American History Unit:7

8/13/2019 American History Unit:7

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American HistorySociety in the 1920s


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Womens Changing RolesThe Great War had a profound impact

on America

Millions of young men had marched off

to war full of enthusiasmThe horrors of the war led them to

question and ideas and attitudes of the

time

This led to a revolution of attitudes andmorals

Perhaps none were impacted more than

women


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Womens Changing RolesThe Flapper symbolized this revolution

This term defined a new type of women:

rebellious, energetic, fun loving and bold

Flappers wore their hair short, in a bobThey wore wide brimmed hats, bright

red lipstick,heavy makeup, plucked their

eye brows. Common practices by

prostitutesThey spit,smoked, cursed, and

associated more with guys rather than

other girls


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Womens Changing Roles

In 1920,the hemline of the American

dress stood 9 inches above the ground

By 1927, the dress had risen to the kneeor just above

The amount of fabric in a dress went

from 19.5 yards to 7

All of these changes shocked Americansociety and enraged parents


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Womens Changing Roles

There are several reasons for these

changes

During the war, women had entered theworkplace

They had also gained the right to vote

These experiences made them eager for

greater equality with menWithout intending to, the rebellious

flapper brought them closer to that goal


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Womens Changing RolesIt is important to note that not all

women were flappers

Many adopted the style but not the

movementAnother interesting side note is that even

though women gained the right to vote,

only 35% of women went to the polls

Jeanette Rankin of Montana becamethe first woman representative

Nellie Ross of Wyoming was one of the

first women governors


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Americans on the Move

In addition to the social changes, there

were major demographic changes

For the first time in its history, more

people lived in the city than in thecountry

Farms began to be stressed following the

war while industry boomed

6 million people moved into the city

This also affected society as rural

communities held traditional values


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Americans on the Move

With jobs booming in industry, African

Americans once again moved to the

north

It led to renewed conflict anddiscrimination

Following the War, the US set forth

strong immigration laws against Asia

and Eastern EuropeTo fill the need of cheap labor,

companies turned to Mexican laborers


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American Heroes

The changing morals of the 1920s made

many Americans hungry for the values

of an earlier time

Society became fascinated with heroes

The greatest of all of them was Charles

Lindbergh

A prize of 25,000 dollars was offered tothe first person to fly from New York to

Paris


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American Heroes

Charles Lindeberg was a 25 year old

American from Minnesota

He was determined to win

After 33 and a half hours of non stop

flight, Lindbergh accomplished his goal

He was offered millions of dollars in

publicity fees which he turned downHe became an true moral hero to

Americans


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American Heroes

Another American hero of the time was

Amelia Earhart

She became the first women to fly solo

across the Atlantic

Then she was the first to fly from

Hawaii to California

In 1937 she attempted to be the first to

fly around the world

After completing 2/3 the trip, she

disappeared over the Pacific Ocean


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American Heroes

There were several sports heroes

Jack Dempsey became the boxing

heavyweight champion of the world

Jim Thorpe, a Native American, was

a famed football player who won olympic

gold and was elected the first president of

the NFL

Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs inbaseball, a record that would not fall for

40 years


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American HistoryMass Media and the Jazz Age


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Todays Learning Goal

Jig Saw w/1920s flash card scatter activity


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American HistoryCultural Conflicts


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Todays Learning Goals

2 Topics: Prohibition and Racial Tensions

1) What were the results of prohibition in the 1920s?2) Who were the main targets of the KKK?

3) What movement did Marcus Garvey lead and what

did it accomplish?


