U.S. History: Great Depression &
The New Deal
1929-1941
Knight
Presidents during the Great
Depression
Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945
Causes of the Great Depression
• 1. Stock Speculation
– Buying stock when the
price is low and selling
it when the price rises
in hopes of making a
quick profit
– When stock market
crashed many
Americans were left
with worthless stock
Review Roaring Twenties
Video
Causes of the Great Depression
• 2. Buying on the margin
– People were able to
purchase stocks by paying
as little as 10% of the
stock’s value
– They then borrowed the
rest of the money from the
bank or the stock broker in
hopes of repaying when
the stocks increased
Causes of the Great Depression
3. Overproduction
-various industries kept
up production even
though there was not a
demand from the market
-Examples:
Automobiles, crops,
construction
*Supply exceeded demand
which made prices fall
Causes of Great Depression
• 4. Uneven distribution
of wealth
– “The rich got richer
and the poor got
poorer.”
Causes of the Great Depression
• 5. Consumer Debt
– Americans were in
debt due to installment
buying in the 1920’s
for household and
farming goods
Causes of the Great Depression
• 6. International Debt
– U.S. lent millions of
dollars to the Allies in
WWI and those
countries were not
able to repay loans
Causes of the Great Depression
• 7. Lack of
government
regulation of
businesses and the
stock market
Causes of the Great Depression
• 8. Stock Market
Crash-October 29,
1929-Black Tuesday
– The spark that began
the depression
– 16 million shares of
stock were traded
– By the end of 1929,
stock price losses
exceeded that of the
cost of WWI
Crowd outside of Wall Street on Black
Tuesday
Effects of the Great Depression
• Effects on society
– 25% of the workforce
were unemployed at
its peak
– Wages were as low as
$.10 per hour
– Blacks often first fired
– Women who worked
for less than men were
often retained
– Many sold produce on
the street
View Great Depression Begins Video
Effects of the Great Depression
• Effects on Cities
– Cities tried to provide
relief with Red Cross
and Salvation Army
– Breadlines were
common
– Shantytowns
developed outside of
cities-came to be
called Hoovervilles
– Poverty and crime
spread throughout US
Welcome to Hooverville
Job Bureau
Salvation Army
Hooverville with Christmas Tree
Effects of the Great Depression
Effects of Great Depression
• Effects upon farming
– Farmers had more than
they could sell-prices
dropped
– Farmers could not afford
mortgages and many “lost
the farm”
Effects of Great Depression
• Effects of families
– Families moved in
together
– Divorce rates rose
– Young people waited
to get married and
start families
– Women made their
own bread, soap,
clothes out of flour
sacks, etc.
– Families rented out
rooms of their houses
View 1930’s Summary Video
Christmas dinner in Iowa, 1935
Effects of Great Depression
Effects of Great Depression
Effects of Great Depression
Effects of Great Depression
Effects of Great Depression
Effects of the Great Depression
Effects of the Great Depression
Effects of the Great Depression
Effects of the Great Depression
• Effects on the
Economy
– Gross National
Product fell from $103
billion in 1929 to $56
billion in 1933
– GNP is all of the
goods and services
produced in a year
Effects on the Economy-Cont.
• 20% of banks closed
• Once bank closed all
money in it is lost
• Investors and businesses
lost millions of dollars
• Production was
drastically cut, costing
jobs and plants to close
down
Police guarding the banks as they are
closed.
Effects of the Great Depression
Hoover’s Policies during
Depression
• Herbert Hoover was
elected in 1928
promising “a chicken
in every pot, a car in
every garage.”
– Was blamed for much
of the depression even
though it was not his
fault
– Hoover was in the
wrong place at the
wrong time
View Hoover Video
Herbert Hoover
Hard Times are still “Hoovering” over us
Hoover’s Policies
• Hoover did not feel it
was governments
responsibility to
provide direct relief to
the people
• Hoover felt local
governments should
help and charities
Hoover listening to radio
Hoover Dam
Hoover’s Policies
• Reconstruction
Finance Corporation
– Helped faltering
railroads, banks, life
insurance companies.
– *Hoover tried to
stabilize key
businesses.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
• Passed in 1930 to help
protect American
businesses
• One of worst economic
decisions Hoover made
• Causes depression to
spread worldwide and
brings world trade to a
near stop
Representative W.C. Hawley and
Senator Reed Smoot
Bonus Army and Bonus March
• 1932 thousands of WWI
veterans marched to
Washington asking for
payment of bonus to be
given in 1945.
• Veterans camped out in
shantytown outside of the
Capitol and White House
• Congress did not give them
“bonus”
Bonus Army and Bonus March
Homeless Family searching for work and shelter
“Brother can you spare a dime”
• Lyrics to a famous
song of the
depression
• Song tells of
hardships faced by
Americans during the
depression
•
Lyrics
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They used to tell me I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob.
When there was earth to plow or guns to bear,
I was always there, right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead -Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad, I made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it's done -Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun,
brick and rivet and lime.
Once I built a tower, now it's done -Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, gee, we looked swell
Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum.
Half a million boots went slogging through hell,
And I was the kid with the drum.
Say, don't you remember they called me Al,
It was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal -Say, buddy, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, ah, gee, we looked swell
Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum.
Half a million boots went slogging through hell,
And I was the kid with the drum.
Say, don't you remember they called me Al,
It was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal -Buddy, can you spare a dime?
