Great Depression A Decade of Despair Slide 2 Canadas Economic
State in the 1920s Image of prosperous 20s. Roaring for all? No.
Many left out (i.e. the poor, Aboriginal peoples). Reality: boom
and bust roller coaster. Slide 3 Canadas Economy: USA Boom Late
1920s. Resource boom (natural resources from Canadas provinces).
Growing American influence. Now largest investor; by 1926 Canadas
most important trading partner. Slide 4 Canadas Economy:
Consumption New consumer products. Automobiles, silent films,
ready-made clothing, etc. Communication. Airplanes + telephones +
radios. Slide 5 Bombardier first snowmobile, 1923 Slide 6 Canadas
Economy: Gender + Class Womens increasing role in the economy and
politics. Middle- and upper-class consumption. The worlds financial
centre moved from London to New York. Slide 7 Cycle of Prosperity
Slide 8 Regional Variations: Energy Maritimes and Prairies left out
of the boom? Maritimes = Coal and steel in decline. Slide 9
Regional Variations: Food Prairies = Low wheat prices for much of
the decade. Unpredictability of international markets; expansion
and borrowing of First World War & when prices where good in
parts of the 1920s. Slide 10 What was the Great Depression? The
Great Depression was a severe, worldwide, economic depression in
the decade preceding (before) WWII. Slide 11 The Great Depression:
Timing The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations,
but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the
late 1930s or early 1940s (1929-1939). It was the longest, most
widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century. Slide 12
The Great Depression: USA to the World The depression originated in
the U.S., starting with the fall in stock prices that began around
September 4, 1929. It became worldwide news with the stock market
crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday) = from there, it
quickly spread to almost every country in the world. Slide 13 The
Great Depression: Devastating Dirty Thirties The Great Depression
had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich and poor.
The Great Depression Era is known as the Dirty Thirties/ The Decade
of Despair. Slide 14 The Causes Of the Great Depression Slide 15
The Main Causes: Consumerism 1. Rise of consumerism led to the
world- wide overproduction of manufactured goods. Slide 16 The Main
Causes: Consumerism Radios, cars, kitchen appliances were made in
mass quantities on the assembly line and the demand for these began
to fall = more goods made than sold. Spending $$ that was not
theirs but loaned or credited from the banks. When banks asked for
$$ there was none to repay so people went bankrupt (lost homes,
investments etc.). Slide 17 Assembly Line Slide 18 The Main Causes:
Overproduction 2. Overproduction of Wheat/Falling Wheat Prices led
to problems for Canadian farmers who bought new equipment with
credit. Slide 19 The Main Causes: Overproduction Wheat prices
peaked in 1924; crashed in 1928. Over-cultivation of fields
depleted nutrients in soil = worsened the effects of the Dust Bowl
when drought began in the early 1930s = was a period of severe dust
storms which resulted in major ecological and agricultural damage
to American and Canadian prairies. Farmers incomes dropped &
they had to give up their farms to repay bank loans. Slide 20 Dust
Bowl Slide 21 Pallisers Triangle The driest part of the Canadian
prairies is called the Palliser Triangle. Slide 22 The Main Causes:
Protectionism 3. Protective tariffs (taxes) - aka Protectionism
Made domestic prices cheaper than imported goods from foreign
countries; other countries retaliated with their own tariffs. Slide
23 The Main Causes: Protectionism Led to the decline in world trade
(imports + exports), and turned the Depression from a crisis in the
USA into a global problem. Decline in international trade severely
hurt Canada (2nd worst off in world after US) because depended on
international demand for products (wheat, newsprint). Slide 24 The
Main Causes: Stock Market Collapse 4. The Stock Market Collapse,
1929 Speculation (gambling) on the stock market by buying stocks on
the margin = borrowing money - 90% from a broker to purchase stock,
putting down only 10% of your own money down) led to the crash on
29/29 = October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). This was the
triggering event of the Great Depression. Slide 25 The Stock Market
Crash: Big Investors The market dropped slightly but panic struck
and almost everyone with shares/stocks decided to sell their stocks
and fast. Some big investors (big business + the rich) figured that
the stock market was about to top out and they rapidly sold their
shares. Slide 26 The Stock Market Crash: Borrowed $$$ This resulted
in the bottom falling out of the market and the subsequent stock
market crash on 1929. The problem was that the market was built on
borrowed money (speculation/buying on the margin) and now nobody
could pay back their debts. Slide 27 The Collapse Black Tuesday 29
October 1929 Slide 28 The Stock Market Crash Slide 29 Other
Important Causes: Reparations 5. Reparation Payments Germany blamed
for the war (T of V + WGC/Article 231) owed money for war damages.
