Herbert Hoover
-Republican
-In favor of a more independent America and favored a smaller government
-Won the election of 1928(31st president of US)
-Many Americans believed he would keep the US prosperous
-While president, the stock market crashed, leading to the great depression
-Hoover believed the government should not get involved in helping the crisis, and did not believe in relief programs, and thought it was the businesses problems to deal with
-Hoover’s attempts to end the depression, but it kept getting worse and worse under his leadership
FDR
32nd President of the United States
-The President of the United States during the Depression and WWII
-He instituted the New Deal
-Served from 1933 to 1945-he was the only president in U.S. history to be elected to four terms
-Held a bank holiday, which closed all banks and only reopened those that were stable enough to pay people back
-Held fireside chats, talking to America through their radios, talking about their problems
-In the first 100 days of his term, 15 major laws were passed, which helped relieve the depression, these laws made up the New Deal
Keynesian Economics
Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that during economic downturns, the government should increase spending to stimulate the economy. The government should hire more people, buy things, and go into debt if necessary
Court-packing
FDR’s plan to add one new justice for every existing justice over the age of 70, in an attempt to “make the court more efficient.” This was controversial though, because the year prior to the proposal, the Supreme Court ruled many New Deal laws unconstitutional. These new justices would help FDR get more of his proposals passed by the Supreme Court
Marian Anderson
-African American opera singer
-Born and raised in South Philly
-An important figure in the struggle for African American artists to overcome racial prejudice
-The Daughters of the American Revolution did not let her perform at Constitution Hall, but FDR allowed her to preform in front of the Lincoln Memorial
-Her first performance the met was not until she was 57
-First African American soloist to perform in the met
Bonus Army
Following WWI, Congress promised a bonus to the soldiers in 1945
-With the current state of the government, many soldiers were homeless and jobless, so they marched to Washington demanding the bonus now
-The group of 20,000 soldiers camped out in tents for a couple of months
-When the Senate refused to pass the bill, some went home, but many stayed
-Police tried to force them out, but it was unsuccessful, so Hoover ordered the military to clear them out
-Using cavalry, tanks, machine guns, and tear gas, the military moved in and burned the camp to the ground
-Hoover claimed it was a communist revolution and tried to cover up what the army did to the veterans
New Deal
A series of government programs, actions, and laws that worked to prevent the Great Depression
Its main three goals were to relieve the jobless, plan economic recovery, and prevent another depression
Made up of the 15 big laws passed by Congress in the first one hundred days of FDR’s term
Jesse Owens
Black Athlete who competed US in the 1936 Olympics. He stood out because he proved Hitlers idea wrong about white people being the best at every thing. Owens won 4 gold medals
Dust Bowl
-A drought in the 1930s
-Effected most of the Great Plains, making them very dry, and the soil was not very fertile
-Caused by overgrazing, drought, and high winds
-Many farmers were affected by this as they were forced to move to the west, where they were not wanted
Social Security
- This was an act passed by FDR to help fix the problem of elderly poverty
-In the US, everyone who works is taxed, and most of this money would go to the retired. Some of this money goes to assist children, the blind, and the unemployed
-It pays the elderly who are retired, preventing them from living in poverty, and the working people pay taxes to fund this program
-People like this system because they don’t have the burden of paying for more people, and they will get it when they are older.
Fireside Chats
FDR’s radio talks. Many people imagined he was talking to them and sitting with them by the fire. Many families huddled around their radios to listen. Many believed he understood their problems. He held 30 fire side chats as president.
Eleanor Roosevelt
-FDR’s wife, who changed the role of the first lady forever
-She visited many farms and reservations and traveled deep into a coal mines
-She became a spokesperson for Americans throughout by visiting with the average citizen and talking with them
-She spoke out about women’s rights and wanted equal justice for all
-Many Americans admired her
Huey Long
-Powerful Louisiana politician
-Excellent pubic speaker
-Supported FDR during the 1932 election, but turned on him
-Thought that the New Deal was too weak and believed more government needed to be involved
-Proposed program called “Share our Wealth” which taxed the rich and give their money to poor people. He wanted everyone who made 1 million to be taxed 1%, 2 million 2% and so on. he wanted to cap the wealth at 100 million per person.
-Became very popular and wanted to un for president
-got assasinated
Charles Coughlin
-Catholic priest
-Had first nationally syndicated radio shows
-Known as “radio priest”
-Discussed politics more than religion on the radio
-Initially supported FDR, but then turned on him
-In 1932 came up with the phrase “Roosevelt or ruin.”
-Thought the New Deal was too weak (wanted more gov)
-Was anti-semectic and wanted banks to be owned by government
Bank Holiday
- When FDR closed all of the banks in America on his second day in office
-Then, he only allowed the banks with enough funds to reopen
-This made America trust the banks again, and people put their money back into the bank - He called it a “Holiday” because it sounded nicer than all banks are closing down.
Townsend Plan
-A plan proposed by Francis Townsend
-The plan gave old people 200/month (about 3000 today)
- They would have to spend all of it each month
-This couldn’t possibly work
-There was no way they could add up every single receipt and there were no computers
-Would bankrupt the country very fast
Stock Market Crash (Black Tuesday)
In 1929, many investors worried that the economic boom was going to end
-They began to sell their stocks, and with all of the people selling, the prices fell a lot
-At the time, stocks were bought on margin, but since the market crashed, the stockowners could not pay back their brokers
-On Tuesday, October 29th, as soon as the market opened, almost everyone sold their stocks, leaving people with worthless stocks
-THIS DID NOT CAUSE THE DEPRESSION, BUT MADE AMERICA NERVOUS ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY
TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
-It set out to remake the Tennessee River Valley
-This region suffered from floods
-Floods led to poor farm land, so many families were put in relief programs
-TVA built 49 dams, which prevented flooding and produced electricity
-They also deepened river channels for shipping, planted forests, and set up schools and health centers
-Many argued that it took business away from private companies
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
-Hired unemployed men between the ages of 18 to 25
-They planted trees, built bridges, worked on flood control projects, and developed new parks for $1/day
WPA (Works Progress Administration)
Put the jobless to work by making clothes and building hospitals, schools, parks, playgrounds, and airports. They also hired artists, photographers, actors, writers, and composers. Many writers collected info on everyday life and interviewed African Americans