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Prohibition

The consumption of alcohol was viewed

as one of Americas great vices

In the inner city slums, crime wasrampant

A characteristic of many of the slums

were drunks

Even before WWI, alcoholconsumption was under attack


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ProhibitionThe Anti-saloon league and Womens

Temperance movements pushed congress

to ban alcoholic beverages

On January 16, 1920 the 18th

Amendment set forth 3 goals

1) Eliminating drunkenness that resulted

in abuse of others

2) Getting rid of saloons where gambling

and prostitution thrived

3) Prevent absenteeism and on the job

accidents resulting from alcohol


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Prohibition

Many returning soldiers following

WWI found themselves without work

Bootlegging, illegally selling alcohol

offered a way to make money fastIn older times, bootleggers were people

who hid their booze in their boot

Many created stills to produce their own

alcohol

Others smuggled it from Canada or the

Caribbean


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Prohibition

Speakeasies became increasingly

popular

These were hidden bars where alcoholwas sold

In Washington DC, before prohibition

there were 300 bars

During prohibition there were 700speakeasies


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Prohibition

Overtime, bootlegging alcohol became a

huge operation

At first, a handful of people sold alcohol

Overtime people banded together and

formed huge covert operations

Rival groups fought for control of cities

This led to the formation of gangs and

increased crime waves


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Prohibition

In many situations, gangs paid off the

police to ignore them Racketeering

The most notorious crimes took place in

ChicagoIn 1925, Al Capone murdered his way

to the top of the gangs of Chicago

Once in power, he monopolized the sale

of alcohol, eliminating competitors

He bribed police, city officials,

politicians and even judges


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Prohibition

In order to fight against gang leaders

like Capone, the government created the

Bureau of Investigation

It later became the FBI and washeaded by J. Edgar Hoover

Even with the FBI on his tale, Capone

eluded capture for years

In 1931 he was convicted of tax evasionand sent to prison at Alcatraz

Prohibition was repealed in 1933


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Racial Tensions

Many African Americans had

migrated to the North at the turn of the

century

They came to escape Jim Crow laws inthe South and for jobs

The waves of African Americans

arriving in northern cities sparked

violence and riots1919 was known as the Red Summer

for all the blood spilt across the country


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Racial Tensions

The worst of all the riots occurred in

Chicago

Blacks and Whites at Lake Michigan

started throwing rocks at one anotherIt was done because blacks were using

beaches designated as white only

A white threw rocks at black children

that were swimmingOne was struck, knocked unconscious

and drown


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Racial Tensions

The incident sparked a wave of violence

23 blacks and 15 whites were killed

537 people were wounded and the

destruction left 100s homeless

The Klu Klux Klan returned

A Methodist preacher, William J.

Simmons revived the organization

In 1922 there were 100,000 members

Two years later it surged to 4 million


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Racial TensionsThe organization began to target any

organization or group that was Un-

American

Catholics, Jews, Immigrants were all

targeted

Beatings and killings took place all

across the country

In 1925, the Indiana Klan leader was

sentenced to prison for assaulting a girl

who later poisoned herself

Membership declined


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Racial Tensions

African American, Marcus Garvey,

had a different idea

The Jamaican born leader sought unitAfrican Americans and move to

Africa

He wanted to create a free African

Nation in the motherlandMany joined his cause, raised money

and sailed to Africa


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Racial Tensions

Garveys follower dressed in military

apparel

The formed UNIA, Universal Negro

Improvement UnionMany African Americans objected

Garvey

His streamline was convicted of fraud

and he was deported to JamaicaHis ideas would serve later Black Pride

movements


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American HistoryThe Scopes Trial


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The Scopes TrialSince the turn of the century, many

Americans were were uneasy with social

values

Cities seemed immoral and radical ideas

were spreading

Many felt that:

1) Science and Technology were taking

a large role

2) War and problems caused many to

question Gods role in human affairs

3) The Bible was made by man


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The Scopes Trial

In response to these challenges, religious

traditionalists published a series of

pamphlets

They were known as the

Fundamentals

As a result, there was a massive

religious revival attacking the ills of

society and defending God and the Bible

The issue came to a head in 1925


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The Scopes Trial

The debate raged over the teaching of

evolution in public schools

In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler

ActIt forced schools to teach the Biblical

account of mans origin

It banned the teaching of evolution

John T. Scopes a school teacherdecided to challenge the act as

unconstitutional


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The Scopes TrialSides quickly formed and mass mediadescended on Tennessee

