US 1 - Economic Downturn & Recovery Flashcards
Republican
Red
Right wing/very conservative
Laissez faire/relaxed approach
Rugged individualism
Democrat
Centre right/liberal
Progressive
Welfare state
Unemployment by 1932?
14 million
Great Depression in the cities
Hoovervilles set up by for hobos (homeless)
Made of tin/cardboard/wood
Hoover blankets = newspapers
Hoover flags = inside out pockets
Great Depression in the countryside?
Farmers became bankrupt (no one bought produce)
1931 DROUGHT
Hit hard in Oklahoma/Kanas
High winds caused dust bowls
Arkies & Oakies left home in search for work
Great Depression on family life?
⬆️suicide rate
⬇️birth & marriage rate
Schools closed for 10 months (couldn’t afford to pay teachers)
Who were the bonus marchers?
WW1 veterans had been promised a bonus for serving
Thousands marched to Washington DC to get early payment
- would’ve cost £2.3m
- army called in & they used gas
- 100 injured people/1 dead baby
Why did Hoover fail?
He did:
- cut taxes by $130m
- Agricultural Marketing Act (lent money to farmers)
He stocks with the laissez faire approach
Focuses too much on farmers & construction
‘In Hoover we trusted, we are now busted’
(People believed he didn’t care)
1932 election
Roosevelt won over Hoover by a landslide
Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 election?
Appealing
Alphabet Agencies
New Deal
- relief
- recover
- reform
2 examples of his alphabet agencies ?
FERA - emergency relief ($500 million for unemployed)
CCC - civilian conservation corps (creating jobs for men 18-25 like planting trees)
What is the NRA?
National Recovery Administration ❤️🩹
(Symbol = blue eagle)
Set minimum wages/fair hours/working conditions
What was his main economic priority?
Restore people’s confidence in the banks
Honest & open so people trusted him
He connected with people -reassurance
What were his fireside chats?🔥
Spoke through radio with millions of people
Who did he face opposition from?
Huey long - claimed he failed to distribute wealth “share our wealth”
Catholic Priest - labelled him anti-God (he wasn’t doing enough to help the needy/did weekly broadcasts
Republicans & American Liberty league (set up by wealthy businessmen)
- he was doing too much
- wasn’t representing the wealthy
- threatened US constitution and individual freedom