Germany unable to make reparation payments. Allies (France +
Britain) could not repay the USA for WWI War Loans. Slide 30 Other
Important Causes: Banks 6. High Interest on Debt Repayment/Banks
Tightened Credit + Loans The interest was more than many could
afford. Heavy burden of debt carried by individuals + families +
companies. No world bank stabilizer/regulator. Slide 31 Note:
Canadian Banks Many banks (several thousands) across the USA had to
close down = they were not able to give money back to the people
who banked with them as they did not have it. Canadian banks
survived the Great Depression because they were fewer in number and
were much more conservative = did not lend out money at will; held
on to money the in the banks. Slide 32 Other Important Causes:
Government Ties 7. Dependence on the USA + Government Cutbacks The
Canadian economy was closely tied to the US. When they crashed, so
did we. Slide 33 Other Important Causes: Government Ties There was
no or limited government expenditure or assistance during this
period of time. Churches and charities would take care of
society/they were expected to, not the government. Slide 34 Other
Important Causes: Government Ties The free market would take care
of the economy - aka the economy would take care of itself =
laissez faire; let it be/to let do. Slide 35 Capitalism: Just So
You Know Capitalism : is an economic system that includes private
ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services
for profit or income, the accumulation of capital, competitive
markets, voluntary exchange, and wage labour. A Capitalist : is a
person that participate in a capitalist economy either as a owner,
labourer, and/or a consumer. Slide 36 Remember! Not caused by a
crisis of capitalism, but became one! So not an overnight problem
caused by stock market crash! Many issues led to the Great
Depression. Slide 37 The Effects Of the Great Depression Slide 38
The Effects: Wages + Unemployment During this time, 60% of men and
82% of women made significantly less than $1000 a year. 1 in 5
Canadians (tens of thousands) became dependant on government relief
(other depended on charity + food handouts) and 30% of the labour
force was unemployed, whereas the unemployment rate had never
dropped below 12%. Slide 39 The National Effects: Wages +
Unemployment 1. Wages Declined = Unemployment Rose It was said by
the Federal Department of Labour that a family needed between $1200
& $1500 a year to maintain the minimum standard of decency.
Slide 40 Income by Province Slide 41 Canadian Unemployment Slide 42
The Unemployed: No Jobs or Income For an unemployed individual
person there were no jobs. For those that had a job there was a
high chance that it could be lost; further there was little income
from the majority of jobs. Slide 43 The Unemployed: No Education
Difficult to keep young children in school because they were needed
on the farms to bring in as much goods as possible. University
students were also dropping out all over the country because
tuition was too much to pay. Slide 44 The Unemployed: Women Workers
The home workers (women) of the houses had to find part time jobs
to "make ends meet" or opened up their homes to renters these
became rooming/boarding houses. Slide 45 Women and Children Slide
46 The Unemployed: Riding the Rails The men of many families chose
to become transient and Ride the Rails or Riding the Rods in search
for work in the west. They often frequented soup kitchen, bread
lines, and lived in the jungle, eventually many would work in
government relief camps. Slide 47 The Unemployed: No Immigration
Canadas immigration policy was highly restrictive. Closed Door
Policy = we could not take care of our own so we denied people to
opportunity to come to Canada; accepted very few (almost none)
immigrants in the 1930s. Slide 48 Riding the Rails Riding the Rods
Slide 49 The Jungle Slide 50 Wandering Slide 51 Soup Kitchens and
Bread Lines Slide 52 The Soup Kitchen Slide 53 Cycle of the Great
Depression Slide 54 The Effects: National Economics 2. GNP + Import
& Export Declined It is estimated back in the thirties that 33%
of Canada's income came from exports, so the countrys Gross
National Income was also affected by the collapse of world trade =
The Gross National Product (GNP) fell from $6.1 Billion in 1929 to
$3.5 Billion in 1933 and the values of industrial production
halved. Note: GNP would become know as GDP Slide 55 Import + Export
+ Stocks The export of Canadian products such as wheat declined and
the import of foreign goods became too expensive because of tariffs
= the production of Canadian goods fell (supply and demand). Slide
56 Import + Export + Stocks The values of stocks were dropping
rapidly and as the demand for goods and services dropped business
firms ceased to exist. Even the CPR, considered on the world's most
reliable income earners, didn't make enough money in 1932. Slide 57
The Regional Effects: The Prairies 3. Wheat Prices Decline and
Drought The prairie provinces were almost completely dependent on
the export of wheat. Slide 58 The Effects: Regions The Prairies The
little money that they brought in for their wheat did not cover
production costs, let alone farm taxes, depreciation and interest
on the debts that farmers were building up. The net farm income
fell from $417 million in 1929 to $109 million in 1933. Slide 59
Farmers, Wheat + Dust To make matters worse, between 1933 and 1937
the Prairies (particularly Saskatchewan) suffered a massive drought
which created the Dust Bowl. Slide 60 The Dust Bowl Slide 61
Farmers, Wheat + Dust The money brought in for the wheat was at a
record low and the provincial income dropped by 90% in two years,
forcing 66% of the province into relief. Where the previous yield
per acre was 27 bushels, it had dropped to as little as three in
1937. The price of grain also dropped from $1.60 a bushel to $0.28
a bushel in 1932. Slide 62 The Effects: Regional Resources 4.