William Jennings Bryan decided to

take up the defense with Scopes

supported by Clarence DarrowBoth men were well known for their

debating skills

Darrow attacked Bryan and the Bible

as being the work of man

Bryan, a master at the Bible, remarked

that not all of the Bible could be taken

literally


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The Scopes Trial

The Jury found Scopes guilty and fined

him $100 dollars

The trial so exhausted Bryan that he

died a few days later

Fundamentalists saw Bryan as a

martyr and the trial as a victory

Modernists felt Darrow had done a

great job for science and reason

Fundamentalism continued to grow


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American HistoryThe Red Scare


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The Red Scare

In the years that directly followed

WWI, chaos ensued in Russia

As we discussed, the Russian

government was overthrown by Vladimir

Lenin

A civil war raged for years between

whites and reds

The reds triumphed in 1920

Russia was renamed the USSR


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When Lenin died in 1924, the state ofthe Soviet Union was quite bleak

The nation had endured years of civil

war, starvation and disease

As the Bolsheviks seized control, theyspeculated as to how they could catchup to the west

Political factions and members vied tofix the nations economic woes andpromote themselves to the vacatedleading position left absent by Lenin

The Red Scare


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Leon Trotsky, Lenins right hand manpromoted the idea to industrialize theUSSR by taxing the peasants

Nikolai Bukharin, another politicalleader thought it had to beaccomplished through agriculture

He wanted to enrich the peasants andget raise the money for

industrialization by increasing theagricultural output

This was adopted as the New EconomicPolicy

The Red Scare


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Behind the backdrop stood Josef Stalin

He was viewed as a nobody eventhough he held a powerful position

Stalin was a mere paper pusher whoheld power to recruit and enlist partymembers

Not only did he serve as the gateway toreceive powerful positions but hedecided who got promoted and towhere

Soon, vast members of the party owedtheir membership to Stalin alone

The Red Scare


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Stalin, like many others, began plottingto become the soviet figurehead

At first he backed Bukharins economicpolicies because he saw Trotsky as thegreater threat

After Trotsky was expelled from theparty he turned on Bukharin

In 1928, Stalin emerged as thesupreme leader of Soviet Russia andbegan his own policies

The Red Scare


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Stalins new policy, revolution fromabove turned soviet Russia tocollectivization

Stalin abolished private property andpersonal profit

Farms were taken, given to the stateand run as a sort of commune

Stalin speculated that Russia was 100years behind Europeans and desired tocatch up to them in the next ten years

The Red Scare


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Communal farms were given quotas ofoutput that would create a surplus

This surplus would be used toindustrialize Russia

In order to get the workers to produceand meet quotas a sharp method ofrewards and punishments was imposed

Workers were given ration cards, ifthey did not meet their daily quotasthey did not get fed

If they rebelled they cards were takenand they were kicked out to starve

The Red Scare


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Stalin implemented a massivepropaganda machine

Posters, flyers, papers were distributedto inspire and motivate hard work

Those who made impressive personalaccomplishments medals, specialceremonies and personal gifts

Since all money went to transform andbuild the Russian industry, Russiancitizens were stripped of luxury

Through it all, the face of Stalin wasemblazoned as their savior and hero

The Red Scare


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Peasants did resist however acrossRussia against the brutality of this newregime

In the Ukraine and Kazakh almost 40%

of the population died

Labor camps were created for politicalrebels where they were forced to laborto death

25% of all economic output came fromthese labor camps [gulags] wherehorrible crimes were committed

As many as 10 to 20 million died asRussia industrialized

The Red Scare


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By the end of the 1930s however,Stalins dream had reached its goal

