The document provides background information on the economic and social conditions in the United States during the 1920s that ultimately led to the Great Depression. It discusses how postwar economic adjustments, nativism, the Red Scare, labor unrest, and the Sacco and Vanzetti trial created social tensions. It also describes the economic boom of the 1920s fueled by the rise of the automobile industry, mass production, consumer credit, and the stock market. However, it notes the prosperity of the 1920s was built on unstable economic foundations, as farmers struggled, income inequality grew, and many Americans took on too much debt, setting the stage for the economic collapse of the Great Depression.

1. The Roaring 20’s

2. Warm-Up Oct 21
In the Teapot Dome scandal, a government official received
bribes for
A. allowing private interests to lease lands containing U.S.
Navy oil reserves.
B. allowing private interests to drill for oil in a national
park.
C. allowing lumber companies to cut trees in national
forests.
D. promising immunity for businessmen who overcharge
the U.S. Navy

3. Postwar Trends
• World War I left Americans exhausted
- Debate over League of Nations had divides them
• Economy adjusted as cost of living doubled
- Farm & factory orders were down
- Soldiers took jobs from women & minorities
- Farmers & factory workers suffered

4. Postwar Trends
• Many Americans responded
to the stressful conditions
by becoming fearful of
outsiders
- Nativism swept nation -
prejudice against foreign-
born people
- Isolationism became
popular - pulling away from
world affairs

5. Fear of Communism
• 1919 - Vladimir Lenin &
the Bolsheviks set up
Communist state in
Russia
• U.S. Communist Party
formed (70, 000
radicals joined)
- Some Industrial
Workers of the World
join

6. Fear of Communism
• The spread of Communism
was perceived as a threat to
America (The Red Scare)
• Communism - economic,
political system, single-party
government
- ruled by dictator
- no private property

7. Fear of Communism
• Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer took action
- Appointed J. Edgar Hoover as
special assistant
- Palmer and his men hunted
down Communists, socialists,
& anarchists (Palmer Raids)
- Anarchists oppose any form
of government
- Raids trampled civil rights &
failed to find evidence of
conspiracy

8. Sacco and Vanzetti
• Shoemaker & fish peddler who
evaded the draft during WWI
(Anarchists)
• 1920 - Sacco and Vanzetti were
arrested & charged with the
robbery & murder of a factory
paymaster & his guard in South
Braintree Massachusetts
– Prosecutors only had circumstantial
evidence
– They provided alibis
– Judge made prejudicial remarks
throughout the trial

9. Sacco and Vanzetti
• Jury found them guilty &
sentenced them to death
- There were widespread
protests in U.S. & abroad
- 1927 Sacco & Vanzetti were
executed in the electric chair
• 1961- new ballistics test
proved that the pistol found
on Sacco was used to kill the
guard (Couldn’t prove who
actually pulled the trigger)

10. Limiting Immigration
• Anti-Immigrant Attitudes had been growing in
America since the 1880s
– Southern & Eastern European immigrants
• Need for unskilled labor decreased in the U.S. after
WWI
• Nativists believed fewer immigrants were needed
since their were fewer unskilled jobs available,
• Also thought immigrant anarchists and socialists
were Communist

11. The Quota System
• 1919 - 1921, number of immigrants grew almost
600%
• 141,000 to 805,000
• Nativsists pressured Congress to limit immigration
from certain countries (Southern & Eastern Europe)
• The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 set up a Quota
System
- Established the maximum number of people who
could enter the U.S. from each country
- sharply reduced European immigration

12. The Quota System
• 1924 – Amended law
limited European arrivals to
2% of number of its national
living in the U.S. in 1890
- Discriminated against
southern, eastern
Europeans (Didn’t arrive
until after 1890)

13. The Quota System
• Law also prohibited Japanese immigration;
– Caused ill will between U.S. & Japan
– Japan had faithfully kept the Gentlemen’s
agreement to limit emigration to the U.S. that had
been negotiated by Teddy Roosevelt in 1907
• Quota system didn’t apply to Western
Hemisphere
- Many Canadians & Mexicans entered

