The Great Depression and World War II Era 8 of United States History in the Tennessee Content Standards begins in 1929 and continues through 1945. The United States had experienced very prosperous times during the 1920’s. Business was booming, people were experiencing a time of fun and change, and many Americans thought these good times would go on forever. The stock market prices kept going higher and higher. People kept investing more and more money into the stock market, many having to borrow money to buy these stocks. Then, in 1929, the prices started to fall. Many people decided to take their money out of the stock market, causing other stockholders to panic and sell their stock. Then, on October 24, 1929, the prosperity of the 1920’s ended with the economic catastrophe of the stock market crash. This crash ended the good times and was the beginning of a long, hard period called the Great Depression. The Great Depression had devastating effects on the country. People lost their jobs, banks failed when large numbers of people tried to withdraw their money, and businesses failed. Poverty and hardship affected many Americans. By 1932, one fourth of Americans were without jobs. Because of this, many people lost their homes and were forced to live in shacks made of wood, tin, and tar paper. These makeshift towns were called “Hoovervilles” after President Herbert Hoover, whom many Americans blamed for the Great Depression. Not only was industry in a slump, but a disaster had developed on the land. For decades farmers on the Great Plains had plowed up the natural grasses in order to plant wheat. The wheat was unable to hold the topsoil down. A terrible drought struck in the Midwest lasting for seven years. Thousands of once thriving farms became barren deserts and the 50 million acres stretching from Texas to North Dakota became
known as the Dust Bowl. Poverty, hunger, and devastation characterized this period of time. In November 1932, the American people voted Herbert Hoover out of office and Franklin D. Roosevelt into the White House. Roosevelt won 42 out of 48 states becoming the thirty-second president of the United States. Roosevelt was a cheerful, likable person who pledged to bring a new deal to the American people. The New Deal became the name for his plan to end the Great Depression. Roosevelt believed that to end this period, the federal government needed to take action. In his inaugural address Roosevelt said, “First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt called on the United States Congress to act quickly. Between March 9 and June 16, 1933, which later was known as “The 100 Days,” Congress approved more new laws than at any other time in our nation’s history. The goal of the New Deal was to get people back to work. The government created programs that provided jobs to the unemployed. One New Deal program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This agency hired young men from the streets and put them to work in forests and national parks. They carved out roads and hiking trails, cleaned up beaches, and cleared camping areas. One of the main jobs was the planting of trees in the Dust Bowl area. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) hired workers to build roads, airports, and public buildings such as schools, libraries, and post offices. The WPA gave jobs to artists and workers as well as manual workers. Artists and writers were hired to record life during the Great Depression in words, paintings, songs, and photographs. In 1933, Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Workers built dams and locks on the Tennessee River in order to provide electrical power
to much of the rural South. These dams and power plants provided a new life to what was once one of the most depressed areas in the nation. Through these New Deal programs Roosevelt was able to bring hope to Americans. Roosevelt was the first president to take advantage of radio’s ability to reach into American homes. Along with the President reaching out to comfort the American people was his wife, Eleanor. She was the most active First Lady the country had ever known. She visited hospitals and schools, talking with adults and children about their problems. In the 1930’s, Japan, Italy, and Germany began taking over countries. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. Italy took over Ethiopia in 1935. In 1938 Germany took over Czechoslovakia and Austria. The United States and other countries did nothing to stop the fighting. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. With this invasion Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, beginning World War II. President Roosevelt had promised to keep the United States out of war, but he wanted the country to be prepared in case it was attacked. Congress created the first peacetime draft and started making tanks, bombers, and other war supplies. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,000 people. Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, and three days later Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. Germany, Japan, and Italy were known as the Axis powers, and the United States, Britain, and Soviet Union were the Allies. With the onset of World War II the United States began to produce more airplanes, tanks, and other war supplies, giving jobs to many people. World War II ended the Great Depression in the United States.
World War II was fought in Africa and Europe and in the Pacific. On June 6, 1944, the Allies worked together in the largest water-to-land invasion in history known as D-Day. On this date American, Canadian, and British troops crossed the English Channel. They landed on the beaches of Normandy in France. The German forces met them with heavy gunfire. Although many soldiers died, the invasion was successful. On May 8, 1945, the Germans surrendered to the Allies marking the end of the war in Europe. This day was called Victory in Europe or V-E Day. President Roosevelt did not live to see the end of the war. He died on April 12, 1945. Vice President Harry S. Truman became president. More than twelve million men, women, and children were killed in the Holocaust, a mass murder against Jews and other people whom Hitler called undesirable. Not until the war was over in Europe did people understand what Hitler and the Nazis had done. The war was being fought simultaneously in the Pacific and in Europe. In the Pacific General Douglas MacArthur began a major invasion to take back the Philippines from the Japanese. President Truman learned that Roosevelt had agreed to the development of the atom bomb. On August 6, 1945, Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 75,000 people. On August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15, 1945, the Japanese surrendered marking V-J Day or Victory in Japan. The beginning of this unit covers the stock market crash and the Great Depression, a very different time period from what America had experienced following the end of World War I. The first lesson will highlight life during this booming economy. Students will learn about the booming economy, consumer goods, buying on credit with
installment payments, and increased technology during this period. By studying this booming time in history and how it related to the biggest bust in the history of the United States, the students will be impressed by a continuing theme of what life was like as a child and for the entire family during this historic period. The second lesson will concentrate on life during the Great Depression. Students will view pictures and read stories and articles from this period of time. Through this lesson students will be able to relate to the way of life during the Depression. Lessons three and four will cover President Roosevelt and the New Deal during this administration. Students will read letters to Mrs. Roosevelt during this time period. They will see what hard times the children lived. Lesson five discusses World War II and the role that children and women played during this time period.