Pouring every bit of money intoindustry and demanding every once ofphysical labor from its people, Russiahad industrialized

This would become very apparent in

WWII

Stalin pushed to advance communismacross the world

The Red Scare


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The Red ScareMost Americans were fearful of

communism

It stood as a threat to American

freedom

Immigrants were treated with greater

scrutiny as many were viewed as

communists

Revolutions took place in many

European cities

American worried it would soon come

home


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The Red Scare

In Seattle, 1000s of workers went on

strike

The mayor called them revolutionaries

Several bombs were sent through the

mail with the intent of killing the mayor

The media made it appear communists

were to blame

The Red Scare was reaching a fever

pitch


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The Red Scare

More mail bombs were sent

One nearly killed the Attorney General

He remarked afterward that he was

convinced people were trying tooverthrow the government

He assembled a special task force to root

out subversives

1000s were arrested and charged withanarchy

Most were innocent


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The Red Scare

Americans assumed the worst on May

1, 1920 the Socialist Holiday

It came and went without incident

Things began to slowly cool off

The following month, a gunman robbed

and killed a guard and paymaster of a

shoe company

Police arrested two Italian immigrants,

Saco and Vanzetti


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The Red Scare

Both of them were anarchists and

carried a gun similar to that used in the

crimeMany Americans saw through the case

The two men were anarchists but they

were innocent

The trial found the two guilty and theywere killed at the electric chair in 1927


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The Red Scare

Several strikes rocked the nation during

the 1920s

Strikers were accused of being

communistsMany unions began to fall apart under

communist accusations

During the boom of the 1920s strikes

slowedThe country would soon turn to new

leadership


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American HistoryPolitics of the 1920s


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Republicanism

The Red Scare had political

consequences

Americans felt that democrats leanedmore towards communism

Republicans would hold power for the

next decade

Warren G. Harding, a republicanbecame the next US president


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RepublicanismHarding was a mixed bag as president

He appointed Herbert Hoover as

secretary of commerce

Charles Hughes as supreme court justiceand Andrew Mellon as treasurer

Those were all great appointments that

greatly propelled the US into an era of

prosperity

Other appointments however were

friends that were incompetent and

dishonest


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Republicanism

Harding moved the US away from

international affairs

He did not join the League of Nations

because he felt it was another corruptalliance system

The US therefore adopted a policy of

isolationism

Harding also advocated disarmamentHe, along with other nations, signed

treaties to reduce the size of their navies


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Republicanism

Harding was all about business

He wanted the American economy to

run free and boom

He placed tariffs on foreign goods to

encourage people to buy domestic

The tariff enraged European nations

They owed the US a debt for WWI

With the US not buying their goods

they could not repay their debts


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RepublicanismBecause Germany could not pay its

debts, France and England could not

pay theirs to the US

The US became the key to the whole

process

In 1924 and again in 1928 the US

helped reorganize the Germany economy

Loans were given to Germany to pay

France and England which paid it backto the US

The system worked for awhile but a

catastrophic failure was on the horizon


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RepublicanismAs American became more isolationistthey also became more nativist

Nativism favored natural born

Americans over immigrants and it

flared for several reasons:

