The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929—1940

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm

Chapter Twenty-Four

Part One:

Introduction

Man in dust storm 1930’s

The Great Depression & the New Deal

How is the mood of Americans during the Great Depression displayed in these photos?

Unemployed seeking work...

Family on the Plains

By Dorthea Lange

Images of the Great Depression

“Leeland, Mississippi”California

The Floor of the Stock Exchange October 29, 1929

"You want a room for sleeping or jumping?“ (cynical hotel clerks to inquiries about room rental).

The New York Stock Exchange just after the crash of 1929. Black Tuesday, October twenty-ninth, the market collapsed.

In a single day, sixteen million shares were traded--a record--and thirty billion dollars vanished into thin air.

Westinghouse lost two thirds of its September value. DuPont dropped seventy points. The "Era of Get Rich Quick" was over. Jack Dempsey, America's first millionaire athlete, lost $3 million.

Black Tuesday is notorious for being the worst day in the U.S. stock market--

http://mutualfunds.about.com/cs/history/l/bl1929graph.htm

…but in terms of percentage loss, the honor goes to Black Monday (1987 and 1929).

The Bull Market and the Crash

During the 1920s stock prices rose rapidly. Investors were lured by easy-credit policies like buying on

margin. The market peaked in early September 1929, drifted

down until late October, and crashed on October 29. By mid-November, the market had lost half of its value. Buyers on margin faced paying hard cash to the cover

the loans they received for purchasing stock that sold well below what they had originally paid.

Few people predicted that a depression would follow.

Underlying Weakness

The crash did not cause the depression but revealed the underlying economic weakness.

Industrial growth during the 1920s had not been accompanied by comparable increases in wages or farm income.

The gap between rich and poor widened, as did that between production and consumption.

Easy Credit put people in crisis when they lost their jobs

“Black Blizzard”

Dust Storms; "One of South Dakota's Black Blizzards, 1934"

Dust Storms: "Kodak view of a dust storm Baca Co., Colorado, Easter Sunday 1935"; Photo by N.R. Stone (Circa April 1935)

 

Drought and Disastrous Planning

Dust Storms: "Dust Storm Near Beaver, Oklahoma." (July 14, 1935)  

World War I veterans block the steps of the Capital during the Bonus March, July 5, 1932 (Underwood and Underwood).

“Bonus Veterans” March July 5, 1932

In the summer of 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, World War I veterans seeking early payment of a bonus scheduled for 1945 assembled in Washington to pressure Congress and the White House to receive early payment. Hoover resisted the demand for an early bonus. Veterans benefits took up 25% of the 1932 federal budget.Steps of the Capital Building – 7/1932

“Bonus Veterans” March July 5, 1932 (continued)

On the morning of July 28, forty protesters tried to reclaim an evacuated building in downtown Washington scheduled for demolition. The city's police chief, Pellham Glassford, sympathetic to the marchers, was knocked down by a brick.

Glassford's assistant suffered a fractured skull. When rushed by a crowd, two other policemen opened fire. Two of the marchers were killed.

In July, the Senate rejected the bonus 62 to 18. Most of the protesters went home, aided by Hoover's offer of free passage on the rails. Ten thousand remained behind, among them a hard core of Communists and other organizers.

On the morning of July 28, forty protesters tried to reclaim an evacuated building in downtown Washington scheduled for demolition. The city's police chief, Pellham Glassford, sympathetic to the marchers, was knocked down by a brick.

Glassford's assistant suffered a fractured skull. When rushed by a crowd, two other policemen opened fire. Two of the marchers were killed.

Even so, as the Bonus Expeditionary Force swelled to 60,000 men, the president secretly ordered that its members be given tents, cots, army rations and medical care.

Farmers’ Plight

Waiting for the semimonthly relief checks at Calipatria, in Imperial Valley, California.

Typical story: fifteen years ago they owned farms in Oklahoma. Lost them through foreclosure when cotton prices fell after the war.

Became tenants and sharecroppers. With the drought and dust they came West, 1934-1937. Never before left the county where they were born.

Now although in California over a year they haven't been continuously resident in any single county long enough to become a legal resident. Reason: migratory agricultural laborers. March 1937.