14. A Time of Labor Unrest
• Government didn’t allow strikes in wartime
- 1919 over 3,000 strikes
• Employers were against raises & unions;
- Labeled strikers as Communists

15. The Boston Police Strike
• Boston police went on strike
over raises & the right to
unionize
- Hadn’t received a raise since
beginning of WWI)
• Mass. Governor Calvin
Coolidge ended Boston police
strike by calling out the National
Guard
- “there is no right to strike
against the public safety by
anybody, anywhere, anytime”
• Replaced strikers with new
policemen

16. The 1920 Election
• Warren G. Harding
elected president
• Wouldn't rock the boat
• Said America needed
normalcy

17. Scandal Hits Harding’s Administration
• Harding appointed the Ohio Gang – His corrupt
friends who caused him embarrassment
- Were unqualified
- They stole money from the government
• Ohio Gang hurt Harding's presidency

18. The Teapot Dome Scandal
• Government had set aside oil-
rich public at Teapot Dome
Wyoming & Elk Hills California
for use by the U.S. Navy
• Teapot Dome scandal—Albert B.
Fall leased private naval oil
reserves for personal gain
- He received over $ 400,000 in
loans, bonds, & cash

19. The Teapot Dome Scandal
• Fall became the is first
person to be convicted
of a felony while
holding a cabinet post
- Fined $100,000 &
spent a year in prison

20. The Teapot Dome Scandal
• Harding tried to help his
image by going on a speaking
tour in the west
- Had heart attack & Died on
August 2, 1923
• VP Calvin Coolidge assumed
presidency
- Restores faith in
government
• 1924 – Coolidge was elected
president

21. Harding Struggles for Peace
• 1928 – Fifteen countries
signed the Kellogg-
Briand Pact
- Nations denounced
war as national policy
- Pact was ineffective
since it didn’t provide
for means of
enforcement

22. High Tariffs and Reparations
• Dawes Plan - U.S. investors
lent reparations money to
Germany
- Britain, France repaid U.S.
• Dawes Plan caused
resentment on all sides
- Britain & France didn’t
think the U.S. paid its fair
share for WWI
- U.S. thought Britain &
France were financially
irresponsible

23. The Impact of the Automobile
• Henry Ford made cars
affordable
- Used assembly line
• 1908 - Model T hit the
market (cost $825)
• By 1920's - Model T
came off the line every
10 seconds

24. The Impact of the Automobile
• Cars changed life -
paved roads, gas
stations, motels,
shopping centers
• Route 66 from
Chicago to California

25. The Impact of the Automobile
• Enabled workers to live farther from
jobs
- Led to urban sprawl (spread of
cities)
• Auto industry became economic base
for some cities
• Boosted oil industry
• Late 1920s - 1 car for every 5
Americans
• 1927 – The Model A replaced the
Model T
• Enabled customers to order a variety
of colors
• Traveled faster & smoother

26. The Young Airplane Industry
• Airplane industry started as
mail service for U.S. Post
Office
• Weather forecasting began
- Planes carried radios&
navigation tools
• 1926 – Henry Ford built
trimotor plane

27. The Young Airplane Industry
• Charles Lindbergh & Amelia
Earhart flights helped
promote airlines
- 1927 - Charles Lindbergh
became the 1st person to
fly nonstop across the
Atlantic
- 1928 - Amelia Earhart
became 1st women to fly
nonstop across the Atlantic

28. Electrical Conveniences
• Prosperity was a result of
cheap power
• 1920's - electricity and
petroleum become widely
available
• Widespread electricity
made possible by Samuel
Insull
- He formed GE Company
with Thomas Edison

29. America’s Standard of Living Soars
• 1920s were prosperous
times for America
• 1920 to 1929 – Average
annual income rose over
35%, from $522 to $705
• People tired of sacrificing
• Ready to spend money
• New inventions
- Refrigerator
- Vacuum cleaner
- Electric stove
- Wrist watch

