1. Immediate Reactions
to the
Great Depression

2. 1928 Presidential Election
Herbert Hoover Alfred Smith

3. Election 1928 Herbert Hoover – R Alfred Smith – D
Secretary of Commerce
Liked for Adminstrative Skills & efficiency
Campaign Slogan:
“The Poor House is vanishing from among us”
Won 58% of popular vote
Alfred Smith – D
Progressive Style Leader
Combined with Progressive Party
Campaign Slogan:
“The Party of Progress and Thought”
People didn’t like him because of his Catholic Faith

4. Immediate Reactions
Smoot-Hawley Tariff (highest tariff rates in history)
Congress thought they were protecting American manufacturers
The tariffs upset European nations and caused them to retaliate and raised their own tariffs on American products
Ultimately, the tariffs severely hurt American exports, stalled international trade, and allowed the Great Depression to spread

5. Immediate Reactions Moratorium of War Debt Payments
Moratorium = postponement
Hoover called a moratorium on the payments of war debts from European nations to the USA
He hoped this would allow other nations to continue to consume American exports
This was “too little, too late”

6. Immediate Reactions Rugged Individualism (Hoover’s theory)
American people will work hard, hold high moral values, engage in creative problem solving, waste less, and focus on independence
Direct relief from the government would violate American democracy and would encourage corruption and laziness
Direct government aid was too similar to European Socialism

7. Immediate Reactions Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Government organization with the power to lend money from the national treasury
Lent $2 billion to banks, insurance companies, loan associations, railroads, and other businesses
Hoped to get business going again
Served as indirect relief (so it did not violate Hoover’s Rugged Individualism)

8. Immediate Reactions President’s Committee for Unemployment Relief
Government committee that raised money for needy communities
Encouraged people and businesses to contribute to privately organized welfare funds called community chests

9. Rugged Individualism Debate
Directions: Answer the following opinion questions.
Think back to what you know about American history. Is Rugged Individualism consistent with the definition of America? Why or why not?
Is the United States in 2013 a Rugged Individualism society? Why or why not?
Do you agree with the theory of Rugged Individualism? Why or why not?
Should the United States adopt Rugged Individualism as a national policy? Why or why not?

10. What Was The Dust Bowl?
Catastrophic eight-year drought that hit the Midwestern states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico
Drought started in 1931

12. Timeline of The Dust Bowl
Severe drought hits the Midwestern and southern plains. As the crops die, the 'black blizzards" begin. Dust from the over-plowed and over-grazed land begins to blow.
The number of dust storms increases. Fourteen are reported this year; next year there will be 38.
1934 – (May) Great dust storms spread from the Dust Bowl area. The drought is the worst ever in U.S. history, covering more than 75 percent of the country and affecting 27 states severely.
1934 – (December) The "Yearbook of Agriculture" for 1934 announces, "Approximately 35 million acres of formerly cultivated land have essentially been destroyed for crop production million acres now in crops have lost all or most of the topsoil; 125 million acres of land now in crops are rapidly losing topsoil. . . "

13. What Caused The Dust Bowl?
Farming practices of the Midwestern farmers (plowing millions of acres of grassland)
Severe weather patterns (tornadoes, blizzards, dust storms, extremes in temperature)

14. Dust Storm

15. What Were The Effects?
Farm foreclosures – destruction of crops forced many farmers to default on their mortgage payments
Dust Bowl families were displaced and became migrants roaming the Midwest (often migrating to California)
Okies – nickname for the migrants (since so many of them came from Oklahoma)

17. What Were The Effects? Government program targeted to help farmers:
Agricultural Adjustment Act –
provided funds to keep farmers from losing their land,
established farm subsidies to lower farm production and raise crop prices,
set quotas for farmers to prevent overproduction

18. Faces of the Dust Bowl