Decline in the Natural Resource Market in BC, the Maritimes,
Ontario & Quebec. Slide 63 The Effects: BC In BC the fish,
lumber and fruit markets were considerably lower but they weren't
as hard hit as the majority of the provinces. Slide 64 The Effects:
Maritimes As for the Maritimes, they had entered provincial
economic decline in the 1920's so therefore they had less of a
margin to fall by; there was also a larger variety of jobs so the
whole income wasn't wiped out due to the fall of one market. Yet in
1934 Newfoundland had to surrender its government responsibilities
and had to ask for financial aid from Britain. Slide 65 The
Effects: Ontario + Quebec Although Ontario and Quebec were
experiencing serious unemployment in mining and forest incomes from
exports had dropped, they were less effected due to more
diversified industrial economics, which, luckily for them,
protected their domestic market. Slide 66 How did the Canadian
Government React? NOTHING! Slide 67 How did the Canadian Government
React? 1. Mackenzie King (Liberal) ignored the problem, thinking it
would solve itself immediately voted out of power. 2. R.B. Bennett
(Conservative) created work camps/relief camps = did not deal with
the problem. Slide 68 Government Relief Camps Because a family's
relief was cut when a child turned 16, young men left home to
reduce the burden on their families. Thousands of unemployed +
homeless rode freight trains to the west looking for work which
didn't exist. Set up to prevent the growing unrest among this
wandering mass of young unemployed workers. Slide 69 Relief Camps =
Work Camps The camps were located in remote areas such as northern
Ontario and B.C.'s interior. Inmates called these government run
military-based labour camps "slave camps: They lived on war surplus
clothing, bunked in tar- paper shacks, ate army rations, and were
forced to work six and a half days a week for twenty cents a day
military structure. Slide 70 Relief Camps Slide 71 Unions + the
Communist Party Many Canadian workers organized and joined trade
unions = organizations that represent Canadian workers in their
negotiations with employers - engage in collective bargaining to
determine issues such as wages, the terms and conditions of work,
and worker security. Other Canadians started an joined the
Communist Party of Canada (founded in 1921) = works for socialism
and democracy, directed by Marxist-Leninist theory. Slide 72 The
RCWU Workers formed a union (RCWU = Relief Camp Workers Union), and
their leader, Arthur Evans, was a communist; this scared many
government officials. The RCWU grew into a strong, disciplined
democratic organization, focusing on the hopes and energy of the
unemployed. Slide 73 Vancouver Strike In the spring of 1935, RCWU
went on strike. They filled the streets of Vancouver shouting "Work
& wages" and "When Do We Eat?" They demanded real work wages,
better food, clothing and shelter, and an end to military
discipline. Slide 74 On to Ottawa! Despite the overwhelming public
support of "our boys, the federal government refused to negotiation
with strikers. After this, the strikers voted to take their
grievances to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Slide 75 The On-to-Ottawa
Trek + the Trekkers This led to the On-to-Ottawa Trek where over
1600 men jumped on the trains to Ottawa to protest against Prime
Minister Bennett. On June 3rd, 1935, the first group of Trekkers
climbed into CPR boxcars leaving Vancouver. Slide 76 On-to-Ottawa
Trek Supporters They were joined by men in Kamloops, Field, Golden,
Calgary and Moose Jaw. Women's groups, service clubs, labour
councils, churches, unions and caring citizens met the Trekkers at
each stop with offers of food and shelter. Slide 77 On-to-Ottawa
Trek Slide 78 Rendezvous in Regina Over 2000 unemployed men massed
in Regina by mid- June, 1935. In Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Toronto,
thousands were just waiting to join. Slide 79 Bennett Intervenes
Bennett decided that it was time to put an end to this: Bennett
ordered the trains to stop in Regina and invited the leaders to
Ottawa, hoping to calm things down. He also ordered CPR to ban
Trekkers as "trespassers. And the Federal Cabinet was directed RCMP
to bolster troops in Regina to disperse the trekkers. Slide 80 The
Trekker and Evans Meanwhile, Trekkers met with the government
ministers in Regina. It was proposed that a small delegation
continue to Ottawa. Eight were voted to go including Arthur Evans.
