The Great Depression 1930-1940 Flashcards
What happened to the stock market in 1929?
It crashed (Wall Street Crash - 29th Oct)
What was happening to the production and unemployment by 1929?
Production slowed down
Unemployment increased
What happened after consumer confidence vanished?
Downturn in spending + investment
What happened to those people lucky enough to stay in work?
wages fell and buying power decreased
Give three examples of how African Americans were affected.
- One-fifth of all Americans receiving federal relief during the Great Depression were black (but relief programs were full of discrimination)
- Two major sectors in which blacks were employed, were not included in the 1935 Social Security Act
- Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” led by Mary McLeod Bethune, ensured nearly every New Deal agency had a black advisor. The number of African-Americans working in government tripled
Give three examples of how women were affected
- 1930 to 1940, the number of employed women in the United States rose 24 percent from 10.5 million to 13 million
- First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt asked her husband for more women in office (Perkins was the 1st woman ever to have a position in the cabinet)
- Over 25 percent of the National Recovery Administration’s wage codes set lower wages for women
What happened to unemployment between 1930 and 1931?
By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931
What are three other examples of a severe economic downturn?
Bread lines, soup kitchens and rising numbers of homeless people became more and more common in America’s towns and cities
What is a bank run? What happened by 1933?
When lots of people withdraw their money from the bank - this forced banks to terminate customers’ loans so they could add to their insufficient cash reserves on hand
By early 1933 thousands of banks had closed their doors
What did Hoover’s administration do? Why did they adopt that approach?
Tried supporting failing banks and other institutions with government loans; the idea was that the banks in turn would loan to businesses, which would be able to hire back their employees
Hoover didn’t think the gov. should directly intervene int the economy
What happened in Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office?
His administration passed legislation that aimed to stabilize industrial and agricultural production, create jobs and stimulate recovery
What had happened by inauguration day in March?
Every U.S. state had ordered all remaining banks to close (at the end of the fourth wave of banking panics)
Give two examples of the agencies set up in the New Deal and the impact they had.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): built dams and hydroelectric projects to control flooding and provide electric power to the impoverished Tennessee Valley region
Works Progress Administration (WPA), a permanent jobs program that employed 8.5 million people from 1935 to 1943
What was the Social Security Act of 1935?
For the first time provided benefits to the unemployed, disabled and elderly (pensions)
What happened in 1937?
A sharp recession hit in 1937, caused in part by the Federal Reserve’s decision to increase its requirements for money in reserve
