Lecture Outline— The Great Depression and the New Deal
Black Thursday—The Crash on Wall Street Causes of the Collapse: o The Consumer Goods Revolution of the 20s o Overproduction, market saturation, and the relative decline of worker‟s wages o Buying on credit o Speculation in the Stock market by businesses, banks and individuals Effects of the Crash o Bankrupcy, businesses collapse, home and farm foreclosures o Drop in the Gross National Product o Massive Unemployment—one in four persons Hoover‟s Response o Hoover‟s initial Resistance to direct relief, emphasis on “Voluntary Cooperation” o The Depression deepens—Hoover initiates cautious government intervention and aid; The Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Home Loan Bank Act The Federal Farm Board The Emergency Relief and Construction Act o The Bonus March o Hoover takes the blame for the Great Depression Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the 1932 Election o Roosevelt‟s background—from a wealthy patrician family o Roosevelt‟s political skills o The Democratic Landslide in the 1932 Presidential Election Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Depression Franklin‟s Three R‟s—Relief, Recovery, Reform The Hundred Days—Roosevelt in action; o Roosevelt tackles Money and Banking: The Emergency Banking Relief Act Fireside Chats The Glass-Steagall Banking Act—creation of the FDIC The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) o Roosevelt and Unemployment The Civilian Conservation Corps The Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) The Agricultural Adjustment Act The Tennessee Valley Authority o Roosevelt‟s „helping hand‟ to Industry and Labor The National Industrial Recovery Act Business opposition to government interference and Roosevelt‟s idea of „self regulation‟ Public Works Administration and the Civil Works Administration Roosevelt Under Attack—the rise of the Demagogues
o Fr. Charles Coughlin—anti-socialism, anti-Semitism and an appeal to urban workers o Dr. Francis Townsend—support from the elderly o Senator Huey Long—“Share Our Wealth” plan Roosevelt Moves Left—the “Second New Deal” o The National Labor Relation‟s Act (Wagner Act) o The Works Progress Administration o The Social Security Act o The Wealth Tax Act Roosevelt‟s Re-election in 1936 Roosevelt‟s battle with the Supreme Court o Supreme Court opposition to several New Deal programs o Roosevelt‟s Court packing scheme o Intense opposition to Roosevelt‟s plan from both parties o Roosevelt‟s victory in the Supreme Court despite his plan‟s failure The Roosevelt Recession and the End of the New Deal o Roosevelt cuts back programs and initiates a recession in 1937 o Democrat losses in Congress in the 1938 elections o International developments—Europe moves toward War o The New Deal comes to an end The Significance of the New Deal