Great Depression and New Deal Overview

USI The Great Depression and New Deal Review Sheet The Great Depression The Great Depression was a depressing time where there was a BIG economic crisis 1929-1933. It started with the U.S. stock market having a crash out and led to a depressing life for everyone. There was a ton of unemployment, poverty, and a major drop in economic activity. Reasons: * The stock market crash on “Black Tuesday”→ Marked the start of the Great Depression. Basically on a random Tuesday (actually Oct 29, 1929) the stock market just decided to go crazy. The stock fell like ahhhhh and caused a ton of people to panic and created a ton of financial loss. * Massive Unemployment → So basically after the Great Depression started, there was a LOT of unemployment. The stock market had its little crash out and businesses lost a ton of money and had to shutdown or CUT on costs. So millions of Americans were unfortunately laid off… no wonder it was called the Great Depression. SOOO many people were left without income and were very cooked. So people lived in hoovervilles and stood in long lines for food. People did whatever they could to survive. There was a lot of poverty and hunger because the gov’t was not designed to help the American people with this type of stuff… and that's where the New Deal comes in. * Foreclosure Crisis → So you know how lots people lost their jobs due to the stock market having a crash out? Well because they lost their jobs they had no money and couldn’t pay their mortgages or farm loans. And so the banks foreclosed people's homes and farms, forcing many families to leave. So there was j a lot of suffering and not so good vibes. Buttttt later with the New Deal the HOLC was made to help people to keep their homes :) * Income Gap → The income gap was to refer to the MAJOR gap and difference between the rich and the poor. SO the wealthy never really lost their money and the other people in jobs like farming or the industrial stuff earned VERY little. The inequality between the two worsened the Depression. The unemployment went crazy and wages were basically non-existent leading to GREATER financial struggles for the poor, creating a bigger gap. Bank Runs and Bank Panics → The bank runs = FEAR. So a bank run was when a bunch of people rushed to withdraw their money from their accounts all at once. They were scared that the bank would collapse– ooh scary, ooh shiver me timbers. During the Great Depression, many banks failed because they didn’t have enough cash on hand to meet the withdrawal demands. The banks invested A LOT in the stock market… which crashed out. Bank Panics: so it was when widespread fear (bank runs) led to many banks failing super fast. This was a super common thing during the early years of the Great Depression. Banks failed→ people lost their savings → further deepening the economic crisis. HOWEVER through the New Deal the FDIC was created to protect the money that people deposited into the banks. It restored the people's confidence in the banks. Soup Lines → Soup line= HUNGER. Soup lines were LONG lines of people waiting to receive free meals. Meals like soup (uh its in the name) and bread. As many people lost their jobs and money, they couldn't afford food, so charitable organizations, churches, and even the government set up soup kitchens to provide basic meals for those in need. Soup lines became a common sight in cities across the U.S. as poverty and hunger increased during the economic crisis. Hoovervilles, Hobos, Okies → hoovervilles= HOMELESSNESS. Hoovervilles were makeshift shanty towns built by homeless people during the Depression. They named these lil huts after Hoover cause everyone was mad at him for not doing enough to stop the crisis. These shelters were built from scrap materials, and they were often located on the outskirts of cities. Hobos These were homeless guys who went on a bunch of side quests looking for work during the Depression. Many hopped trains and lived in temporary camps, often surviving on charity or odd jobs. Hobo= wandering lifestyle. Okies were these guys (from Oklahoma) who were forced to leave their homes due to that giant dust bowl, and the economic hardship of the Great Depression. They traveled west, often to California, in search of work and better living conditions. Okie= displaced farmers. Hoover’s Attempts → Man this guy Hoover was really struggling. He tried… he really did but his efforts were seen as too little, too late by many Americans. So this guy believed in limited government and thought the economy would fix itself and that too much government help would hurt American values like hard work and independence. He also thought that businesses should keep wages and jobs and not cut off anybody. But that was kinda hard cause everyone was broke. This guy tried to solve unemployment by making public working project programs like the Hoover Dam to generate some jobs… but there were way too many jobless people. He started the RFC which he hoped would restore businesses and banks but that didn’t really help the average American. Everybody thought that Hoover was being too cautious and thought that he worsened the whole depression thing. And that's why he lost… * Hawley Smoot Tariff → This was a law passed in 1930 that raised taxes (tariffs) on imported goods to protect American businesses during the Great Depression. This tariff was meant to help U.S. farmers and factories by making foreign goods more expensive. So that backfired on them. The other countries decided to raise their tariffs too… and that hurt American exports. So yea the global trade slowed