1.
The Great Depression

2. Election of 1928 Herbert Hoover (R) 444 Alfred Smith (D) 87
Norman Thomas (S) 0
Many southern voters broke ranks with the Democrat Party and voted for Hoover.

3. The Coming of the Depression
Between 1924 and 1929 stock values rose 400%
Stocks were being bought and sold on credit, which made the market dependent on continued growth.
In the fall of 1929 investors began to sell off their stocks.
On October 24, 1929 a massive sell off began, which became known as Black Thursday.

4. The Depression
After a brief stabilization, the sell off reached its high point on October 29, known as Black Tuesday, and stock values began to plummet.
Industries began to cut production and jobs.
Numerous banks failed.
In 1929 the US economy was worth $88 billion, but by 1933 its value was $40 billion.
In 1929 the unemployment rate was 3.1%, but by 1933 the rate rose to 25%.

5. Depression
The South was hit hardest by the depression. Nearly 25% of southerners were sharecroppers.
Marriages were postponed and fewer children were produced.
Men had a higher rate of unemployment than women due to the fact that they tended to work in industrial jobs.
Hoovervilles

6. Depression
Herbert Hoover’s administration proved incapable in dealing with the depression.
The last remnants of support for Hoover ended with his orders to evict the Bonus Army from Washington DC.

7. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Roosevelt, a 5th cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, grew up in Hyde Park, New York.
In 1905 he married Eleanor Roosevelt.
During the Wilson administration he was assistant secretary of the Navy.
In 1921 Roosevelt contracted polio.
1928 was elected governor of New York

8. The New Deal Election of 1932 was a landslide victory for Roosevelt.
The New Deal sought to ease the suffering of the depression without the abandonment of capitalism.
Roosevelt never gave specifics as to how the New Deal would work.

9. Goals of the New Deal Provide relief for the destitute.
Economic recovery of farms and businesses, thereby creating jobs and ending the need for assistance.
Reformation of government and the economy so that such disasters did not happen again.

10. New Deal Ideals Action, experimentation, and improvisation
Capitalist solutions
Sought to correct under consumption due in part to over production of consumer and farm goods.
Corporate power needed to be balanced by government, small business, and workers organizations.

11. New Deal Agencies
Emergency Banking Act- provided for the opening of banks with government funds
FDIC- Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation provided insurance for bank deposits $100,000 and under.
CCC- Civilian Conservation Corps provided jobs for unemployed youth
Agricultural Adjustment Act- paid money not to grow crops

12. Agencies
Federal Emergency Relief Act- provided funds for the destitute
TVA- Tennessee Valley Authority brought electric power to Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia
National Industrial Recovery Act- set fair prices and working conditions among businesses and government
NRA- National Recovery Agency allowed business to set fair competition standards, minimum wage, and minimum prices. Supreme Court ruled the NRA unconstitutional in 1935.

13. The Welfare State
Welfare began as a safety net for people who fell on hard times that were beyond one’s control.
Public works projects were started for the unemployed.
1935 Wagner Act guaranteed workers’ rights to join or form a union
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act set the minimum wage at $0.25 and set a 40 hour work week

14. Social Security
Passed in 1935 to give a modest income for the elderly.
Required pensions to be paid for by the individual through payroll tax and employer contributions.
Unemployment insurance, support for dependent mothers and children, public health services, and support for the blind
1937 Supreme Court ruled that contributions were mandatory
1940 first checks issued