II Causes: The causes of the great depression were the stock market crash, overproduction, and deficit spending.
A: Over-speculation - People wanted to makes sure they were putting their hard worked money into stocks. People began selling their stocks because of the soon coming market crash.
B: Govt Policy - The New Deal, helped unemployed people get jobs during the tough times of the great depression.
C: Unstable Economy - America at the time was trying to be the worlds banker, food producer, and manufacturer. Unfortunately, it didn't help because businesses were failing, and going out of business.
1. uneven prosperity - There was uneven distribution of wealth, people were either hobos, or the small percent of people were very rich. There was very little middle class.
2. overproduction - This was an excess amount of items that were not purchased. Companies kept high production rates of many products, problem was that they were not getting purchased.
3. worker issues / farm issues - The farmers couldn't feel crops across seas because the war was over, farmers took out lots of mortgages on their farms, they also would burn and not replant certain crop fields to raise the prices to make more money for their crops. Workers were getting paid really low wages or not working at all. Jobs were quite scarce and if your dad did have a job, you were one of the lucky families.
III Effects
A: Poverty - Soup kitchens became so commonly used that they were meet and greets for families sometimes. The lines would stretch so long for them. Others went hungry. Nobody really bought or owned homes or if they did then they owed money. Life was poor and standard of living was low.
B: Society - The Great Depression caused an overall societal change in America. Even after the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl many farmers refused to go back to the plains. Most people who survived through the depression remained frugal, wary of banks, apt to hoard food, and suspicious of the stock market the rest of their lives.
C: World - While the Depression griped America, Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany were allowed the opportunity to rise to power and gain an army and to become powerful enough to be ready to start a war.
IV Solutions
A Hoover
1 Volunteerism - Hoover called on charity organizations, churches, and local governments to cooperatively to alleviate suffering and distribute relief. Hoover claimed it was "self-government by the people outside of the government."
2 Public Works - An example of Public Works is the Hoover Dam. He created that to help create over 6,000 jobs for those who need them in America. He also created loads more parks and other recreational things to be created all over to help with getting people in America jobs.
3 Hawley-Smoot Tariff - This tariff raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record setting levels. It was an Act created to provide revenue, to regulate commerce with foreign countries, to encourage the industries of the United States, and to protect American labor.
4 RFC - This agency gave $2 billion in aid to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses. The goal of the RFC was to boost the country’s confidence and help banks return to performing daily functions.
B Roosevelt
1 New Deal
a alphabet soup
AAA - The Agricultural Adjustment Administration was used to encourage those who were still left in farming to grow fewer crops. Therefore, there would be less produce on the market and crop prices would rise thus benefiting the farmers, but not the consumers.
CCC - The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public works project intended to promote environmental conservation and to build good citizens through vigorous, disciplined outdoor labor.
HOLC - Home Owners Loan Corporation main task was to refinance home mortgages that were in default or at risk of foreclosure due to the 1929 crash and the collapse of the housing industry.
b Criticsim?
Many people criticized Roosevelt and his ideas because they felt that he was on his way to becoming a dictator and trying to run America as a dictatorship. (Later reinforced by the court-packing incident.)
2 2nd new deal
a WPA
b F.D.R
c Social Security Act
V Criticism
A Political Criticism (ex. Came from both the Huey Long and Charles Coughlin)
B Conservatives - Provided tax relief, Provided loans, and encouraged businesses to succeed.
C Liberals (ex: criticised the new deal also. They....)
Ex Tried to create Liberty and equality.
ex Wanted equal power throughout all states and justices.
VI Effectiveness
A Changes in US - The Dust Bowl caused many people to leave the Great Plains and never return for fear of it happening again. Many people were frugal for the rest of their lives and carried low food supplies so that they didn't have to spend that much money.
B Unions - There was the Unemployed Workers Movement, and the Hunger Strikes, which caused Unions in a lot of areas to be created to help workers.
C Culture - Many people turned to religion and soup kitchens for help, and many went hungry, and it caused lots of frugal-ness to become the norm in the US society.
VII Conclusion
The Great Depression was a time of hardship and problems in America. Many people went hungry and if you were one of the lucky ones who had jobs then you were wealthy in most ways, no matter how little they were paid for their work. Life was a struggle during the 1920s-30s and it caused a lot of people to carry on their hardships even after the hardest part of the Stock-market Crash, DustBowl, and other problems were over.
The Great Depression was a time of hardship and problems in America. Many people went hungry and if you were one of the lucky ones who had jobs then you were wealthy in most ways, no matter how little they were paid for their work. Life was a struggle during the 1920s-30s and it caused a lot of people to carry on their hardships even after the hardest part of the Stock-market Crash, DustBowl, and other problems were over.