30. Buying Goods on Credit
• Businesses began provided easy credit to lure customers
- “a dollar down and a dollar forever”
• Installment plan - pay for goods over extended period with
interest
• Banks provided money at low interest rates
• Some economists & business owners thought installment
buying was becoming excessive
- Thought it was a sign of fundamental weakness behind
superficial prosperity
• Most focused their attention on the present & didn’t worry
about the future
- Thought prosperity would last forever

31. Fundamentalism

32. Warm-up Oct 30
Charles A. Lindbergh piloted The Spirit of St. Louis from New
York to Paris in the first successful solo flight across the Atlantic
Ocean. What was the greatest immediate impact of Lindbergh’s
accomplishment?
A. It made air travel safe and inexpensive.
B. It helped to improve diplomatic relations with
France.
C. It sparked public interest and boosted the aviation
industry.
D. It encouraged American travel abroad and an
appreciation for European culture.

33. The Prohibition Experiment
• 1920 - 18th Amendment
launched Prohibition Era
– supported by religious groups
in rural South & West
– Said alcohol made workers
inefficient & increased
violence
• Prohibition -production, sale,
transportation of alcohol illegal
• Government didn’t budget
enough money to enforce the law
• People found ways to get around
prohibition

34. The Prohibition Experiment
• Speakeasies (hidden saloons,
nightclubs) become
fashionable
• People built their own stills to
distill liquor (Bathtub Gin)
– Prescriptions for alcohol &
sacramental wine skyrocketed
(legal)
• Bootleggers -
smuggled alcohol from
surrounding countries

35. Organized Crime
• Prohibition contributed to
organized crime in major
cities
– Wanted to make money off
illegal liquor
• Underground gangs battled
for control of the booze
racket
• 1923 – Al Capone emerged as
leader of organized crime
• Controlled Chicago liquor
business by killing
competitors
• By mid-1920s - only 19% of
population supported
Prohibition
• 1933 – 21st Amendment
repealed18th Amendment

36. Science and Religion Clash
• Fundamentalism –
movement based on literal
interpretation of Bible
• Fundamentalists skeptical of
some scientific discoveries &
theories
- Rejected theory of evolution
• Believed all important
knowledge could be found in
Bible

37. The Scopes Trial
 1925 - Tennessee
passed law making it a
crime to teach evolution
 American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) backed
John T. Scopes
challenge of law
 Clarence Darrow
defended Scopes
- Most famous trial
lawyer of day, defends
Scopes

38. The Scopes Trial
• Fundamentalist William
Jennings Bryan served as
special prosecutor
• Scopes trial - debated
evolution, role of science, &
religion in public schools &
American society
- Trial was a national sensation
- Thousands attended

39. The Scopes Trial
• Darrow called Bryan as an
expert witness on the bible
• Bryan admitted the Bible
was open to interpretation
• Scopes still found guilty &
fined $100
• Tennessee Supreme court
later changed verdict on
technicality
• Law outlawing the teaching
of evolution remained in
effect

40. Young Women Change the Rules
• Flapper - emancipated
young woman, adopts new
fashions & attitudes
– Wore short bright colored
dresses (1inch above the
knees)
– Skinned tone stockings
– Cut their hair in boyish bobs
& dyed it jet black
– Went to events without
chaperones

41. Radio Comes of Age
• Radio was most powerful
communications medium of
1920s
• Networks provided shared
national experience
- Enabled people to hear the
news as it happened
• The radio was mass produced
into most of the homes in
America and this connected the
nation like never before,
making information readily
available from coast to coast.

42. America Chases New Heroes and Old
Dreams
• 1920s - Many people
had extra money &
leisure time to enjoy it
• Crowds attended
sporting events
• Athletes were glorified
by mass media

43. America Chases New Heroes and Old
Dreams
– Babe Ruth
– Andrew Rube Foster –
Founded the Negro
National League
– Gertrude Ederle – 1st
women to swim the
English Channel
– Helen Wills – Pro tennis
star

44. Entertainment and the Arts
 Silent movies were already a
national pastime
 1927 – The Jazz Singer was
released
- 1st major movie with sound
 1928 – Walt Disney’s
Steamboat Willie was
released
- 1st animated movie with
sound
 Introduction of sound led
millions to attend every
week “talkies”

