The 1930s
Introduction to the Depression
“They have a conviction that I am a sort of
superman, that no problem is beyond my capacity.”
Herbert Hoover
Timeline of the 1930s
1914 to 1918
World War I
1918 to 1925
Reconstruction (by ’25 most economies of the world had returned to
prewar levels.)
1925 to 1929
Prosperity
1929 to 1933
Plunge
1933 to 1937
Spotty Recovery (Recession hits in 1937)
1939
End of the Depression (Beginning of WWII)
Question
What are some events that caused the Depression?
The Depression
Five Reasons for the Depression
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Farming Dilemmas
Disparity in Income
Collapse of Banks
The Stock Market Crash of 19295
Presidents during the 1920s
State of Industry?
Not Good
Superficial prosperity hid dilemmas in the economy.
Basic industries failed:
Textiles
(Competition from Asia)
Steel & Railroads
(New forms of transportation)
Homes
(No one was building. Appliance sales fall)
Cars
(Became too expensive & poorly built)
Causes One & Two
1. Farming Dilemmas
2. Disparity of Income
Farmers had been suffering
since WWI ended.
Average male worker?
Earned $4 a day.
$1,200 a year.
Loss of WWI contracts led to a
surplus of food that had no
buyers.
No money?
Cannot pay off debts and
farms lost.
A family of five required $2,000
to live in “health and
decency”
Causes Three & Four
3. Collapse of Banks
People panicked and
removed money.
When banks hit $0 they close
and take every account with
them.
In 1929 and 1930 banks were
closing at a rate of two a day.
4. Stock Market Crash
See Next Slide…
The Stock Market Crashes
US was at the top of production (34.4%)
Up until 1928, the Stock Market was a true reflection of its worth.
In 1928 alone, 567,990,875 stocks changed hands.
So, what exactly happened?
The market corrected itself.
DOW Jones in December 1928?
245 points
August 1929?
452 points
November 1929?
224 points
What do you mean?
Numbers
By 1933:
Over 5,000 banks closed
Industrial production fell by 50%
13m to 14m unemployed (roughly 25%)
Sad Fact About the Depression
“There were millions of tons of food around, but it was
not profitable to transport it, to sell it. Warehouses
were full of clothing, but people could not afford it.
There were lots of houses, but they stayed empty
because people couldn’t pay rent, had been
evicted, and now lived in shacks in quickly formed
“Hoovervilles” built on garbage dumps.”
Howard Zinn
A People’s History of The United States
Buildup to Black Tuesday
Review
Presidents of the 1920s
1920
1924
1928
Warren G. Harding
1920 Presidential Election
Harding & Coolidge
Cox & Roosevelt
“America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums
but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.”
President Warren G. Harding
Election of 1920
Warren G. Harding
Harding’s Presidency?
Harding had his own Depression after World
War I lasting January 1920 to July 1921.
GNP dropped 24%
(91.5bn to 69.6bn)
Unemployment rose to 12%
(2.1m to 4.9m)
How he handled it?
“There will be depression after inflation,
just as surely as the tides ebb and flow.”
Largely unnoticed Presidency
Kellogg-Briand Pact?
Good idea.
Fordney-McCumber Tariff?
Bad idea.
Died on August 2nd, 1923
Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge’s Presidency?
Awesome.
After attending a show at the opera in
which the main performance was fairly
poor, President Coolidge was approached
by a fellow member of the audience and
asked: “What do you think of the singers
execution, Mr. President?”
Coolidge replied:
“I am all for it.”
Calvin Coolidge
One more story…
“Both his dry Yankee wit and his frugality with words
became legendary. His wife, Grace Goodhue Coolidge,
recounted that a young woman sitting next to Coolidge at
a dinner party confided to him she had bet she could get
at least three words of conversation from him.
Without looking at her he quietly retorted:
‘You lose.’
And in 1928, while vacationing in the Black Hills of South
Dakota, he issued the most famous of his laconic
statements:
‘I do not choose to run for President in 1928.’”
Calvin Coolidge
WAIT. We also have…
Rebecca the Raccoon
Office Pranks
NOW TO WHAT HE DID!
Nothing.
America boomed on its own and he
believed in a laissez-faire system of
economics.
Background on Herbert Hoover
“In six years, Hoover circled the globe five times. He
lived through the Boxer Rebellion in China, hacked
through the jungles of Borneo, rode camels across the
red emptiness of Western Australia… camped beside
the Great Pyramids of Egypt. He had experiences as
rich and memorable as any young man has ever
enjoyed, and was moved by none of them….
His life was work. There was nothing else.”
Bill Bryson
One Summer: America, 1927
Hoover was a self made man.
By age 40 he had earned $4 million.
($55 million today)
Hoover Prior to Becoming President?
1. Tasked with assisting Belgium following the destruction of the
nation by Germany during World War I
2. Responsible for handling the relief effort following the Great
Mississippi Flood of 1927
Background on Herbert Hoover
Post-WWI Belgium
Problem?
Eight million Belgians in peril of starving following WWI.
Hoover’s Solution?
Hoover managed to find and distribute $1.8 million worth of food a
week, every week, for two and a half years
(2.5 million tons of it altogether)
One of the greatest relief effort ever undertaken on earth.
One enthusiast called him “the greatest humanitarian since Jesus
Christ”
Background on Herbert Hoover
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
What Happened?
Heavy rainfall throughout the summer of 1926 into the fall and winter
caused the river to swell (56.2ft of water in TN).
Water flow (at some locations) was more than double that of the
Niagara.
Impacted:
Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas (14% covered by floodwater)
Caused over $400m in damages and killed 246 people.
Background on Herbert Hoover
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
“It is difficult to picture in words
the might of the Mississippi in
flood… To say that two blocks
from where I stand it is at this
minute flowing at a rate ten times
that of Niagara seems
unimpressive.
Perhaps it becomes more
impressive to say that at
Vicksburg the flood is 6,000 feet
wide and 50 feet deep, rushing on
at the rate of 6 miles an hour.
Behind this crest lies the ruin of
200,000 people.”
Herbert Hoover
Speech given in 1927 while in Mississippi
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
What was Hoover told once the Mississippi had flooded?
“A couple of thousand refugees are coming. They've got to
have accommodations. Huts. Water mains. Sewers. Streets.
Dining halls. Meals. Doctors. Everything. And you haven't
got months to do it. You haven't got weeks. You've got
hours.”
Election of 1928
Herbert Hoover
Hoover could handle problems, but
why not during his presidency?
“If some unprecedented
calamity should come upon
this nation, I would be
sacrificed to the
unreasoning disappointment
of a people who had
expected too much.”
Herbert Hoover (1929)
Herbert Hoover
So, why was the 1930s the downfall of President
Hoover despite being called “Wonder Boy” by
President Coolidge?
FIND OUT!
Using Chapter 22.2 and 22.3 complete the following handouts
and find out what Herbert Hoover did (or did not do) to help the
nation through the Depression.