1) Patriotism: Americans believed

foreigners would never be loyal to the

US

2) Religion: many immigrants were notprotestant

3) Urban Conditions: Immigrants were

blamed for dirty city conditions


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Republicanism

The new law essentially halted all

immigrants from Asia into the US

Harding enjoyed huge popularity

Then it peaked and all came tumbling

down

Several scandals in the Harding

administration came to light

Some officials stole government money,

other took bribes in order to get laws

passed


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Republicanism

Harding was greatly stressed by the

scandals and died in office in 1923

The worst of the scandals was the

Teapot Dome Scandal

Hardings secretary of the interior gave

government oil fields in California and

Wyoming to private companies in return

for money$300,000 dollars in illegal payments

were made disguised as government gifts


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Republicanism

Vice President Calvin Coolidge became

the next president

Coolidge was not involved in any of the

government scandals

He was elected in 1924

Coolidge was a great public speaker but

in private he was a man of few words

One person remarked that he could be

silent in five languages


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Republicanism

The major theme of Coolidge could be

summarized in one phrase

The chief business of the Americanpeople is business

Coolidge advocated a hands off

approach to the economy and he let it

run free

It created an economic boom known as

the Roaring 20s


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Republicanism

Herbert Hoover urged Coolidge to

regulate the purchase of cheap stocks

which he refused

The Mississippi River flooded and whenvictims pleaded for government help he

refused

France came to the US with the idea of

outlawing war though a treaty

The Kellog-Briand Pact involved 60

nations that swore never to declare war

on one another. It was unrealistic


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Republicanism

In 1928, Coolidge decided not to run for

a second term

The Republicans nominated J. Edgar

Hoover who was a protestantprohibitionist

The Democrats nominated Alfred

Smith, a catholic who sought to end

prohibition

The vote drew in many women and

Hoover was elected as the next US

president


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American HistoryBig Business


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Jigsaw


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American HistoryThe American Economy


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The EconomyThe mood of Americans in the late

1920s was great

Medical advances had reduced diseases

like whooping cough and diphtheria

Life expectancy increased by 10 years

Technology was making life easier

The economy appeared healthy and was

booming

America had entered the world stage

and was in position to lead it


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The Economy

In 1925, the value of American stock

was 27 billion dollars

In 1928 it was 39 billion

In 1929 it soared to 87 billion

Wages in the 1920s rose 40%

It was estimated if Americans put 15

dollars a week in savings it would bring a

$400 dollar income in 20 years

Many felt American potential was

limitless


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The Economy

Business began enjoying great success

and paid back employees

They paid for vacations, gave them

health care, recreation and taughtEnglish and other skills

They felt this would prevent unions and

strikes

This new philosophy was called WelfareCapitalism

Labor unions began to disappear


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The Economy80% of Americans did not have savings

of any shape or form

The government was part to blame

In the 1920s taxes were reduced

Only the wealthy paid income tax

therefore it made the rich richer

Americans spent heavily on credit

Everyone wanted electric lights,refrigerators, radios and cars

The economy was doing so well they

thought they would pay it off later


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The Economy

The stock market was doing so well

many Americans invested unwisely

The press told stories of people whoinvested everything and became rich

overnight

Life savings went into the stock market

This would come back to haunt manyAmericans


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The Economy

Businesses too were overly optimistic

The assembly line had created massive

surpluses that consumers could not use up

In 1925, the auto industry began to losemoney

The purchase of iron, rubber, and glass

declined

Housing construction fell 25%

Business was beginning to slip and the

world depended on the US market


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The EconomyFarmers also fell on hard times

During the war, America fed many

nations and farming boomed

Many bought land and equipment oncredit

Following the war, demand slowed and

debts were called in

Many farms went bankrupt and banksfailed as a result

Congress attempted to bail out farmers

but Coolidge vetoed initiatives


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The Economy

In September of 1929, American stocks

peaked and began a slow fall

Some people began to sell their stocks

and the rate of the fall speed upMany brokers assured Americans the

market was healthy and experiencing a

small bump

In October, more investors began to sellPeople who had bought stock in GE for

$400 dollars sold it for $283


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The Economy

The following week, stock prices

continued to fall rapidly

Many investors withdrew all their money

from the market

On Tuesday, October 29, 1929 the

stock market crashed

The market continued to fall for the next

several weeks

Overall, 30 billion dollars disappeared


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The Economy

At first, only those who had invested in

the stock market lost their money

A short time later there was a ripple

effect across AmericaMany banks gave out huge loans to

businessmen who invested the cash

When the market fell they could no

longer repay the loansBanks had also given credit to

consumers to buy products


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The EconomyMany people did not earn enough to

repay the loans

When the banks called in its loans

people lost everything

As banks began to fail, many

Americans rushed to withdraw their

savings

Most of the money was invested and not

in bank vaults

As people withdrew their savings at

once, banks failed


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The EconomyThose who came late had lost all theirmoney