45. African-American Goals
• 1900 - National Association
for the Advancement of
Colored People founded
(NAACP)
- Protested racial violence
- W.E.B. Du Bois led parade
of 10,000 men in New York
to protest violence

46. Marcus Garvey and the UNIA
• 1914 - Marcus Garvey founded
Universal Negro Improvement
Association (UNIA)
- believed African Americans
should build separate society
• Garvey promoted black pride,
black businesses, & a back to
Africa movement
• Encouraged his followers to
return to Africa & & help the
native people throw off the
white colonial oppressors

47. The Harlem Renaissance Flowers in New
York
• Many African Americans
migrated to Harlem
- Neighborhood on the Upper
West Side of New York’s
Manhattan Island
• 1920s – Harlem became world’s
largest black urban area
- People from U.S. & Caribbean
• Harlem Renaissance - A
literary & artistic movement
celebrating African-American
culture
- Expressed pride in African-
American experience

48. The Harlem Renaissance Flowers in New
York
• Claude McKay’s poems urged
blacks to resist prejudice &
discrimination
- Also expressed the pain of living
of life in the ghettos & the strain
of being black in a world
dominated by whites
• Langston Hughes’s poems
described difficult lives of
working class
- Many written in jazz, blues
tempo
• Zora Neale Hurston showed
folkways, values of poor,
Southern blacks

49. African Americans and Jazz
• Jazz born in early 20th century New
Orleans
• Spread across U.S.
• Became the most popular form of
music for dancing
• Trumpeter Louis Armstrong made
personal expression key part of jazz
- Most influential musician in jazz
history
• Tin Pan Alley is the name given to
the collection of NYC music
publishers and who dominated the
popular music of the United States
during the Harlem Renaissance

50. The Great Depression

51. Warm-Up
April 1
October 29, 1929, the day when stock prices
took the steepest dive of that time, is known as
A. Black Thursday
B. Black Tuesday
C. Bloody Monday
D. Panic Tuesday

52. Causes of the Great Depression
• Factors leading to Great Depression:
• Declining Trade - Tariffs & war debts cut down the
foreign markets for American goods
• Farm problems - Many farmers were forced to sell
• Easy credit – Borrowed money to invest in market
• Income disparity – rich get richer poor get poorer
• Federal government kept interest rates low &
encouraged borrowing

53. Farm Troubles
• International demand for U.S. grain declined after war
- prices dropped by 40% or more
• Farmers boosted production to sell more
- Caused prices to drop further
• Farm income declined & farmers defaulted on loans
• Rural banks failed
• Congress attempted to pass the McNary- Haugen bill to
help farmers
- Price-supports - government bought surplus crops at
guarantees prices
- President Coolidge vetoed price-support bill

54. Consumers Problems
• 1920s - rich got richer & poor got poorer
• Prices rose faster that wages
• 70% of families earned less than minimum for decent
standard of living
- $2500 annually
• Most couldn’t afford flood of products factories produce
• Many people had been purchasing goods on credit (buy now,
pay later)
• Businesses gave easy credit & consumers piled up large debts
• Consumers had trouble paying off debt & cut back on
spending

55. Dreams of Riches in the Stock Market
• Late 1920s – Some economist warning of
weaknesses in the economy
- Most Americans ignored them
• People began investing in stock market
- Looked like an easy way to make money
• Dow Jones Industrial Average was used as
barometer of the market’s health
- Measure based on the stock of 30 representative
large firms trading on the New York Stock exchange
tracks state of stock market

