Causes of the Great Depression
• Overproduction and under consumption of goods.
• Farm Debt / Credit Problems
• Uneven distribution of wealth
Effects of the Great Depression
Stock Market Crash – Panic of 1929
Factories Close - 1931 Ford lays off 75,000
Unemployment Rises - 1932 13 million without jobs (25%)
Effects of the Great Depression
5,500 banks close and 9 million accounts vanish
Gross Domestic Product = 103 billion in 1929 GDP = 56 billion in 1933
Hoover’s Philosophy1929-1932
“The spread of government destroys initiative and thus
destroys character. Character is made in the community as well as in the individual by
assuming responsibilities and not escaping them.”
Hoover’s Aid Policies
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Agricultural Marketing Act
Hoover’s Unpopularity
Hoovervilles
Bonus Army
1933: A New President A New Deal
The New DealGoals
Fix the Banks
March 6, 1933 close banks to inspect the financial health of all banks.
Establish the FDIC = Insure bank accounts up to 5,000
Reopen banks on March 16 and deposits exceeded withdrawals
The New Deal Goals
Provide Relief
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) -Give money to local relief agencies.
New Deal Goals
Create Jobs “Public Works Programs”
Provide JobsCivil Works Administration (CWA) = roads, parks, and airports
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) = forest, beach, and park maintenance/restoration
Public Works Administration (PWA) = dams and bridges
Tennessee Valley Authority = cheap electric power and flood control of the Tennessee Valley
Stimulate Economic Recovery
National Recovery Administration (NRA) = regulate wages, working conditions, production, prices, minimum wage and collective bargaining.
Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) = regulate the stock market
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) = raise crop prices through lowered production.
The Second New Deal1935
Works Progress Administration (WPA) = provided 8.5 million jobs
Social Security Act (SSA) = pensions for workers, unemployment insurance, aid to dependent mothers and children, to the blind, and physically disabled
New Deal Criticisms
Many acts deemed unconstitutional (too socialist)
Did not end discrimination to any minorities
Did not end the Great Depression