World War Two generals
Involved with the raid on the veterans - MacArthur was in charge
- Hoover told him not to cross the line but used tear gas which crossed the line
- Eisenhower criticized MacArthur for being too aggressive
6.-Entertainment, sports, music, radio, movies and fads
- Movies
- Sports were big (Golf, baseball, tennis, football, etc.)
- Similar to the 1920's
7.-Franklin Roosevelt’s background and accomplishments-Focus on New Deal
- Came from wealthy family
- Relatives with Teddy Roosevelt
- Married his 5th cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt
- Got involved in government (federal level) in World War One
- Democrat
- Contracts polio in the early 1920's
- People assumed career was over
- Struggled to get his legs back and had to use wheelchair
- Was elected 4 tims (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944)
- Died a month into his 4th term
- His focus was the 3 R's
8.-The Three R’s
Roosevelt's plan to get us out of the Great Depression
The 3 R's:
- Relief- For the needy
- Recovery- Economic recovery
- Reform- Financial reform and reform banking and stock market systems, making rules
9.-The difference between the First New Deal and Second New Deal
New Deal
- 1933-1935
- Restore nation's hope
- Help banks and stock market
- Provide jobs and relief for poor
- Plan and regulate the economy
2nd New Deal
- 1935-1938
- Pass new labor laws
- Create and expand New Deal agencies
- Establish Social Security for older people and unemployed
10.-Fireside chats
- Were speeches given by the president
- Over the radio that
- People found comfort
- Renewed people's confidence
- Gave people hope
- Made people feel like the president would be just talking to you
- People listened to "fireside chats" while sitting next to the fire side
- FDR gave dozens of these and lasted into World War Two
11.-The Hundred Days
- Franklin D Roosevelt promised to do a lot of things
- In the first 100 days of presidency got 15 major bills passed
- Aimed at helping people get out of the depressiong
12.-Deficit spending and “priming the pump”
Deficit Spending- Spending more money than you take in
Priming the Pump- Throwing a bunch of money into the economy
- Prior to the 1930's government never deficit spent
- In 1930's goverement started deficit spending
- Started priming the pump (Example: Spent money on programs, create jobs for people, tried to jump start economy)
- Priming the pump led to massive deficit spending
- Part of the reason we are in debt
13.-FDR vs the US Supreme Court-Court Packing issue
- 9 court justices 6 out of 9 were over 70 years old
- FDR didn't like this because old people were conservative Republicans
- The AAA and NIRA were declared unconstitutional by the justies and FDR was upset
- FDR tried to start a thing where you add one new justice for every justice that is over 70
- Didn't work out
- People thought he wanted to much power
- People thought he was disturbing the checks and balances
14.-Critics and failings of the New Deal-Long, Caughlin, Townshend
What were some of the reasons the New Deal was challenged?
- 1. Created a very powerful president that led Congress, this was a violation of checks and balances.
- 2. It was a radical departure from Laissez Faire Ideals. Created "big government".
- 3. Some acts appeared interfering and at worst unconstitutional.
- 4. Heavy debt burden- the United States was engaged in deficit spending and this was unhealthy for the economy in the long run.
Francis Townshend- Was a doctor. Need to make sure old people are taken care of.
Senator Huey Long-
- Wanted to take land and money from the rich and give it to the poor
- Was very socialistic
- Was gaining a lot of support because it was a trying time for Americans
- They thought he made a lot of sense
- Long said FDR wasn't doing enough
- Was shot and killed by Carl Weiss in 1935 before he ran for President
- His platform called "Share the wealth"
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