56. 3M MMM Conglomerate 1976-08-09
Alcoa AA Aluminum 1959-06-01
American Express AXP Consumer finance 1982-08-30
AT&T T Telecommunication 1999-11-01
Bank of America BAC Banking 2008-02-19
Boeing BA Aerospace and defense 1987-03-12
Caterpillar CAT Construction and mining equipment 1991-05-06
Chevron Corporation CVX Oil & gas 2008-02-19
Cisco Systems CSCO Computer networking 2009-06-08
Coca-Cola KO Beverages 1987-03-12
DuPont DD Chemical industry 1935-11-20
ExxonMobil XOM Oil & gas 1928-10-01
General Electric GE Conglomerate 1907-11-07
Hewlett-Packard HPQ Technology 1997-03-17
The Home Depot HD Home improvement retailer 1999-11-01
Intel INTC Semiconductors 1999-11-01
IBM IBM Computers and technology 1979-06-29
Johnson & Johnson JNJ Pharmaceuticals 1997-03-17
JPMorgan Chase JPM Banking 1991-05-06
UnitedHealth Group UNH Managed health care 2012-09-24
McDonald's MCD Fast food 1985-10-30
Merck MRK Pharmaceuticals 1979-06-29
Microsoft MSFT Software 1999-11-01
Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals 2004-04-08
Procter & Gamble PG Consumer goods 1932-05-26
Travelers TRV Insurance 2009-06-08
United Technologies Corporation UTX Conglomerate 1939-03-14
Verizon VZ Telecommunication 2004-04-08
Wal-Mart WMT Retail 1997-03-17
Walt Disney DIS Broadcasting and entertainment 1991-05-06

57. Dreams of Riches in the Stock Market
• 1920s - stock prices rose
steadily “Bull Market”
• People rushed to buy stocks
& bonds to make a quick
profit
- Many engaged in
speculation - buy on
chance of a quick profit
- Began Buying on margin -
pay small percent of price,
borrow rest

58. The Stock Market Crashes
• September 1929 stock
prices peaked & then
fell
• Many investors lost
confidence & began
selling
• October 24, 1929 -
Market took plunge &
many panicked
investors unloaded their
shares

59. The Stock Market Crashes
• October 29, 1929 - Stock
market crashed (Black
Tuesday)
- Shareholders sold
frantically
- Millions of shares had no
buyers
- People who bought on
credit were left with huge
debts
- Others lose most of their
savings

60. Financial Collapse
• Great Depression - economy plummeted &
unemployment skyrocketed
- lasted from 1929–1940
• After crash, people panicked & withdraw money from
banks
• Banks that invested in stocks failed& people lost their
money
• 1929 to1932 - gross national product was cut nearly in
half
- 90,000 businesses went bankrupt
• 1933 - 25% of workers were unemployed
• Those with jobs received cuts in hours & pay

62. Warm-Up
Nov. 4
Beginning in 1932, American pastures and
wheat fields from the Dakotas to Texas
became a vast
A. Bread Basket
B. Mud Basin
C. Dust Bowl
D. Prairie

63. The Depression Devastates People’s Lives
• People lost jobs & were
evicted from homes
• Had to live in parks or
sewer pipes
• Shantytowns -
settlements consisting
of shacks, arose in cities

64. The Depression Devastates People’s Lives
• People dug through garbage &
begged
- Soup kitchens offered free or
low-cost food
- Bread lines - people lined up
for food from charities & public
agencies
• African Americans & Latinos
had higher unemployment &
lower pay
• Minorities were also targets of
violence (Lynching or
deportation)

65. The Depression in Rural Areas
• Most farmers could
grow food for their
families
• About 400,000 farms
were lost through
foreclosure
- Many became tenant
farmers

66. The Dust Bowl
• Farmers in Great Plains
exhausted land through
overproduction
• 1930s - drought &
windstorms scattered
for hundreds of miles
• Dust Bowl - area from
North Dakota to Texas
that was hardest hit by
drought, caused by
overproduction

71. The Dust Bowl
• Many farm families
migrated to Pacific
Coast states (Route 66)
- California towns
became overcrowded
- Many people who
moved west were from
Oklahoma (Okies)

72. Women Struggle to Survive
• Early 1930s – Some
cities refused to hire
married schoolteachers
• Many women suffered
in silence & were
ashamed to stand in
bread lines

73. Hoover Tries to Reassure the Nation
• President Herbert Hoover
told Americans the
economy was sound
• Many experts believed
depressions were normal
part of business cycle
- Believed that it was best
to do nothing & let the
economy fox itself
• Hoover believed
government should foster
cooperation between
competing groups