Within just a few years after the stock

market crash, 5,500 banks had failed

Businesses went broke or stopped spending

Jobs were scaled back and people went

without work

Houses were sold along with all

possessions

Many lived in their cars

The Great Depression had begun


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American HistoryTheGreat Depression


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The Great DepressionThe Great Depression represents one of

the most difficult times in American

history

As a result of the stock market crash and

bank failures businesses closed

Henry Ford shut down his Detroit

factories leaving 75,000 without work

Small businesses failed leaving more

Americans without jobs

By 1932, 12 million Americans were

without work


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The Great Depression

The depression was felt across the world

The US could no longer lend loans to

Germany

German banks failed and they stoppedpaying France and Britain

As a result, Britain and France stopped

paying debts owed to the US

Europeans also stopped buying Americangoods because they could no longer afford

them


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The Great DepressionThe first few years of the depression were

tough

Many Americans awaited a quick

recovery that never came

Many people lost their homes and all their

possessions

There were 15,000 people alone in New

York that were homeless

Many flocked to central park and built

makeshift shelters from cardboard, tar,

and wood fragments


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The Great DepressionPresident Hoover was blamed for not

fixing the economy

The shantytown of New York was called

Hooverville

Newspapers were called Hoover Blankets

Pockets turned inside out were Hoover

Flags

Those who did not live in Hoovervilles

lived in their cars

Others refused this lifestyle and traveled

the country as hobos searching for work


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The Great DepressionHoovers administration reached a low

point in 1932

20,000 jobless WWI vets had had

enough

For their service in the War, the US

government had promised them a pension

bonus in 1945

Veterans gathered in Washington asking

the government to pay the bonus early

They called their gathering the Bonus

Army


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The Great DepressionThe House of Representatives agreed to thepayout but the Senate shot it down

Some vets gave up and headed home but

many stayed

Soon, a shantytown was built up on thesteppes surrounding DC

Some became upset and violent acts broke out

Hoover called in the army under the control

of Douglas MacArthur

MacArthur used guns, teargas and tanks to

clear away gathered vets

The incident spelled the end for Hoover


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The Great DepressionFarmers in the midwest faced additional

problems

In the previous years, pioneers had

overturned the soil of the great plains for

farming

During the war, farmers depleted the soil

by over growing crops for profit

During the 1920s the great plains were

struck by drought

The green plains of the midwest turned

into a massive dust bowl


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G


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President Hoover continued his stance

that the economy would recover

He remarked No one starved but many

did and 1000s were hungry

Schools across the nation failed

Without work, parents could not longer

afford to feed their children

Parents told their kids to fend forthemselves

Others sought work to help their parents

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250,000 teenagers left home and illegally

hitched rides on trains

These teens faced dangers every day

Many were beaten, some shot, girls wereraped

In many cases they were all alone without

help

They traveled from city to city seekingwork

Most had little success

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Many families across America started to

grow their own food to survive

Some begged, some stole, others searched

restaurant garbage bins

Many committed suicide

Men abandoned family due to pressure

and the lack of ability to care for them

The average Americans healthplummeted

Most no longer went to doctors or dentists

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The Great DepressionLife became terribly difficultThe roaring twenties were an incredible

contrast with the low life of the 1930s

The depression across the world would

lead to desperationMany nations turned to radicals to lead

their nations

In many instances, the seeds of WWII

were being sownAs bad as the situation was, hope

remained and things slowly, but gradually

improved as the decade closed


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American HistoryTheNew Deal


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T N D l


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The New DealAmericans suffered a greatly during thedepression

