The Age Of Anxiety, The Crash & The Great Depression

The Age Of Anxiety, The Crash & The Great Depression

Brother, can you spare a democracy?

Movies•Replaced traditional arts and amusement – weekly entertainment

Radio•Commercially available in 1920•Most households in Britain and Germany had inexpensive sets by late 1930s•Political propaganda tool

European Politics•1922 France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr•American Dawes Plan (1924) cut reparations and funded European recovery with American loans•Weimar Republic (democracy) in Germany – Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929)

•Britain – Labour Party passed welfare measures guaranteeing social peace and class equality

Things Are Looking Up And There Is Hope For Democracy Until . . .

Why Did The Stock Market Rise So Much During the Late Twenties?

• Unreal share prices• Investors speculation

This speculative rise is called a “Bubble.”

And we all know what happens to bubbles.

Why Did The Market Crash In October,1929?

• A bubble can only expand . . . • Once the new money runs out . . .

In Three Weeks, The Market Lost . . .

$30 Billion

Millions Of Americans Become Unemployed.

How Did The Stock Market Crash Weaken Banks?

• 1. Banks had loaned money . . . • 2. Banks had invested. . . .

Bank Losses Led To A . . .

Bank Run!

When A Bank Collapsed . . .

How Did Uneven Wealth Distribution Cause The

Depression?• The middle-class didn’t have enough

money to buy all the goods America was making.

• Demand crashed.

The Demand Crisis

How Did Loss Of Export Sales Cause The Depression?

• Congress passed a heavy tariff on imports. (Why?)

• Foreign countries passed their own tariffs in revenge.

• Exports sank, which meant another reduction in demand.

The Demand Crisis

What About Mistakes By The Federal Reserve?

• The Fed sets the nation’s interest rates.

• During the Depression it raised rates, which reduced the people’s ability to spend.

• Again, demand was reduced.

The Demand Crisis

How Did FDR Pay For The New Deal?

Did The New Deal Work?

So, what is the connection between the Great Depression?

So, what is the attraction of the new dictators?

Traditional Conservative Authoritarians vs. Radical Totalitarians

Fascism vs. Communism