74. Hoover Takes Cautious Steps
• Hoover’s authorized the
construction of the
Boulder Dam on the
Colorado River
- later renamed Hoover
Dam
- Provided electricity,
flood control, water to
states on river basin

75. Democrats Win in 1930 Congressional
Elections
• People began blaming Hoover &
Republicans for the economic problems
• Democrats won House of
Representatives
• Republican Senate majority down to 1
vote
• People Grew frustrated with the
Depression

76. Democrats Win in 1930 Congressional
Elections
• Farmers tried to create
food shortages to raise
prices
– Burned fields rather than
sell crops at a loss
– Some declared a farm
holiday
• People began calling
shantytowns
“Hoovervilles”

77. Hoover Takes Action
• Hoover softened his stance on
no government intervention in
the economy
• Hoover negotiates agreements
among private entities
• Backs Federal Farm Board -
buy crops, keep off market until
prices rise

78. Hoover Takes Action
• Got large banks to establish National Credit
Corporation
- Loaned money to smaller banks to prevent
bankruptcy
• Late 1931 - Hoover persuaded Congress to pass
measures reform banking, provide mortgage relief, &
funnel federal money into business investment
- Federal Home Loan Bank Act lowered mortgage
rates

79. Hoover Takes Action
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation –
Authorized emergency funds for businesses
- Hoover believed that the money would tickle
down to average citizens through job growth
& higher wages
- Critics said people couldn’t wait for the
money to trickle down
• Hoover’s measures didn’t improve economy
before presidential election

80. Gassing the Bonus Army
• Bonus Army – WWI
veterans went to
D.C. in 1932 to
support Patman Bill:
- called for
immediate payment
of bonus to WWI
vets ($500 per
soldier)

82. Election of 1932
• Democrats nominated
NY governor Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
- reform-minded;
• projected friendliness &
confidence
• Democrats
overwhelmingly won
presidency, Senate, &
House

84. Election of 1932
• Roosevelt had to wait 4 months to
take over
• 20th Amendment wasn’t rarified
until 1933 (Move inauguration to
January)
• FDR worked with advisors known as
“Brain Trust,” to formulate policies
to alleviate problems
• New Deal – FDR’s program to
alleviate the problems of the Great
Depression focused on 3 Rs
– Relief for needy
– Economic recovery
– Financial reform

85. The Hundred Days
• March 9 to June 16,
1933 - FDR took office
& launched Hundred
Days
• 1st Hundred Days -
Congress passed over
15 major New Deal laws
that expanded the
federal government’s
role in the nation’s
economy

86. Bank Holiday
• March 5, 1933 – one day after taking office FDR
declared a bank holiday & closed all banks to prevent
further withdrawals
• Emergency Banking Relief Act - Permitted Treasury
Dept. to inspect banks
– Sound banks were allowed to reopen
– Banks that needed help received loans
– Insolvent ones remained closed (unable to pay bills)
• Bank Holiday
– Believed that the banks remained open were in good
shape
– revived public confidence in banks

87. An Important Fireside Chat
• FDR gave fireside chats
– radio talks explaining
New Deal measures
• March 12, 1933 – FDR
gave 1st fireside chat the
day before the banks
reopened after holiday
• - Discussed need for
public support of
government, banks

88. Regulating Banking and Finance
• Congress took another step
to reorganize the banking
system
• Glass-Steagall Act -
Established Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation
(FDIC)
– insured individual bank
accounts up to $5000
– Regulates banking practices (
forced them to act cautiously
with money)

89. Regulating Banking and Finance
• Federal Securities Act – Required companies
must give all information on stocks
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
created to regulate stock market
• FDR got law allowing production of some
alcoholic beverages
• 21st Amendment repealed prohibition by end
of 1933

91. Warm-Up
Nov. 5
What was the period called between March 9
and June 16, 1933, when Congress passed 15
major acts to meet the economic crisis?
A. the First New Deal
B. the New Nationalism
C. the New Freedom
D. the First Hundred Days