They never gave up though

Many banded together and helped those

in needSome shared food, others shelter

Farmers worked together

When farmers lost land, the bank would

seize it and auction it offMany farmers worked together and held

penny auctions in order to get their land

back

T N D l


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The New DealIn Europe, the depression brought

political change

Governments were toppled and dictators

arose

In America, most citizens had faith that

democracy would handle their problems

In 1933, congress repealed the 18th

amendment

Despite the nation repealing the

consumption of alcohol, 8 states continued

to ban it

T N D l


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The New Deal

During the 1930s the Empire State

Building was raised

Many viewed it as a symbol for hope in a

new future

4,000 people helped build it

It stood at 102 stories tall and had 67

elevators

When the building opened, 1000s of

people paid 1 dollar for a trip to the top

T N D l


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The New DealPresident Hoover remained enemy #1 to

most Americans

He did little to fix the ruined economy

He produced the Hawley-Smoot Tariff

which increased tariffs on European goods

Europeans responded with their own

tariffs that hurt the nations economy

Other initiatives also failed to restore the

economy

By 1932, Americans were ready for a

change in leadership

T N D l


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The New DealIn July of 1932, Franklin Delano

Roosevelt won the democratic nomination

Upon selection he remarked: I pledge

myself to a new deal for the American

people

FDR graduated from Harvard with a

degree in law

He was elected twice to the New York

senate

He served as secretary of the Navy under

Woodrow Wilson

Th N D l


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The New DealIn 1920, FDR ran for vice president

and lost

In 1921 he contracted Polio and lost the

use of his legs

That did not keep him down

From 1929 to 1932 he served as the

governor of New York

As governor, he set up relief organizations

that gave money to the poor and needy

His New Deal sought a similar

program for the nation

Th N D l


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The New DealThe election of 1932 between Roosevelt

and Hoover was about two different views

on government

The Republicans under Hoover argued

less government was best

The Democrats with Roosevelt held that

the nation needed a stronger government

A strong government that could help

those in need

Many people did not necessarily support

Roosevelt so much that they hated Hoover

Th N D l


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The New DealRoosevelt won the presidency by a huge

margin, 7 million votes

In 1933, amidst a down pour of rain,

Roosevelt was sworn into office

He stated, This nation asks for action

and action now

The Great Depression had taught many

Americans they needed the government

Many thought they could make it on their

own. Now they acknowledged the need for

help

Th N D l


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The New DealThen came Roosevelt's most famous line,

So first of all let me assert my firm belief

that the only thing we have to fear is fear

itself

Having overcome fear in his own life,Roosevelt spoke with conviction

Roosevelt was soon tested

After his inauguration WWI vets again

assembled in a second bonus army

Roosevelt built a camp for them and

provided them with three meals a day

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The New Deal

Rather than send the army he sent his wife

Eleanor

She met with the Vets, thanked them for

their service and reassured them

They would later be drafted into

Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps

The first Sunday after taking office,

Roosevelt spoke to the nation over the

radio

It was the first of his weekly fireside chats

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The New Deal

His easy manner restored American faith

From his inauguration in March through

June of 1933, Roosevelt pushed program

after program through congress

Many of these programs were recovery,

relief and reform programs

These programs were known as the first

100 days

Roosevelt was meeting the Great

Depression head on


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Class ActivityStudent exploration of New Deal Programs


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The New DealMany Americans were happy with

Roosevelts New Deal Programs

Part of its success came from the people

Roosevelt placed on his staff

He surrounded himself with the great

intellectuals on the day creating what

many called the Brain Trust

Roosevelt was the first president to appoint

a woman to a Cabinet PostFrances Perkins helped pass laws that

helped wage earners and the unemployed

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The New DealRoosevelt even appointed many African

