33 The Great Depression and the New Deal

Essential Questions Outline the goals, achievements and criticisms of the early New Deal. Assess the impact of the New Deal in terms of opportunities for social groups including women, labor, big commerce, the poor, and agriculturalists. Analyze the election of 1936 and its impact upon federal politics. Assess the legacy of the New Deal and FDR's domestic agenda.

1932 Elections

1936 Elections

1940 Elections

1944 Elections

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Causes and Effects of the Great Depression Buying stocks on a margin (3%) Bank weakness (credit, playing stock market) Unequal distribution of wealth Bad timing High tariffs Bad economic thought Physical output ↓ 30% GNP ↓ 50% Unemployment high of 25% in 1933, double digits until : 8-13 m people unemployed 12 years of lost human and tech capabilities

Causes and Effects of the Great Depression

Feeling the Depression

Effects Ate little and poorly Shut off electricity Only bought necessities Didn’t go to the doctor Barely heated homes in the winter, if they had homes Exhausted their savings Wives and children tried to find work Searched for jobs until they gave up in despair Young men went to the rails Emotional depression Disintegration of the family structure Lost homes Increase of disease (typhoid and diphtheria) and malnutrition No school because no clothes (common to see naked children), or schools closed

The Dust Bowl

Causes: Drought Over-plowing Strong winds

Hoover as President

Hoover’s Efforts Promises from bankers and business leaders not to cut jobs Federal Reserve eased credit Acceleration of construction jobs in private sector Public works projects

Hoover as President

Hoover’s Shortcomings Too much reliance on voluntary action High tariffs Bonus Army debacle No deficit spending--balanced budget Stayed on gold standard

Discuss What steps could Hoover have taken to combat the worst of the Great Depression? What steps could other people have taken? Is it fair to blame Hoover for the worst of the depression?

FDR: The First Term

FDR vs. Hoover Important role of government Lower tariffs No deficit spending Government sponsored unemployment and old age insurance Educated Charismatic Important role of government Maintain tariffs No deficit spending Private sector responsible for well- being of workers Educated Strong mastery of technical detail

The First 100 Days: read FDR inaugural speech

The First 100 Days

The New Deal

The First 100 Days FDR brought an energetic set of programs that sometimes succeeded, sometimes failed, but definitely changed the role of the government in people’s lives.

Moving Left Father Coughlin Francis Townsend Huey Long

Moving Left

The Ebbing of Reform

Eleanor Roosevelt pushed for improved rights for African Americans, but the Southern Democrats had too much power for FDR to make much headway in this area; thus, the New Deal did not improve the lot of African Americans substantially but it did make Democrats out of many blacks.

Discuss Would it have been possible to further address race relations during the late 1930s? Was FDR not willing enough, or was it not politically savvy to do so?

Muddling Through

Discuss Which of the New Deal programs do you feel had the most significant impact on the US? Which do you feel has had the greatest lasting impact on the US?