92. Helping the American People
• Roosevelt administration
implemented programs
aimed at helping farmers &
other workers to stimulate
economy
• Agricultural Adjustment Act
(AAA) raised food prices by
lowering supply
– Government paid farmers not
to plant crops

93. Helping the American People
• Tennessee Valley
Authority - Created
jobs renovating &
building dams
– Also provided flood
control & hydroelectric
power to region

94. Helping the American People
• Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) - public
works jobs for young
men 18 to 25
- Built road, planted
trees & helped in soils
erosion & flood control
projects
- Men sent $25 out of
$30 home to family
each month

95. NIRA
• National Industrial
Recovery Act -
established codes of fair
practice for industries
• Created National
Recovery
Administration (NRA)
– NRA sets standards,
prices, limits production

96. NIRA
• 1933 - Public Works
Administration (PWA)
– It provided money to
states to create jobs
chiefly in the
construction of schools
& other community
buildings

97. Food, Clothing, and Shelter
• Home Owners Loan
Corporation gave loans
to prevent foreclosures
• Federal Housing
Administration gives
loans for mortgages &
repairs (FHA)

98. Food, Clothing, and Shelter
• Federal Emergency
Relief Administration -
direct relief to needy

99. The New Deal Comes Under Attack
• Deficit spending - spending more money than
government takes in
- funded New Deal
• Opposition rose when the New Deal didn’t
stop the Depression
• Liberals didn’t think New Deal did enough to
help poor, & fix economy
• Conservatives believed Roosevelt used the
New Deal to control business & socialize
economy

100. The Supreme Court Reacts
• Supreme Court struck down NIRA & AAA as
unconstitutional
• FDR proposed “Court-packing bill”
– Change the Supreme Court from 9 to 15 justices
– Would enable FDR to appoint 6 new justices
• Congress & press protested
• Starting in 1937 - justices retire & FDR
appointed seven new ones

101. Huey Long Attacked the New Deal
• Huey Long – attacked FDR’s New
Deal policies
• Governor of Louisiana "King Fish"
• Built schools and hospitals
• Ruled Louisiana like a dictator
• Wanted to be president
• Decided to challenge FDR
• Offered new deal "Share our
wealth"
- Called for every family to get
yearly income money to buy food
and housing
- Taxed the rich heavily
• Made enemies in his attempt to
become president
- Shot and killed in 1935

102. The Second Hundred Days
• By 1935, economic recovery not as great as
FDR had expected
– Unemployment remained high
– Work programs & productions still behind 1920s
levels
• FDR launched second phase
• Provided more relief for farmers, workers

103. The Second Hundred Days
• First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt a social
reformer prodded
president
– She traveled the country
observing the social
conditions & reminding
FDR about the suffering
– She also pushed for him
to appoint women to
government positions

104. Election of 1936
• 1936 - Democrats won
presidency & large
majorities in both houses
• First time most African
Americans voted
Democratic
• First time labor unions
supported presidential
candidate
• Election was a vote of
confidence in FDR & the
New Deal

105. Helping Farmers
• 1936 - Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment
Act replaced AAA
- Rewarded farmers for practicing soil conservation
• New Agricultural Adjustment Act avoided
unconstitutional provision
• Resettlement Administration gave loans to small
farmers to buy land
• Farm Security Administration - loaned to tenant
farmers to buy land
- FSA hires photographers to shoot pictures of rural
towns & farms

106. Roosevelt Extends Relief
• 2nd New Deal established a series
of programs to help youths,
professionals & other workers
• Works Progress Administration
(WPA) created many jobs for
unskilled workers
- WPA workers built airports, roads,
public buildings
- Women workers sewed clothes
for the needy
- WPA employed professional
writers, artists, performers
- Gave aid to students in exchange
for part-time work

107. Roosevelt Extends Relief
• National Youth
Administration (NYA) -
provided education,
jobs, counseling &
recreation to young
people

108. Improving Labor and Other Reforms
• Wagner Act - replaced NIRA
- Protected right to join unions & collective
bargaining
- Prohibited unfair labor practices (threatening
workers or firing union members)
- Established National Labor Relations Board that
heard testimony about labor practices
- Held elections to determine if workers wanted
unions
• 1938 - Fair Labor Standards Act sets maximum hours
& minimum wage
- 44 hrs per week decreasing to 40 in two years & 25
cents per hr.