Americans to key political positions

An important key to Roosevelts success

was his wife Eleanor

She helped mediate the Bonus Armydispute

She also traveled the nation for her

husband as his disability made traveling

difficult

She turned heads more than once on with

her stance on equal rights for African

Americans

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The New DealWhile many of Roosevelts programs were

providing work for Americans, the

economy continued to stagnate

Two of his programs, the NIRA and

AAA were deemed unconstitutional

Many saw the programs giving too much

power and regulation to the US

Government

Roosevelt was not doneHe soon launched a Second New Deal

with a new wave of programs

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The New Deal

The Second New Deal brought into

creation the Workers Progress

Administration

It built and improved playgrounds,

schools and hospitals

In response to the AAA falling in

supreme court, Roosevelt launched a new

program for farmers

The Farm and Security Administrationloaned 1 billion dollars to struggling

farmers

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The New Deal

The Rural Electrification Act brought

power to remote areas across the US

It was estimated that only 10% of rural

American had electric power

It brought power to 98% of American

farms

Roosevelt's programs had won the faith of

the American people

In 1936 Roosevelt won in another

landslide vote

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The New Deal

For all of its gains and progress, the New

Deal did have its critics and shortcomings

Women in particular were at a

disadvantage

NRA codes permitted lower wages for

women doing equal work as men

In relief programs, men and boys received

the most assistance

Jobs also went primarily to males who

were seen as the heads of households

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The New DealAfrican Americans received similar

treatment

Many received lower wages for the same

work

They were kept out of skilled and

professional jobs

The New Deal did little to prevent

discrimination, in many ways it made it

worseLynchings in the South were rampant

and the US government did little to help

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The New DealRich Republicans were also strongly

opposed to the New Deal

They were taxed more than the poor

They felt New Deal programs elevated

the poor and uneducated and pulled downthe rich

Social Security was also hated by

Republicans

They saw it as a move toward socialism

Republicans called the New Deal un-

American and akin to Bolshevism

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The New Deal

There were others who complained the

New Deal did not do enough

Upton Sinclair wanted the government to

take control of business and farms

He was accused of communism

Others across the nation felt it was not

doing enough for the poor

They advocated a total redistribution ofwealth evenly across the nation

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The New DealA dynamic speaker, Father CharlesCoughlin captivated American audiences

At first he backed the New Deal

He advocated government takeovers of

business

Then he went against Roosevelt

He went so far as to shower praise on

Mussolini and Hitler in Europe

Many Americans lashed out

In 1942, Catholic Officials ordered him

to stop broadcasting

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The New DealIn Louisiana, Huey Long grew toimmense popularity

He became a powerful US Senator in

1932

He built his power on helping the poor,improving education and medical care

He was an original supporter of FDR

but broke from many of his New Deals

He advocated seizing money from the

wealthy and giving it to the poor

He also wanted veteran benefits, better

education and pensions for the elderly


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The New DealToday, many see Roosevelts programs in

great light

They are viewed as the nations saving

grace

Critics however have seen serious flaws inRoosevelt's programs

In some ways they hindered economic

progress, encouraged inefficient use of

resources and empowered the governmentThe greatest criticism arises on the issue of

deficit spending

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The New DealThe nation began to deficit spend in orderto help its people

It is part of the debt the nation has today

The US went from a lending nation to a

nation in debtIn 1937 the US experienced a recession

Despite all of the growth, the economy

began to slide

Roosevelt scaled back many of hisprograms and increased taxes

His goal was to balance the national debt

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The New DealThe national debt went from 21 million in1933 to 43 billion in 1937

Hard times would continue until the onset

of WWII

With the economy in s slump, there was anew wave of business strikes

In 1935, the Wagner Act made it easy

for people to unionize

36% of the American People belonged to

unions

Many strikes took place in the form of sit-

downs

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The New Deal

Strikes lasted until 1939 when the supreme

court again stuck down strikes

Roosevelt also attempted a court packingscheme

Because the supreme court had shot down

his plans, he tried to add 6 more justices

This initiative created a black mark on his

New Deal


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Documents

American History Unit:7