Slide 81 On June 22nd, the delegation met with Bennett: Evans
presented the strikers' demands. Bennett accused the purpose of the
strikers was to begin a communist revolution intent on destroying
law and order. The Meeting Slide 82 The meeting lasted an hour and
disintegrated into heated exchanges with Bennett calling Evans a
thief and Evans calling Bennett a liar. Negotiations ended. The
Meeting Slide 83 The Regina Riot The frustrated men returned to
Regina where they gathered to make a new strategy. Bennett ordered
the arrest of the men, and a riot broke out. Slide 84 The Regina
Riot & Bennett One police died and several citizens were
injured. This reaction hurt Bennetts reputation greatly, although
everyone returned to the camps. Slide 85 The Regina Riot Slide 86
Canadian Governments Reaction: New Deal 3. Bennetts New Deal
(January 1935). Introduced a Canadian version of US President
Franklin D. Roosevelts "New Deal," involving unprecedented public
spending and federal intervention in the economy. Created a
Canadian social safety net (social service from government; many
ideas taken from the CCF). Slide 87 Bennetts New Deal This
included: Progressive Income Tax Minimum Hourly Wages Standard Work
Week Unemployment Insurance Health Insurance (Medicare) Pension
Programme Grants to Farmers Slide 88 Canadian Governments Reaction:
The CBC 4. Creation of the CRBC in 1932 (renamed the CBC in 1937).
The CRBC/CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)was created to
establish a publicly owned radio network broadcasting in both
French and English. People felt that the need for radio was
important because it became the only escape from the hopelessness
than many people felt. Slide 89 Governments Reaction: Bank of
Canada 5. Creation of the Bank of Canada in 1934 (nationalized in
1937). The Great Depression demonstrated its inability to
effectively regulate the nations money system and a new national
central bank was created to perform this function. Slide 90
Governments Reaction: Bank of Canada The duties were to regulate
currency and credit, serve as a private banker's bank and to advise
on government financial matters = bring stability. Canadian banks
were not a hard hit as US banks because they were more conservative
and were fewer in number. Slide 91 Address to the Nation In one of
his addresses to the nation, Bennett said: In the last five years
great changes have taken place in the world... The old order is
gone. We are living in conditions that are new and strange to us.
Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the
poorhouse... If you believe that things should be left as they are,
you and I hold contrary and irreconcilable views. I am for reform.
And in my mind, reform means government intervention. It means
government control and regulation. It means the end of
laissez-faire. Slide 92 The Depression worsened Critics accused him
of trying to win the next election, of not being genuine. He was a
very rich man, the richest to become PM! Slide 93 The King or Chaos
Election Campaign Bennett lost the 1935 election to Mackenzie King
who campaigned on King or Chaos! King had very little success
ending the Depression despite change in rule and continued
government intervention. Slide 94 Bennetts Infamy/Legacy Even
though Mackenzie King did not end the Depression, PM Bennett has
taken the greatest amount of criticism for his policies. As a
result, he has left behind a legacy of jokes such as Bennett
Buggies (horse drawn cars) and Bennett Blankets (newspapers). Slide
95 Bennett Buggy Slide 96 Bennetts Letters While Bennett was, and
is still, often criticized for lack of compassion for the
impoverished masses, he stayed up through many nights reading and
responding to personal letters from ordinary citizens asking for
his help, and often dipped into his personal fortune to send a
five- dollar bill to a starving family, or to pay a familys
mortgage, or but a bike or underwear for children. Slide 97
Bennetts Help Bennett also helped put many poor, struggling young
men through university. The total amount he gave personally is
uncertain, although he personally estimated that between the years
of 1927-37 he spent well over 2.3 million dollars of his OWN money.
Slide 98 The Great Depressions Prime Ministers Bennett King Slide
99 The End + WWII Government spending (injection of cash) may have
accelerate the end of the Depression. But Canada only emerged from
Great Depression due to the outbreak of WWII. Slide 100 WWII +
Rearmament & Employment The massive rearmament policies leading
up to World War II helped stimulate economies in 193739. By 1937,
unemployment had fallen. The mobilization of humanpower following
the outbreak of war in 1939 finally ended unemployment. Slide 101
The Great Depression Video Clips Slide 102 Canada: A Peoples
History Hard Times Video Segments Slide 103 Intro: Scenes from the
Great Depression
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoptH8TqasE&feature=fvw
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Slide 104 The Great Wall Street Crash & Depression: Part 1 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulVQ-kH1MAA
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