Economic downturn and recovery Flashcards
(19 cards)
what caused wall street crash (simplified)?
Share prices crashed causing collapse of stock market
what did the wall street crash lead to?
The great depression
Unemployment during great depression?
-Factories, banks, and businesses collapsed
-1929 1.5m unemployed
-1930 5m
-1931 9m
-1932 13m
Family problems during great depression?
-many forced to rely on charity and handouts due to lack of social security
-many unable to pay rent and forced to live in shanty towns called hoovervilles
-sharp rise in suicides, fall in marriages and fall in birth rate
city life due to great depression
1933 1/3 of workforce unemployed, many unable to pay rent and forced to live in hoovervilles
countryside problems during great depression
-many farmers unable to sell produce and became bankrupt
-many evicted and became hobos searching for jobs
-drought caused the soil in Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and Colorado, to turn into dust. Know as the “dust bowl”
Hoovers impact on the great depression?
-criticised for his little help
-believed in balancing the budget and refused to borrow money to help create jobs
-bonus army incident
Balancing the budget meaning?
Making sure the government does not spend more money than it gets from taxes
Hoovers impact on the bonus marchers
-bonus army of unemployed war veterans marched in washington to demand early payment of war bonuses promised.
-set up huge hoovervilles outside the white house
-hoover sent troops to remove them and burn down the shanty town
-attacked them with acid and killed a baby in process, known as a baby killer
-gave a bad reputation and the slogan “in hoover we trusted, now we are busted” became popular
Hoovers attempts to relieve the crisis?
-reconstruction finance corporation gave $2b of federal aid to ailing banks, insurance companies and railways
-emergency relief act- $300m to state governments to help unemployed
1932 presidential election results
Republican hoover against Democrat Roosevelt
-Roosevelt won a land used victory securing 42/48 states
Why was Hoover unpopular?
-Republicans blamed for the depression
-criticised for treatment to bonus marchers
-relief schemes too small and too late
-offered nothing new
why was Roosevelt popular?
-Promised a new deal
-Democrats offered a more caring image
-he had overcome personal hardship fighting polio
-he kept his message simpel
What did the new deal focus on?
-Based upon the three R’s: Relief, recovery and reform
-introduced many government programmes to restore economy, known as the alphabet agencies
CCC
Civilian conservation corps
-problem- unemployments among young people
-solution-provided 6 months of work to men 18-25 in conservation projects such as planting trees to stop soil erosion
-1940 over 2m men given work
AAA
Agricultural adjustment administration
-problem-rural property and low crop prices
-solution- intended to help farmers increase their profits by subsides being paid to farmers to destroy their crops and slaughter their animals to push up prices
PWA
public works administration
-problem- unemployment
-solution-gov paid $3.3m on public works projects for unemployed people; building schools, roads and, hospiltals
Success of the new deal
-millions of jobs created through the alphabet agencies e.g. CCC and PWA
-incomes of farmers doubled through AAA
-stabilised banking systems and restored confidence to the markets
-created semi well fare state, providing pensions to the elderly, widows, sick, disabled and unemployed
Criticism of the new deal
-discriminated against black people, They got no work or lower wages to white people
-Hughey long, governor of louisiana, criticised roosevelt for not sharing out nations wealth fairly; proposed “share our wealth” campaign