down, making the Depression worse, not better. Yea that was kinda a big oopsy... * RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) → This was created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 during the Great Depression. The RFC gave loans to banks, railroads, and big businesses to try to keep them from failing. Hoover was betting some good bucks that the money would “trickle down” and help the overall economy. But we all know that didn’t really work… it didn’t help ordinary people directly, so many felt it wasn’t enough. Oh yea and as if FDR couldn’t rub it in Hoover’s face enough, FDR expanded the RFC to support more public programs and job creation. The Dust Bowl → The Dust Bowl was a natural disaster during the 1930s that made the Great Depression even worse, especially for farmers. Everybody thought they hit rock bottom, well this was so much worse. So a drought decided to show up and that made the soil dryer than the sahara desert. The already poor farmers were now cooked, literally. Oh yea, and now a huge dust storm hits across the Great Plains and decides to smash into states like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. As a result, farms were destroyed, the crops couldn’t grow, and many already broke families had to leave their land. (These were the okies) The Bonus Army → So basically the bonus army was a group of WW1 veterans. They marched to Washington, D.C. in 1932 during the Great Depression and demanded that their military service payment be given NOW. It was supposed to be paid in 1945 but because the veterans were struggling, poor, and jobless they needed some big bucks asap. Yea so Hoover was like ain’t no way I’m giving you guys this money because the whole country was broke atp. So the veterans obviously protested and camped in the city, and ironically the US Army was sent to forcefully remove them. This left the public absolutely flabbergasted. Yea you thought Hoover’s reputation was low… well now it was a new level of law, this is like past rock bottom. But in the end it helped FDR to win so like it was a win for him and the public… The New Deal → So now that FDR is president he's making a bunch of programs and laws to help the U.S. recover from the Great Depression. He focused on the three R’s, and created programs that would support your average citizens, farmers, banks, and businesses. The New Deal didn’t end this depressive era but it brought a ray or two of sunshine to everyone and helped people to survive…maybe not thrive but survive. FDR: characteristics → This guy had some strong qualities making him a great leader during the Great Depression: Confident and hopeful → ex. speeches “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, Bold and active→ liked taking action aka the new deal, Empathetic → cared about ordinary people and worked to help them out. One determined guy → this guy had a bunch of physical struggles but he didn't let that stop him. The New Deal: * The Three R’s: relief, recovery, reform → These were the main goals of FDR’s New Deal. He wanted to help to rebuild the country from its little crash out. 1. Relief – Immediate help for people who were suffering (like jobs, food, and money). Example: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 2. Recovery – Programs to fix the economy and help it grow again. Example: Public Works Administration (PWA) 3. Reform – Changes to prevent future depressions. Example: Social Security Act, FDIC (protected bank deposits) * First 100 Days → The first 100 days of this guy's presidency.. he and Congress passed a large number of laws to fight the Great Depression. Bro wanted to take action fast and focused on the three R’s and new deal programs. After his first 100 days people knew that he was joking around. Major Acts: * FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) - 1933 * Goal: The purpose of the FDIC was to protect the money that people deposited into banks. The FDIC brought back people’s trust in the bank, as it was lost due to the Great Depression. It also insured money in banks, so that if the bank failed, people's money would stay safe. * Impact: Helped prevent future bank runs and stabilized the banking industry. * CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) - 1933 * Goal: The purpose of the CCC was to give men jobs during the Great depression. The CCC gave young men the jobs of working on outdoor projects like building parks and improving forests and trails. * Impact: Created jobs and helped with environmental conservation. * WPA (Works Progress Administration) - 1935 * Goal: The purpose of the WPA was to create jobs for unemployed Americans. The WPA provided jobs through working on public projects like roads and schools. The WPA also created work for many creative professionals during the Great Depression, boosting morale. * Impact: Hired millions of Americans and helped build much of the country’s infrastructure. * Social Security Act of 1935 → The SSA was one of the most important pieces of legislation passed during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, it's still used to this very day. It marked the beginning of the US welfare state. Goal: Provide financial support to the elderly, unemployed, and disabled, and establish a safety net for Americans.The KEY PARTS: Old-Age Insurance (retirement benefits for seniors), Unemployment Insurance (benefits for workers who lost their jobs), Aid to Dependent Children (help for families with children in need). Impact: It marked the beginning of the U.S. welfare state and is still a crucial part of the American safety net today. The Social