Scottsboro Case
• 9 black teenage boys
were accused of raping
two white girls on a train
• An example of
intolerance of the time
period
• Inspired the book “To Kill
a Mockingbird”
Scottsboro Boys
Dust Bowl
• A terrible drought and
heavy winds blew the dry
topsoil in the mid-west to
the east.
• Made worse by poor
farming practices (lack of
crop rotation)
• Many farmers packed up
and moved West to
California
• Were called Okies (most
moved from Oklahoma)
• Inspired book The
Grapes of Wrath
Family in Dust Storm
Dust Storm in Colorado 1935
Dust Bowl
Dorothea Lange
• Photographer during
the Great Depression
whose photographs
help bring aid to
farmers out west
Dorothea Lange -1936
Migrant Mother -Lange’s most famous picture
Dorothea Lange’s Pictures
Election of 1932
• Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Democrat, defeated
Herbert Hoover by
promising a “New
Hoover in 1932 Campaign
Deal” for America
• FDR promised social
programs that helped
ease the depression
FDR at Political Rally in 1932
Roosevelt to Hoover: “Just leave them Herb. I’ll do it all after March 4th.”
Why a New Deal was needed?
1. Great Depression
had worsened
2. American banking
system was near
collapse
3. Millions of people
were jobless
4. Many businesses
were bankrupt
FDR Reassures the nation
• “The only thing we have
to fear is fear itself”-FDR
• Bank Holiday
– All banks in US were
closed
– Only banks that were
stable were reopened
• Fireside Chats
– Radio addresses by FDR
to tell America what was
going on and reassure
them on “their level”
View Franklin D. Roosevelt Video
Goals of the New Deal
• The 3 R’s
• Relief, Recovery, and
Reform
• Relief to the people who
were poor, hungry, and
unemployed
• Recovery to businesses
that were failing
• Reform the economic
institutions in the US
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• EBRA-Emergency
Banking Relief Act
– Allowed federal govt. to
examine banks
• FDIC-Federal Depository
Insurance Corporation
– Guaranteed bank deposits
up to $5,000. Put faith
back in banks
• FERA-Federal
Emergency Relief Act
– Gave federal money to
states to offer soup
kitchens and help
homeless
View New Deal Video
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• PWA-Public Works
Administration
– Gave federal dollars to states
and local govt. to build roads,
bridges, schools, etc.
• WPA-Works Progress
Administration
– Provided thousands of jobs
from 1935 to 1940
– Built roads, schools, etc. but
also helped writers and artists
WPA mural on wall
• CWA-Civil Works
Administration
– Worked on construction
projects
CWA working on road construction
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• TVA-Tennessee Valley
Authority
– Promoted regional
development and
public planning in one
of poorest regions in
US
– TVA built dams,
operated electrical
power plants,
manufactured fertilizer,
and worked with
flooding and erosion
Alabama Video
Hydroelectricity plant built in Alabama by TVA
2005 Map of TVA locations: Red-dam, Purple-nuclear,
Orange-fossil fuels
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• CCC-Civilian
Conservation Corps
– Employed young men
ages 18-25
– Jobs included
outdoors fighting fires,
restocking lakes with
fish, restoring battle
fields, cleaning up
cemeteries, etc.
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• NRA-National Recovery
Administration
– Guaranteed reasonable profits
for businesses and fair wages
for labor
• AAA-Agricultural Adjustment
Administration
– Encouraged farmers to reduce
production. Gave money to
farmers for NOT farming on
land. 6 million pigs were
slaughtered.
• *Both of these Acts were
declared unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court
Hog Reduction Program of AAA
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• SEC-Securities and
Exchange Commission
– A federal agency that
regulates the stock market
and limits speculation
• FHA-Federal Housing
Administration
– Insured bank loans on new
homes and old houses
FDR signing bills into law
Alphabet Soup/ ABC Agencies
• NLRA-National Labor
Relations Act or Wagner
Act
– Passed in 1935
– Wagner Act gave workers
the right to join a union and
collectively bargain
– Outlawed unfair business
practices
• Social Security Act-1935
– Federal insurance program
that paid people over 65,
disabled, and children
whose parents are
deceased
View Second New Deal Video
Movies and Radio
• Movies remained
very popular during
the Depression.
– People wanted an
escape from tough
times
– Gone with the Wind
• Radio was very
popular
– The Lone Ranger, The
Shadow, and
War of the Worlds
Criticisms of the New Deal
• 1. gave the government
too much power
• 2. government borrowed
too much money for
programs
• 3. did not help minorities,
elderly, and women
enough (although AfricanAmericans begin to leave
the Republican Party and
join Democratic)
Critics of the New Deal
• Father Charles Coughlin
– Catholic priest who used
his radio show to oppose
the New Deal.
– Called New Deal an “evil
conspiracy” and a form of
fascism
• Senator Huey Long
– Previous Governor from
Louisiana who proposed
the “Share our Wealth”
Program.
– Provide $5,000 every year
to families
Critics of the New Deal
• Supreme Court
– Struck down NRA and AAA
as unconstitutional
• FDR proposed the Court
Packing Bill or Judiciary
Reorganization Bill
– President could appoint
new justices for every one
over 70 years old
– Would make the Supreme
Court have 15 members
and FDR could appoint 6
new ones
• FDR is widely criticized
for this
Effects of the New Deal
• Keynesian economics
– Deficit spending is ok in
difficult times
• Unions grew more powerful
• Social Security is established
• Role of the US government is
greatly expanded
• Government spending is
increased dramatically
• Americans began to depend
on the government more
• People who lived through this
era are greatly impacted for
the rest of their lives
Video Quiz