The Government’s Response to the Great Depression
Herbert Hoover Elected in 1928 Republican Gets the blame for the Great Depression Believed it was temporary
Hoover’s Responses Agricultural Marketing Act (1929) Created the Federal Farm Board Govt would buy & hold surplus Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) Highest tariff rates in history Reduced international trade Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932) Emergency loans to key businesses Railroads, banks, life insurance co.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected in 1932 Democrat Projected optimism 1st president to use radio – fireside chats
Eleanor Roosevelt Important asset FDR’s eyes & ears
The New Deal Keynesian Economics The 3 R’s Govt should lower taxes, spend money, and purposely run up large deficits Public spending would put people back to work and get money into circulation The 3 R’s Relief Recovery Reform
Hundred Days March 9 – June 16, 1933 FDR pushed through several pieces of legislation Congress very accommodating
Saving the Banks Bank Holiday (March 1933) Emergency Banking Act FDR closes the banks so govt can inspect them Emergency Banking Act To weed out weak banks Glass-Steagall Banking Act Creates the FDIC: insures deposits to $2500
Dealing with Want Federal Emergency Relief Act $1.3 billion to states for relief payments or wages on work projects To keep people from starving
Saving America’s Farms Agricultural Adjustment Act System to provide cash subsidies to farmers who cut production Displaced black sharecroppers
Restarting the Factories National Recovery Administration Codes for production, prices, and labor Established minimum wage & maximum hours; outlawed child labor
Putting People Back to Work Civilian Conservation Corps For young men (18-25) Reforestation & conservation work 250,000 men Public Works Administration Jobs on public works projects
Ending Rural Poverty & Electrifying the Nation Tennessee Valley Authority: 20 dams Rural Electrification Administration: 10% of farms to 40%
Stock Market Fixes Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC): to police stock market Truth in Securities Act of 1933: companies have to give full & accurate info