Daily Check for Understanding Monday: What do you know about the Great Depression?

The Great Depression Unit 4 Chapter 9

Causes of the Great Depression A. The 1928 Election 1. Candidates  Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover  Democrats nominated Alfred E. Smith 2. Campaign Issues and Outcomes  Prohibition, economic prosperity, and religion  Hoover won promising “two cars in every garage” B. The Stock Market 1. Bull Market  Americans invested heavily in the 1920s  Investors speculated hoping to make quick returns on their investments  Buying on margin: paying a small cash down payment for stock and borrowing the rest 2. The Great Crash  Summer 1929 the stock market slowed  In September fearful investors began selling their stock  The value of the stock began to decline and stockbrokers began making margin calls  October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday) prices crashed to an all time low as fearful investors dumped their stocks  $30 Billion lost by mid-November

C. Banks Fail 1. Banks in the 1920s  Banks made risky loans to speculators  Banks invested deposits in the stock market 2. Bank Runs  Many banks closed their doors taking with them Americans’ life savings  Fearful Americans ran to the banks hoping to pull their money out before the banks failed

The Roots of the Great Depression 1. Uneven Distribution of Wealth  Overproduction of goods that Americans could not afford to buy  Americans over spent using installment plans 2. Hawley-Smoot Tariff  Increased taxes on imports which led to a decrease in demand for American made goods in Europe 3. Interest Rates  Federal Reserve lowered interest rates encouraging Americans to borrow $ to buy cars and consumer goods  Banks made risky loans

Life During the Great Depression 1933: 9,000 banks failed 30,000 companies out of business 12 million Americans unemployed Soup Kitchens and Bread Lines  Provided free meals to the poor  Operated by non-profit organizations, churches, and local govts. Shanty Towns  Homeless men and women created shack villages on the outskirts of towns/cities and in public parks  Often referred to as “Hoovervilles”

Daily Check for Understanding Tuesday: Describe troubles farmers had during the Great Depression?

Daily Check for Understanding Wednesday: Describe life during the Great Depression.

Herbert Hoover (President ) Lack of Help 1. Volunteerism and Public Works Projects  Hoover was unwilling to spend govt. money to fund projects to help poor  Instead, he asked industry, local governments and organizations  by these volunteer efforts were abandoned 2. Midterm Elections  Republicans lost the 1930 congressional elections  Americans blamed Hoover and the Republican party for the worsening economy

Promoting Recovery 1. Reconstruction Finance Corp  Govt. made loans to banks, railroads, and agriculture  $238 million in loans; failed to help the economy 2. Emergency Relief and Construction Act  Hoover opposed direct $ relief payments to the poor  Congress passed the Emergency Relief Act in 1932  Act gave $1.5 billion for public work projects and $300 billion to state govts. for direct relief payments- (Hoover Dam)

Angry Americans 1. Hunger Marches  Communist Party began holding hunger marches throughout US  Police arrested 1200 marches and held them without food and water 2. The Bonus Army (May 1932)  WWI vets marched on Washington DC demanding war bonus payments; Congress and Hoover refused  In response, Bonus marchers set up a Hooverville in Wash DC to continue protesting  Hoover ordered the military to clear out the Bonus Army which resulted in violence and the death of a baby boy

Escaping the Depression 1. The Hollywood Fantasy  Entertainment industry provided a mental escape from the depression  Americans loved comedic actors, musicals, feature length cartoons, and dramas that instilled optimism and the will to survive

The Depression in Art and Literature 1. Art  Emphasized traditional American values; farm life, hard work, small towns, patriotism  Example: Grant Wood’s American Gothic 2. Literature  Themes of poverty and misfortune  Example: John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men 3. Photography  Chronicled poverty and the experiences of migrant farmworkers  Example: Dorothea Lange’s American Exodus

B. The Dust Bowl ( )  Drought + poor farming techniques eroded the soil = huge dust storms  Dust storms ruined crops, killed livestock and made it impossible for farmers to make $  Farms were foreclosed on and many farmers migrated westward for job opportunities; referred to as “Okies” and “Arkies”

Dust Bowl Map

Dust Bowl Aftermath