Foundations American Civilization 9
Name
Chapter 26 – Summary
Date
Period
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
1929-1941
Production Cutbacks
The Stock Market crashes
& companies’ stock prices
plummet as investors try
to sell stocks they owe
money on.
Cause & Effect
Companies cut
production and lay
off workers to reduce
expenses and
stabilize stock prices.
Causes

consumption of farm products
Companies’ sales fall
and revenue declines.
More workers lose
their jobs and have
less income.
Consumers spend less
money and buy fewer
goods.
Overproduction and under-

Uneven distribution of income

Consumer debt

Risky Stock market purchases
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
EFFECTS
The Dust Bowl
Drought
Farmers
Over plowed
land
livestock
overgraze
windstorms
blow topsoil
away
Summary

Banks & businesses failed

¼ workers lost their jobs

People have less money to spend

Countries enact high tariffs to
protect their products – world
trade declines

Americans loans to Europe dry up

Families broke up
The Depression Begins
In the mid 1920’s the economy began to slow but no one noticed because
the government did not keep records. The Great Depression in the United States had a widespread ripple effect throughout the
world, leading to widespread unemployment in almost all industrialized nations. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and their
homes, and shantytowns called “Hoovervilles” began to spring up throughout the country.
Hoover authorized the army to use force to remove 20,000 members of the “Bonus Army,” a group of World War I veterans
and their families marched on the U.S. Capitol demanding economic relief. Americans, felt he should have done more sooner.
Fed up with Hoover’s lack of help, Americans looked for a new leader. The optimistic Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt
inspired Americans with confidence and was elected president on promises that he would help the unemployed, the elderly, and
farmers – but not the wealthy.
Mrs. Hoyt
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Roosevelt rallied the panicked Democratic majority in Congress and pushed for the passage of a bundle of sweeping laws
known collectively as the New Deal. The period of time when these laws, designed to fight the depression, were passed was
known as the Hundred Days.
New Deal Legislation still in existence
New Deal Program
Effects
Federal Deposit Insurance
Guaranteed (Insured) bank
Corporation (FDIC)
deposits
National Labor Relations
Protected workers right to join
Act (NLRA)
unions – guaranteed the right to
collective bargaining under the
Wagner Act
Securities & Exchange
Regulated the stock market and
Commission (SEC)
restored investor confidence
Fair Labor Standards Act
Established a minimum wage,
(FLSA)
guaranteed time-and-a-half for
overtime in certain jobs and
prohibited most employment of
minors
Tennessee Valley Authority
Built dams and hydroelectric
(TVA)
plants to control flooding, generate
Effects of the New Deal
Immediate Effects
• Banking System is stabilized
• Federal Payments help farmers
• Work-relief programs provide jobs
• Social Security provides safety net
• New Deal provides HOPE to people
Long-Term Effects
• Power of Presidency increases
• Government takes active role in economy
• New Deal coalition is a powerful political
force
• Wagner Act protects workers and raises
the standard of living
• Minoroities and women gain positions in
government
power, and attract industry to the
South
Social Security Act (SSA)
Provided pensions for the elderly,
COURT PACKING SCHEME
the unemployed, dependent
children and people with
disabilities.
Federal Housing
Insured loans made by banks and
Administration (FHA)
other private lenders for home
building and home buying
The End of the New Deal
As the Great Depression entered its sixth
year, Roosevelt faced an increasing amount
of opposition to his New Deal. The Supreme
Court ruled several New Deal Programs were
unconstitutional. Roosevelt asked Congress
to allow him to add six new justices – by
increasing the number of justices – FDR
would have “stacked the deck” in favor of his
programs.
It would not be until the United States entered World War II in
December 1941 that industry would recover and the economy would
truly turn around.
Mrs. Hoyt
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Supporters & Critics
CRITICS
Supporters
(Wealthy, Business Owners, & Conservatives, Huey Long)
(Labor Union Leaders, poor, unemployed, elderly)
- Increased power of government
- Threatens individual freedoms
- Saved the Nation’s Democratic System
- Ended the banking crisis, protected farmers, and
- Plays too large a role in economics
employed millions
- Spending more than brings in – Deficit spending &
national debt
Government has a responsibility to help citizens and
necessary for national survival
- Did not achieve its goal of ending the depression
All faced extra prejudice and struggled for equal rights during these hard times – employers gave preferences to white
men when hiring for jobs.
African Americans
Native Americans
Mexican Americans
Women
Asian Americans
Common Themes = hard times
People escaped hard times by watching movies like Snow White 7 the Seven Dwarfs and The
Wizard of Oz.
Eleanor Roosevelt used her position to speak out for Equal Rights for women
Mrs. Hoyt
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