The Great Depression Cause

The Great Depression USHC Standard 6: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the conflict between traditionalism and progressivism in the 1920s and the economic collapse and the political response to the economic crisis in the 1930s. USHC Standard 6.3: Explain the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, including the disparities in income and wealth distribution; the collapse of the farm economy and the effects of the Dust Bowl; limited governmental regulation; taxes, investment; and stock market speculation; policies of the federal government and the Federal Reserve System; and the effects of the Depression on the people.

The Great Depression • Republican Herbert Hoover became president in 1929 • Like Coolidge, Hoover opposed government intervention in business • Unfortunately for Hoover, he took office at a time when the U.S. economy was about to collapse • Much of the nation blamed Hoover for the economic crisis in the U.S. and for the Great Depression

The Great Depression • Following the stock market crash in 1929, the economy spiraled deep into a depression intensified by: – Decisions of individual companies – Consumers and investors – Policies of the Federal Reserve

The Great Depression The Federal Reserve • Established in 1913 as the nation’s central bank • Had the capacity to regulate the money supply by making loans to banks – Banks then loaned money to businesses • Businesses used the loans to hire and pay workers – Workers would buy products

The Great Depression The Federal Reserve • The Federal Reserve charged low interest rates at first, to encourage lending • After the stock market crash, the Federal Reserve charged high interest rates, in order to curb the stock market speculation – this discouraged lending

• If the Federal Reserve had cut interest rates and expanded the money supply, the Depression may not have been as intense or long

The Great Depression • Government policies during the Depression did very little to halt the downward spiral • In 1930, Congress passed a high tariff (tax on imports) in order to protect American industries from foreign competition • Foreigners were unable to sell their products to the U.S. – This meant they were unable to buy from the U.S. as well

The Great Depression • President Hoover encouraged companies to voluntarily maintain wages and hours – This was impossible because of low consumer demand – Companies laid off employees and cut hours or wages instead

• Hoover advocated for the American value of “rugged individualism” and urged confidence, announcing that “prosperity is just around the corner”

The Great Depression • The Depression impacted the lives of many people – Unemployment reached 25% – Wealthy families suddenly found themselves to be poor – People lost their homes, and took to the streets, wandering from town to town looking for work, or selling apples and pencils door to door

The Great Depression • Wages and hours of those who were lucky enough to still have jobs were cut – Those with jobs stopped buying anything but the most essential goods; prices fell further

The Great Depression • “Runs” on the banks took place when people tried to withdraw their savings – People were afraid the banks would close, taking their savings with them – This panicked rush of withdrawals is actually what often caused the banks to collapse • Many investors lost their savings as a result

The Great Depression • Schools closed, because many communities could not afford to pay their teachers – Many teachers worked for nothing • Marriages were delayed, and the birth rate fell • Divorce declined; however, many men abandoned their families • Unemployed men lost status – Women and children were forced into the workforce to feed their families

Soup Kitchens

Bread Lines

“Hooverville”

The Great Depression The Dust Bowl • Affected the environment of the western plains and also produced additional human tragedy • The fragile environment of the plains had been damaged by overgrazing, and by wheat production, that had destroyed the sod that held the soil – When drought and winds came in the ’30’s the top soil blew away • Tenant farmers were evicted from the land and became migrant workers

– They roamed the country in search of work

Dust Bowl

The Great Depression • Okies: any poverty stricken migrant from the Southwest • During the Depression, Oklahoma lost people to migration – Most migrants from Oklahoma, and surrounding areas went to Arizona and California – This was a result of the Dust Bowl, and the collapse of the farm economy

Okies fleeing to California

REVIEW GAME

The Great Depression • States and private charities could not alleviate the suffering created by the Great Depression • In the election of 1933, Americans demanded help from the government

The Great Depression

Cause: Overproduction and low demand leads to employee lay-offs

Cause: Low wages reduce consumer buying power

Cause: High tariffs restricted foreign demand for American goods

Cause: Unemployment reduces buying power further

Which led to

Cause: Lower wages and unemployment

Cause: Automobile sales declined.

Which led to Which led to

Cause: Industry slowed Which led to

Cause: less demand for textiles, oil, steel and rubber

The "Dust Bowl" was an ecological situation associated with A) World War I. B) World War II. C) The Cold War. D) The Great Depression. D. The Great Depression

18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." This passage began what era in the United States? A) Red Scare B) Prohibition Era C) Civil Rights Era D) Women’s Rights Movement B. Prohibition Era

In the 1920s, the United States experienced an economic boom due to, among other things, A) the mobilization of the economy for war. B) increased government restrictions on big business. C) installment buying and an unregulated stock market. D) the expansion of civil rights to women and minorities. C. Installment buying and an unregulated stock market

Following World War I, why did Congress limit immigration from countries in southern and eastern Europe? A) After World War I, the nation's population was at capacity. B) Americans were concerned about the spread of the flu epidemic. C) Congress was responding to the nativists' calls to "Keep America for Americans." D) Congress wanted to protect African Americans from competition for unskilled labor jobs. C. Congress was responding to the nativists’ calls to “Keep America for Americans”

The 1920s saw immense changes in popular culture because of the two new technologies of A) telephones & telegraphs. B) motion pictures & radios. C) microphones and antennas. D) phonographs and televisions B. Motion pictures and radios

My People" by Langston Hughes, 1923 The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people

Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people. The people of this poem are the A) Beat Poets. B) Lost Generation. C) Harlem Renaissance. D) Black Panther Movement. C. Harlem Renaissance

The trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti of the early-1920s A) was the first trial heard in the Supreme Court regarding political appointees. B) was the first criminal hearing held in the U.S. Supreme Court that involved murder. C) showed that religious fundamentalists were losing political power after World War I. D) proved that there was severe social and judicial bias against immigrants in the United States.

D. Proved that there were severe social and judicial bias against immigrants in the United States

"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in the shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.“ This passage is from the final chapter of a 1937 book written by which Harlem Renaissance-era author? A) Langston Hughes B) Jacob Lawrence C) Zora Neale Hurston D) Jessie Redmon Fauset C. Zora Neale Hurston

Much of the post-World War I economic boom was due to the Federal government’s policy of A) increasing import tariffs. B) increased military spending. C) laissez-faire economic policies. D) involvement with the League of Nations.

C. Laissez-faire economic policies