Security Act helped give people a sense of financial security, especially during hard times like the Great Depression. Critics: * Too far! = Supreme Court, etc. → Yea some people thought FDR went too far with his New Deal programs and efforts, especially from the supreme court. The Supreme Court ruled several key New Deal programs unconstitutional, such as the NRA (National Recovery Administration) and the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act), because they gave the federal government too much power over businesses and states. The Court believed some New Deal measures overstepped the Constitution’s limits. FDR fought back at the resistance with a "court-packing" plan, which would let him appoint additional justices to the Supreme Court (up to 15) if a justice was over 70 and didn’t retire. Yea people didn’t like this and thought he was trying to increase his power and be above the judiciary. The plan was widely criticized and was ultimately rejected by Congress. * Not far enough! = Dr. Townsend, Huey Long, etc. → And ofc there were people who thought that FDR didn’t do enough. People like Dr. Francis Townsend and Huey Long wanted some crazy measures. They believed the New Deal wasn’t doing enough to help the poor and the elderly. Twonsend wanted a big pension for the elderly and Long wanted to give everyone free and guaranteed everything. These guys were pretty controversial. Oh yea and long got assassinated so that's awkward. 1936 Elections → The 1936 Election was a key moment in FDR’S presidency during the Great Depression. Basically it was FDR (rerunning after his first term) and this other guy named Alf Landon-R. I mean there were other guys but no one paid attention to third parties. People liked FDR’s new deal and wanted him back in office. So bro won by a landslide showing that many wanted more New Deal stuff. Analysis of the New Deal → Analysis of the New Deal: So there were some good and bad apples, wheat and chaff, positive and negative impacts, you know. The food was what the three R’s brought and the bad was that it was sometimes unconstitutional, too radical, not radical enough, and a lot of government power. The New Deal didn’t bring America out of the depression but it really helped out. WW2 eventually helped end the Depression by creating jobs and stimulating the economy. The New Deal changed the relationship between the government and the people, creating social safety nets and establishing the idea that the government should play an active role in the economy. So it was an experiment of government intervention; seeing the ups and downs of government control.

USI The Great Depression and New Deal Review Sheet
The Great Depression The Great Depression was a depressing time where there was a BIG economic crisis 1929-1933. It started with the U.S. stock market having a crash out and led to a depressing life for everyone. There was a ton of unemployment, poverty, and a major drop in economic activity.
Reasons:
* The stock market crash on “Black Tuesday”→ Marked the start of the Great Depression. Basically on a random Tuesday (actually Oct 29, 1929) the stock market just decided to go crazy. The stock fell like ahhhhh and caused a ton of people to panic and created a ton of financial loss.
* Massive Unemployment → So basically after the Great Depression started, there was a LOT of unemployment. The stock market had its little crash out and businesses lost a ton of money and had to shutdown or CUT on costs. So millions of Americans were unfortunately laid off… no wonder it was called the Great Depression. SOOO many people were left without income and were very cooked. So people lived in hoovervilles and stood in long lines for food. People did whatever they could to survive. There was a lot of poverty and hunger because the gov’t was not designed to help the American people with this type of stuff… and that's where the New Deal comes in.
* Foreclosure Crisis → So you know how lots people lost their jobs due to the stock market having a crash out? Well because they lost their jobs they had no money and couldn’t pay their mortgages or farm loans. And so the banks foreclosed people's homes and farms, forcing many families to leave. So there was j a lot of suffering and not so good vibes. Buttttt later with the New Deal the HOLC was made to help people to keep their homes :)
* Income Gap → The income gap was to refer to the MAJOR gap and difference between the rich and the poor. SO the wealthy never really lost their money and the other people in jobs like farming or the industrial stuff earned VERY little. The inequality between the two worsened the Depression. The unemployment went crazy and wages were basically non-existent leading to GREATER financial struggles for the poor, creating a bigger gap.
Bank Runs and Bank Panics → The bank runs = FEAR. So a bank run was when a bunch of people rushed to withdraw their money from their accounts all at once. They were scared that the bank would collapse– ooh scary, ooh shiver me timbers. During the Great Depression, many banks failed because they didn’t have enough cash on hand to meet the withdrawal demands. The banks invested A LOT in the stock market… which crashed out. Bank Panics: so it was when widespread fear (bank runs) led to many banks failing super fast. This was a super common thing during the early years of the Great Depression. Banks failed→ people lost their savings → further deepening the economic crisis. HOWEVER through the New Deal the FDIC was created to protect the money that people deposited into the banks. It restored the people's confidence in the banks.