109. Social Security Act
• 1935 - Social Security
Act created Social
Security system
– Provided insurance for
retirees 65 or older
– Unemployment
compensation
– Aid to disabled &
families with children

110. Expanding and Regulating Utilities
• Rural Electrification
Administration (REA)
brought electricity to
farms and rural areas
- Rose from 12.6 % in
1935 to 48% in 1945 to
90% in 1949
• Public Utility Holding
Company Act aims to
stop financial
corruption

111. The New Deal Brings New Opportunities
for Women
• Several women were named to important government
positions
• Frances Perkins became first female cabinet member
(Secretary of Labor)
- FDR also appointed 2 women as diplomats & 1 as a
federal judge
• Women still faced discrimination in workplace from male
workers
• National Recovery Administration (NRA) set some lower
minimum wages for women
• Federal work programs hired far fewer women than men

112. African-American Activism
• FDR appointed more than
100 African Americans to
government
• Educator Mary McLeod
Bethune headed Division
of Negro Affairs of NYA
• Helped organize “Black
Cabinet”
– Group of influential African-
American who advised FDR
on racial issues

113. The President Fails to Support Civil Rights
• FDR was afraid of upsetting white Southern
Democratic voters
• Refused to approve antilynching law & end to poll tax
• New Deal agencies discriminated against African
Americans
- pay them lower wages & favored whites
• African- Americans generally supported Roosevelt
administration & New Deal
- Saw them as the best hope for the future

114. The Lure of Motion Pictures and Radio
• About 65% of
population went to
movies once a week
- Movies were still
affordable
- People watched them
to escape real life
- Grapes of Wrath
- Gone With the Wind
- The Wizard of OZ

115. The Lure of Motion Pictures and Radio
• 90% of households had a radio
• Families listened together every
day
• Dramas, variety shows played in
evening
- Soap operas for homemakers
broadcast in middle of day
- Children’s shows after school
hours
- Immediate news coverage
became customary

116. The Arts in Depression America
• Federal Art Project paid
artists to make art, & teach
in schools
• Aim to promote art
appreciation & positive
image of America
• Murals typically portrayed
dignity of ordinary people
at work
• Federal Theater Project
hired actors & artists
• Singer, songwriter Woody
Guthrie sung songs about
the of plight of poor

117. Diverse Writers Depict American Life
• Federal Writers’ Project
supported many who
become major writers
• Richard Wright - African-
American author who wrote
Native Son
• John Steinbeck wrote The
Grapes of Wrath about
Dust Bowl migrants

118. The New Deal Ends
• By 1937, economic improvement convinced
many that Depression was ending
• Congress wanted to cut back programs
• By 1939 - New Deal was over

119. Supporters and Critics of the New Deal
• Supporters Believed the New Deal helped
country recover from economic difficulties
• Conservatives though FDR made federal
government too large
- stifled free enterprise & individual initiative
• Liberals thought New Deal didn’t do enough
to socialize economy end inequalities

120. Effects of the New Deal
• Expanded power of federal government & president
• Social Security Act - Federal government takes responsibility
for citizens’ welfare
- Provided aid for aged, disabled & needy
• FDIC - still protects individual investors in case of bank failure
• SEC - still monitors stock market, enforces laws on stock, bond
sales
• New Deal - laws set standards for wages & hours
- banned child labor
- Permitted unions
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC ) - planted trees, built hiking
trails, & fire lookout towers

121. Effects of the New Deal
• Soil Conservation Service taught farmers how to preserve soil
- Contour plowing, terraces, & crop rotation
• 1934 - Taylor Grazing Act reduced grazing on public lands
- Grazing had contributed to erosion that caused the dust
bowl
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created electricity, &
prevented floods
• New Deal reduced suffering & gave people hope
- Provided jobs, food & money
• New Deal didn't end depression WWII did