Photographer: Dorothea Lange.

Dorothea Lange’s Portrait of a “Mother”

Christmas in New York 1930’s

Unemployment

Mass Unemployment

The stock market crash led manufacturers to decrease spending and lay off workers. Weak consumer demand and bank runs turned the slump into a depression.

By 1933, nearly one-third of the labor force was out of work.

Unemployment took a tremendous personal toll and undermined the traditional authority of the male breadwinner.

People entered a variety of marathons to earn money

Chapter Focus Questions

What were the causes and consequences of the Great Depression?

What characterized the politics of hard times? Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt and what were the

two New Deals? How did the federal sphere expand in the West? What characterized American cultural life during the

1930s? What were the legacies and limits of New Deal

reform?

What were the causes and consequences of the Great Depression?

•Stock prices rose rapidly in the 1920’s•Investors lured by easy credit•Industrial growth rose faster than comparable increases in wages or farm income•Gap between rich and poor widened•Crash caused companies to lay off workers and cut spending•Weak consumer demand and bank run caused slump to turn to depression•Hoover wrongly vetoed measures to aid unemployed

Part Three:

Hard Times

• The Federal Reserve tighten the money supply• Hoover mismanaged economy Reconstruction Finance Corp failed to restore

business confidence Government efforts to make credit available

saved banks but not economy Protests erupted throughout the country

What characterized the politics of hard times?

Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt and what were the two New Deals?

FDR came from a privileged background, his rapid rise to politics ended when he was stricken with polio. However, this hardship allowed him to empathize with the less fortunate. As a two term governor of New York he established a reputation as a reformer and put together what he called his brain trust.

First full day in office he closed the banks for 4 days to restore confidence and then began his fireside chats to gain public backing.

First 100 days were set aside to revive industry and agriculture while providing relief.

Click on photo

The First 100 days--FDR

First 100 days were set aside to revive industry and agriculture while providing relief.

CCC—emergency relief for unemployed

•FERA—emergency relief for the hard pressed states

•AAA– gave farmers relief by setting parities prices and paying them to reduce acreage

•TVA—built a complex of dams throughout the Tennessee Valley

supplying cheap electricity

•National Industrial Recovery Act brought industrial producers together to regulate prices, output, and trade practices

•Public Works Ad. Authorized $3.3billion in federal construction projects

Second New Deal

Facing complaints that the New Deal was either too bold (socialistic) or not bold enough FDR went ahead with his own plan and received the support of union workers around the country. His opponents had different ideas: Upton Sinclair wanted a government run production system; Francis Townsend wanted persons over 60 years old to receive a monthly stipend of $200; Huey Long wanted to “share the wealth” and redistribute the wealth.

•WPA-- pumped billions of dollars into work projects

•Social Security Act-- provided modest benefits for the elderly and poor

•Wagner Act—protected workers’ rights to strike (AFL formed sub group of CIO which was more militant—drew from Communists sympathizers and other radicals to engaged in the dangerous task of organizing labor.) The successful GM Strike in Flint, Michigan led to victories in other unionized industries.

Sit-Down Strike at Flint

In 1937, the community of Flint Michigan went on strike at the General Motors plant.

The depression hit this auto-producing town very hard. The United Auto Workers attempted to take advantage of

the Wagner Act and organize a union, but GM resisted them.

Strikers seized two GM plants and refused to leave. Supported by the governor, the strikers resisted efforts to eject them.

The community rallied to support the strikers. GM gave in and recognized the UAW, a move that the other

auto makers soon followed.

How did the federal sphere expand in the West?

Began with idea that resources had to have planned usage. Farmers taught to plant soil-enriching crops as the Dust Bowl was caused by poor farming techniques (striped soil of natural vegetation nothing left to hold soil down)

•Soil Conservation Service provided assistance to farmers engaged in conservation work.

•AAA provided subsidies to farmers who reduced their acreage—

However, the eviction of tenants and sharecroppers became apart of the Okies who migrated to California in search of work. Racial hostilities developed and many Mexicans and Mexican Americans were deported. New water projects allowed urban growth, agricultural expansion, and massive irrigation, flood control, and low-cost electricity made many farmers wealthy while Mexican migrants labored for very low wages.

