Chapter+26+Reading+Objectives+and+Notes

= Reading Objectives = After mastering this chapter, you should be able to: = = = Chapter Summary = After a great rise in the stock market, the 1929 crash brought about an economic depression, which had to be dealt with first by Hoover, and then, more successfully, by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. //**The Great Depression**// The economy of the United States collapsed after 1929, creating the single worst panic and era of unemployment in the nation's history. The consumer revolution of the 1920s relied on increased productivity and prosperity, but after 1924, productivity began to outpace consumption, causing a slight recession in 1927. Corporate and government leaders failed to heed this warning sign, however, and from 1927 to 1929, the stock market experienced a sharp increase known as the great bull market. Based on easy credit, inflated currency, and margin loans, the strength of the stock market obscured the economic problems looming on the horizon. The bubble burst in the fall of 1929 in the great stock market crash. The crash soon spilled over into the larger economy—banks and businesses failed, workers lost their jobs, and consumers came up short. This was the start of a decade of terrible economic conditions, and few escaped its material or psychological impact. Ironically, the poor survived because they had experience with existing in poverty while the middle class took what was perhaps the hardest hit. Eventually, the Great Depression became the worst economic downturn in the nation's history. //**Fighting the Depression**// Ending the depression became the most important political issue of the 1930s, as first a Republican president and then a Democrat tried to achieve economic recovery. Though they failed solve the nation’s economic problems, the Democrats did succeed in renewing Americans’ hope for the future and alleviating some individual suffering. Hoover at first emphasized voluntary solutions to the economic ills of the nation, using government only minimally. As the depression deepened, he began getting the government more and more involved in the economy, but his efforts failed to stop the deterioration. In 1932 the voters elected Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, the former governor of the New York who promised a “new deal” for the country, to the presidency in a landslide. With a clear understanding of the responsibilities of political leadership, Roosevelt called Congress into special session in order to solve the banking crisis. After this success, he proceeded to pass several significant reforms in the first three months of his initial term. Though some of his programs were somewhat radical, the tone of Roosevelt’s New Deal was reform and restore, not drastic change. Roosevelt pushed several acts through Congress, attempting to instigate industrial and agricultural recovery. The National Recovery Administration was meant to foster cooperation between government, business, and labor as a means of achieving economic progress while the Agricultural Adjustment Administration was an effort to subsidize farmers back into prosperity. Roosevelt also took steps to provide immediate relief for the millions of Americans that were unemployed and poverty-stricken. Both the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration implemented new work relief programs intended to spur the economy while also keeping people from starving and restoring their self-respect. These projects also provided needed labor for new schools, parks, and other public projects. After pressure developed for more fundamental reform, Roosevelt responded by suggesting permanent changes in the economic arrangements and institutions of the United States. Several liberal critics, including most notably Father Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend and Huey Long, complained that the New Deal was not solving the problems of the still-ailing economy. They suggested that more radical reforms were in order. In response to this criticism from the left, Roosevelt secured passage of the Social Security Act, which provided modest pensions, unemployment insurance, and financial assistance to the handicapped, needy elderly, and dependent children. The Social Security Act was a landmark piece of legislation for FDR, creating a system to provide for the welfare of individuals in the new industrial society. The president also supported legislation, the Wagner Act, guaranteeing the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively with employers. He also endorsed the Fair Labor Standards Act, a law that provided for maximum hours and a minimum wage. This act was aimed at unorganized workers who did not benefit from the efforts of the unions. //**Impact of the New Deal**// Roosevelt’s New Deal program, succeeded in improving some, if not all, elements of American society, but did not initiate radical change. In short, the New Deal was a modest success but not an overwhelming victory. The most important advances came for organized labor while women and minorities in nonunionized industries were largely neglected. The New Deal resulted in a dramatic increase in union membership, especially among the unskilled laborers who worked in the nation’s steel and automobile industries. Miners and workers in other mass production factories also became more unionized as a result of the New Deal. Workers in the service industries still remained largely unorganized. With only a few exceptions, the New Deal did not address the problems of the nation’s minorities. While some New Deal programs helped African Americans and other minorities survive the depression, they did little to address racial injustice and discrimination. Indeed, some New Deal programs actively discriminated against non-White Americans. Native Americans, long neglected by the federal government, fared better than they had in many years with the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act that emphasized tribal unity and authority. For most women the Depression caused a worsening of their position in the economy. Their wages were lower if they did work, and more than 20 percent were unemployed throughout the decade. The one arena in which women did make advances was the government as women were employed in any number of New Deal agencies. //**End of the New Deal**// After five years of significant success, Roosevelt could no longer secure the passage of new reforms and his New Deal came to an end. Despite the end of the New Deal, Roosevelt was extremely popular and had revived American optimism despite the continuation of the Depression. Roosevelt and his party won a landslide victory in the elections of 1936 against forces from both the right and the left. The Democratic victory also marked the solidification of a new political coalition that included the poor, the urban, the laborers, and religious and ethnic minorities that would dominate American politics for decades to come. Roosevelt’s effort to reorganize the Supreme Court so that it would act more favorably on his New Deal programs failed in Congress and weakened the president’s position with Congress. Senators and Representatives that had reluctantly supported FDR’s programs before now felt free to oppose them. A recession in 1937 that dissolved the slow but steady improvement in the economy under Roosevelt’s New Deal along with the unsuccessful “Purge of ’38” revived the Republican party and strengthened opposition to Roosevelt’s programs in Congress. //**Conclusion: The New Deal and American Life**// The New Deal did not cure the problems of the Depression, nor did it radicalize the nation’s economy. And while its benefits were not distributed evenly among the American populace, the New Deal did ease many Americans’ suffering while at the same time relieving the psychological impact of the depression on the public. The New Deal also made some permanent reforms in the American system and left the Democratic party as the majority party for decades to come.
 * 1) Explain the causes of the "great bull market" and the stock market crash.
 * 2) Describe the material and psychological effects of the Great Depression.
 * 3) Discuss President Hoover's attempts to end the Depression.
 * 4) Analyze the New Deal legislation passed in the "Hundred Days."
 * 5) Differentiate between Roosevelt's programs for relief and recovery.
 * 6) List and evaluate New Deal reforms.
 * 7) Compare and contrast the programs of the various critics of the New Deal.
 * 8) Show how the New Deal affected labor, women, and minorities.
 * 9) Narrate the events and explain the significance of Roosevelt's attempt to "pack the court."
 * 10) Discuss the factors that ended the New Deal.
 * The Great Crash**
 * Effect of the Depression**
 * Hoover and Voluntarism**
 * The Emergence of Roosevelt**
 * The Hundred Days**
 * Roosevelt and Recovery**
 * Roosevelt and Relief**
 * Roosevelt and Reform**
 * Challenges to FDR**
 * Social Security**
 * Labor Legislation**
 * The Rise of Organized Labor**
 * The New Deal Record on Help to Minorities**
 * Women at Work**
 * The Election of 1936**
 * The Supreme Court Fight**
 * The New Deal in Decline**