Soup Lines → Soup line= HUNGER. Soup lines were LONG lines of people waiting to receive free meals. Meals like soup (uh its in the name) and bread. As many people lost their jobs and money, they couldn't afford food, so charitable organizations, churches, and even the government set up soup kitchens to provide basic meals for those in need. Soup lines became a common sight in cities across the U.S. as poverty and hunger increased during the economic crisis.
Hoovervilles, Hobos, Okies → hoovervilles= HOMELESSNESS. Hoovervilles were makeshift shanty towns built by homeless people during the Depression. They named these lil huts after Hoover cause everyone was mad at him for not doing enough to stop the crisis. These shelters were built from scrap materials, and they were often located on the outskirts of cities. Hobos These were homeless guys who went on a bunch of side quests looking for work during the Depression. Many hopped trains and lived in temporary camps, often surviving on charity or odd jobs. Hobo= wandering  lifestyle. Okies were these guys (from Oklahoma) who were forced to leave their homes due to that giant dust bowl, and the economic hardship of the Great Depression. They traveled west, often to California, in search of work and better living conditions. Okie= displaced farmers.
Hoover’s Attempts → Man this guy Hoover was really struggling. He tried… he really did but his efforts were seen as too little, too late by many Americans. So this guy believed in limited government and thought the economy would fix itself and that too much government help would hurt American values like hard work and independence. He also thought that businesses should keep wages and jobs and not cut off anybody. But that was kinda hard cause everyone was broke. This guy tried to solve unemployment by making public working project programs like the Hoover Dam to generate some jobs… but there were way too many jobless people. He started the RFC which he hoped would restore businesses and banks but that didn’t really help the average American. Everybody thought that Hoover was being too cautious and thought that he worsened the whole depression thing. And that's why he lost…
* Hawley Smoot Tariff → This was a law passed in 1930 that raised taxes (tariffs) on imported goods to protect American businesses during the Great Depression. This tariff was meant to help U.S. farmers and factories by making foreign goods more expensive. So that backfired on them. The other countries decided to raise their tariffs too… and that hurt American exports. So yea the global trade slowed down, making the Depression worse, not better. Yea that was kinda a big oopsy...
* RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) → This was created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 during the Great Depression. The RFC gave loans to banks, railroads, and big businesses to try to keep them from failing. Hoover was betting some good bucks that the money would “trickle down” and help the overall economy. But we all know that didn’t really work… it didn’t help ordinary people directly, so many felt it wasn’t enough. Oh yea and as if FDR couldn’t rub it in Hoover’s face enough, FDR expanded the RFC to support more public programs and job creation.
The Dust Bowl → The Dust Bowl was a natural disaster during the 1930s that made the Great Depression even worse, especially for farmers. Everybody thought they hit rock bottom, well this was so much worse. So a drought decided to show up and that made the soil dryer than the sahara desert. The already poor farmers were now cooked, literally. Oh yea, and now a huge dust storm hits across the Great Plains and decides to smash into states like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. As a result, farms were destroyed, the crops couldn’t grow, and many already broke families had to leave their land. (These were the okies)
The Bonus Army → So basically the bonus army was a group of WW1 veterans. They marched to Washington, D.C. in 1932 during the Great Depression and demanded that their military service payment be given NOW. It was supposed to be paid in 1945 but because the veterans were struggling, poor, and jobless they needed some big bucks asap. Yea so Hoover was like ain’t no way I’m giving you guys this money because the whole country was broke atp. So the veterans obviously protested and camped in the city, and ironically the US Army was sent to forcefully remove them. This left the public absolutely flabbergasted. Yea you thought Hoover’s reputation was low… well now it was a new level of law, this is like past rock bottom. But in the end it helped FDR to win so like it was a win for him and the public… 
The New Deal → So now that FDR is president he's making a bunch of programs and laws to help the U.S. recover from the Great Depression. He focused on the three R’s, and created programs that would support your average citizens, farmers, banks, and businesses. The New Deal didn’t end this depressive era but it brought a ray or two of sunshine to everyone and helped people to survive…maybe not thrive but survive. 
        FDR: characteristics → This guy had some strong qualities making him a great leader during the Great Depression: Confident and hopeful → ex. speeches “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, Bold and active→ liked taking action aka the new deal, Empathetic → cared about ordinary people and worked to help them out. One determined guy → this guy had a bunch of physical struggles but he didn't let that stop him. 