•Bureau of Indian Affairs (John Collier) grew more sensitive to Indians and passed the Indian Reorganization Act to restore tribal lands

What characterized American cultural life during the 1930s?

New Deal Federal Project No. 1 provided assistance to artists and intellectuals

•Federal Writers Project produced wide variety of volumes

•New Deal funded theater, orchestral productions

•Photographers recorded hardships

•Themes of perseverance emphasized –Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck), Gone with the Wind

•Marxism spreads with emphasis of class conflict and failure of capitalism. Fascism on the rise so Communist appeal to anti-Fascists.

•Movies relied on comedy and gangster themes—Walt Disney cartoons were moral tales and stressed following the rules.

•Radio –very BIG (90% of households had one) Jazz popularized

Part Two:

American Communities

Hoover’s Failure

The enormity of the depression overwhelmed traditional sources of relief.

President Hoover seemed unable to accept the facts of the depression. He vetoed measures to aid the unemployed.

His Reconstruction Finance Corporation failed to restore business confidence.

Efforts to make government credit available saved banks but did not encourage business growth.

Protest and the Election of 1932

Map: The Election of 1932, p. 741 In 1932 protests erupted throughout the country,

including the Bonus Army of veterans in Washington.

The Democrats, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, won a massive electoral victory.

Part Four:

FDR and the First New Deal

FDR the Man

FDR came from a privileged New York background. His rapid rise in politics came to a halt when he was

stricken with polio. The experience changed him, allowing him personally to

understand struggle and hardship. He served two terms as governor of New York where he:

– established a reputation as a reformer– put together the “brain trust” to help him implement changes

Restoring Confidence

To restore confidence, on his first full day as president, FDR called for a four-day “bank holiday.”

In his fireside chat a week later, he told Americans of the steps he had taken, strengthening public faith in his ability to help.

Congress passed legislation that strengthened the banking system, helping to avert the immediate banking crisis.

The Hundred Days

FDR called a special “hundred days” session of Congress to enact his program to revive industry and agriculture while providing emergency relief.

The Civilian Conservation Corps

The CCC supplied work for youth.

Part Five:

Left Turn and the Second New Deal

Roosevelt’s Critics

Critics from the right lambasted the New Deal as being socialistic. More troublesome for FDR were critics who claimed the New Deal

had been too timid including:– Upton Sinclair lost the California gubernatorial election race in

which he called for a government-run production system. – Francis Townsend called for providing $200 monthly payments to

all persons over 60. – Huey Long, who served as governor and then as senator from

Louisiana, called for a “Share Our Wealth” program to redistribute wealth. Long’s assassination in 1936 ended his probable third party candidacy.

Strikes and street demonstrations added to the pressure.

The Second Hundred Days

FDR responded by shifting leftward.

Labor’s Upsurge: Rise of the CIO

A militant group within the AFL formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), later the Congress of Industrial Organizations, to organize mass production workers.

Led by John Lewis of the United Mine Workers, the CIO drew upon Communists and other radicals to engage in the dangerous task of building industrial unions.

The success at the Flint GM plant led to victories in other industries.

The reinvigorated labor movement took a place as a key power

broker in FDR’s New Deal coalition.

The New Deal Coalition at High Tide

FDR easily won re-election in 1936. His supporters included:

– traditional white southern Democrats– big city political machines– trade unionists– depression-hit farmers– ethnic voters

Part Six:

The New Deal and the West

The Dust Bowl

Map: The Dust Bowl, p. 749 The dust bowl, caused by farmers’ methods

that stripped the landscape of its natural vegetation and left nothing behind to hold down the topsoil, swept parts of the region.

The Government and the Dust Bowl

Farmers were encouraged to plant soil-enriching crops. The Soil Conservation Service provided assistance to farmers

engaged in conservation work. The AAA provided subsidies to farmers who reduced their

acreage. As landowners reduced acreage by evicting their tenants and

sharecroppers, these families became part of a stream of “Okies.”