        The New Deal:
* The Three R’s: relief, recovery, reform → These were the main goals of FDR’s New Deal. He wanted to help to rebuild the country from its little crash out.
1. Relief – Immediate help for people who were suffering (like jobs, food, and money).
Example: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
2. Recovery – Programs to fix the economy and help it grow again.
Example: Public Works Administration (PWA)
3. Reform – Changes to prevent future depressions.
Example: Social Security Act, FDIC (protected bank deposits)
   * First 100 Days → The first 100 days of this guy's presidency.. he and Congress passed a large number of laws to fight the Great Depression. Bro wanted to take action fast and focused on the three R’s and new deal programs. After his first 100 days people knew that he was joking around. 
Major Acts: 
   * FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) - 1933
   * Goal: The purpose of the FDIC was to protect the money that people deposited into banks. The FDIC brought back people’s trust in the bank, as it was lost due to the Great Depression. It also insured money in banks, so that if the bank failed, people's money would stay safe. 
   * Impact: Helped prevent future bank runs and stabilized the banking industry.
   * CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) - 1933
   * Goal: The purpose of the CCC was to give men jobs during the Great depression. The CCC gave young men the jobs of working on outdoor projects like building parks and improving forests and trails. 
   * Impact: Created jobs and helped with environmental conservation.
   * WPA (Works Progress Administration) - 1935
   * Goal: The purpose of the WPA was to create jobs for unemployed Americans. The WPA provided jobs through working on public projects like roads and schools. The WPA also created work for many creative professionals during the Great Depression, boosting morale. 
   * Impact: Hired millions of Americans and helped build much of the country’s infrastructure.
   * Social Security Act of 1935 → The SSA was one of the most important pieces of legislation passed during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, it's still used to this very day. It marked the beginning of the US welfare state. Goal: Provide financial support to the elderly, unemployed, and disabled, and establish a safety net for Americans.The KEY PARTS: Old-Age Insurance (retirement benefits for seniors), Unemployment Insurance (benefits for workers who lost their jobs), Aid to Dependent Children (help for families with children in need). Impact: It marked the beginning of the U.S. welfare state and is still a crucial part of the American safety net today. The Social Security Act helped give people a sense of financial security, especially during hard times like the Great Depression.
        Critics: 
   * Too far! =  Supreme Court, etc. → Yea some people thought FDR went too far with his New Deal programs and efforts, especially from the supreme court. The Supreme Court ruled several key New Deal programs unconstitutional, such as the NRA (National Recovery Administration) and the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act), because they gave the federal government too much power over businesses and states. The Court believed some New Deal measures overstepped the Constitution’s limits. FDR fought back at the resistance with a "court-packing" plan, which would let him appoint additional justices to the Supreme Court (up to 15) if a justice was over 70 and didn’t retire. Yea people didn’t like this and thought he was trying to increase his power and be above the judiciary. The plan was widely criticized and was ultimately rejected by Congress.
   * Not far enough! = Dr. Townsend, Huey Long, etc. → And ofc there were people who thought that FDR didn’t do enough. People like Dr. Francis Townsend and Huey Long wanted some crazy measures. They believed the New Deal wasn’t doing enough to help the poor and the elderly. Twonsend wanted a big pension for the elderly and Long wanted to give everyone free and guaranteed everything. These guys were pretty controversial. Oh yea and long got assassinated so that's awkward. 
1936 Elections → The 1936 Election was a key moment in FDR’S presidency during the Great Depression. Basically it was FDR (rerunning after his first term) and this other guy named Alf Landon-R. I mean there were other guys but no one paid attention to third parties. People liked FDR’s new deal and wanted him back in office. So bro won by a landslide showing that many wanted more New Deal stuff.
Analysis of the New Deal → Analysis of the New Deal: So there were some good and bad apples, wheat and chaff, positive and negative impacts, you know. The food was what the three R’s brought and the bad was that it was sometimes unconstitutional, too radical, not radical enough, and a lot of government power. The New Deal didn’t bring America out of the depression but it really helped out. WW2 eventually helped end the Depression by creating jobs and stimulating the economy. The New Deal changed the relationship between the government and the people, creating social safety nets and establishing the idea that the government should play an active role in the economy. So it was an experiment of government intervention; seeing the ups and downs of government control.

Transcript for:Great Depression and New Deal Overview

Transcript for:
Great Depression and New Deal Overview