Responding to rising racial hostility, officials carried out an aggressive deportation campaign against Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

Water Policy

Map: The New Deal and Water, p. 752 The New Deal built a series of water projects that

allowed urban growth, agricultural expansion, and massive irrigation.

These projects promoted flood control and supplied low-cost electricity.

The consequence of these projects was that a few farmers became wealthy and thousands of Mexican workers labored in the fields for very low wages.

A general decline in the environment also occurred.

A New Deal for Indians

John Collier, the new head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, reformed many harmful practices.

The Indian Reorganization Act restored tribal ownership of land.

Some tribes, such as the Navajos, rejected the IRA to protest the Bureau’s attempt to reduce their livestock.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs grew more sensitive to Indian cultural freedom and supported efforts to restore tribal rights.

Part Seven:

Depression-Era Culture

A New Deal for the Arts

Due in part to government support, American culture was influenced by the depression.

The New Deal’s Federal Project No. 1 provided assistance to artists and intellectuals. The Federal Writers Project enabled many of the country’s writers to survive and go on to prominence.

The New Deal also funded theatrical performances, sent orchestras out on tour, financed new compositions, and supported new works of art.

The Documentary Impulse

A “documentary impulse” led many artists to try to record the extent of human suffering.

Photographers employed by the Farm Security Administration traveled throughout rural areas recording the faces of despair and resilience.

Novelists like John Steinbeck portrayed the hardships of Okies but affirmed their willingness to persevere.

Waiting for Lefty

Marxist analysis, with its emphasis on class conflict and the failure of capitalism, had a wide influence on the era’s writers.

Alarmed by the rise of fascism, Communists tried to appeal to anti-Fascists by forging a “popular front” that helped to spread their influence.

Hollywood in the 1930s

Millions of Americans found the movies an enjoyable escape.

By and large Hollywood avoided confronting controversial social issues and relied upon indirect comments in gangster films and screwball comedies.

Walt Disney’s cartoons were moral tales that stressed following the rules.

Frank Capra’s comedies idealized small-town America and suggested that solutions were to be found in the old-

fashioned values of common people.

The Golden Age of Radio

In 1930, 40 percent of American homes had a radio. Ten years later, 90 percent did.

Network radio relied on older forms, vaudeville, and blackface minstrel comedy.

Soap operas dominated daytime radio and featured strong women who gave advice to weak, indecisive friends.

By the end of the decade network news had become the prime news source for most Americans.

The Swing Era

Radio stations helped to popularize jazz music. White performers like Benny Goodman

popularized African American musical forms for a mass audience, initiating the swing era.

Part Eight:

The Limits of Reform

Court Packing

By 1937, the New Deal was in retreat. FDR became frustrated when the Supreme Court

overturned several key New Deal programs. He asked Congress to allow him to appoint a number

of new judges. New Deal sympathizers feared this would disrupt the

constitutional balance and blocked the effort. In time FDR got a more sympathetic court, but the

battle cost him heavily.

The Women’s Network

The New Deal brought significant changes for women. Women who had been engaged in reform work

increased their influence. Eleanor Roosevelt promoted a number of reforms

particularly around issues pertinent to women. The New Deal saw the first female Cabinet member,

Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, a long-time reformer.

New Deal agencies opened up spaces for many women, particularly in social welfare programs.

A New Deal for Minorities

The New Deal did not directly combat racism. NRA codes allowed for lower wages for black workers. Blacks were among the people left unprotected by the

gaps in New Deal reforms, such as Social Security. FDR banned discrimination in WPA projects giving

African Americans to find jobs. A “Black Cabinet” led by Mary McLeod Bethune, advised FDR on black issues and got a number of second-level positions opened up.

By 1936, a majority of black voters supported the Democrats.

The New Deal did little to help Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

The Roosevelt Recession

By 1937, FDR had become convinced that the federal deficit had grown too large.

He cut spending, creating a severe recession, that increased unemployment, and weakened popular support for the New Deal.

The 1938 elections increased Republican strength and made further reforms nearly impossible.

Part Nine:

Conclusion

The Great Depression and the New Deal

Media: Chronology, Chapter 24