American History

Society in the 1920s

Todays Learning Goal

How did life change for American Women during the 1920s? Why?

Womens Changing Roles

The Great War had a profound impact on America Millions of young men had marched off to war full of enthusiasm The horrors of the war led them to question and ideas and attitudes of the time This led to a revolution of attitudes and morals Perhaps none were impacted more than women

Womens Changing Roles

The Flapper symbolized this revolution This term defined a new type of women: rebellious, energetic, fun loving and bold Flappers wore their hair short, in a bob They wore wide brimmed hats, bright red lipstick,heavy makeup, plucked their eye brows. Common practices by prostitutes They spit,smoked, cursed, and associated more with guys rather than other girls

Womens Changing Roles

In 1920,the hemline of the American dress stood 9 inches above the ground By 1927, the dress had risen to the knee or just above The amount of fabric in a dress went from 19.5 yards to 7 All of these changes shocked American society and enraged parents

Womens Changing Roles

There are several reasons for these changes During the war, women had entered the workplace They had also gained the right to vote These experiences made them eager for greater equality with men Without intending to, the rebellious flapper brought them closer to that goal

Womens Changing Roles

It is important to note that not all women were flappers Many adopted the style but not the movement Another interesting side note is that even though women gained the right to vote, only 35% of women went to the polls Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman representative Nellie Ross of Wyoming was one of the first women governors

Americans on the Move

In addition to the social changes, there were major demographic changes For the first time in its history, more people lived in the city than in the country Farms began to be stressed following the war while industry boomed 6 million people moved into the city This also affected society as rural communities held traditional values

Americans on the Move

With jobs booming in industry, African Americans once again moved to the north It led to renewed conflict and discrimination Following the War, the US set forth strong immigration laws against Asia and Eastern Europe To fill the need of cheap labor, companies turned to Mexican laborers

American Heroes
The changing morals of the 1920s made many Americans hungry for the values of an earlier time Society became fascinated with heroes The greatest of all of them was Charles Lindbergh A prize of 25,000 dollars was offered to the first person to fly from New York to Paris

American Heroes
Charles Lindeberg was a 25 year old American from Minnesota He was determined to win After 33 and a half hours of non stop flight, Lindbergh accomplished his goal He was offered millions of dollars in publicity fees which he turned down He became an true moral hero to Americans

American Heroes
Another American hero of the time was Amelia Earhart She became the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Then she was the first to fly from Hawaii to California In 1937 she attempted to be the first to fly around the world After completing 2/3 the trip, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean

American Heroes
There were several sports heroes Jack Dempsey became the boxing heavyweight champion of the world Jim Thorpe, a Native American, was a famed football player who won olympic gold and was elected the first president of the NFL Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs in baseball, a record that would not fall for 40 years

American History
Mass Media and the Jazz Age

Todays Learning Goal

Jig Saw w/1920s flash card scatter activity

American History
Cultural Conflicts

Todays Learning Goals

2 Topics: Prohibition and Racial Tensions

1) What were the results of prohibition in the 1920s? 2) Who were the main targets of the KKK? 3) What movement did Marcus Garvey lead and what did it accomplish?

Prohibition
The consumption of alcohol was viewed as one of Americas great vices In the inner city slums, crime was rampant A characteristic of many of the slums were drunks Even before WWI, alcohol consumption was under attack

Prohibition
The Anti-saloon league and Womens Temperance movements pushed congress to ban alcoholic beverages On January 16, 1920 the 18th Amendment set forth 3 goals 1) Eliminating drunkenness that resulted in abuse of others 2) Getting rid of saloons where gambling and prostitution thrived 3) Prevent absenteeism and on the job accidents resulting from alcohol

Prohibition
The problem with such an ambitious goal was how would it be policed? Many people simply ignored the law President Harding did not even follow it In many instances, it became trendy and fun to skirt the law In New York only 5% of people followed the law In Kansas, 95% of people did

Prohibition
Many returning soldiers following WWI found themselves without work Bootlegging, illegally selling alcohol offered a way to make money fast In older times, bootleggers were people who hid their booze in their boot Many created stills to produce their own alcohol Others smuggled it from Canada or the Caribbean

Prohibition
Speakeasies became increasingly popular These were hidden bars where alcohol was sold In Washington DC, before prohibition there were 300 bars During prohibition there were 700 speakeasies

Prohibition
Overtime, bootlegging alcohol became a huge operation At first, a handful of people sold alcohol Overtime people banded together and formed huge covert operations Rival groups fought for control of cities This led to the formation of gangs and increased crime waves

Prohibition
In many situations, gangs paid off the police to ignore them Racketeering The most notorious crimes took place in Chicago In 1925, Al Capone murdered his way to the top of the gangs of Chicago Once in power, he monopolized the sale of alcohol, eliminating competitors He bribed police, city officials, politicians and even judges

Prohibition
In order to fight against gang leaders like Capone, the government created the Bureau of Investigation It later became the FBI and was headed by J. Edgar Hoover Even with the FBI on his tale, Capone eluded capture for years In 1931 he was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison at Alcatraz Prohibition was repealed in 1933

Racial Tensions
Many African Americans had migrated to the North at the turn of the century They came to escape Jim Crow laws in the South and for jobs The waves of African Americans arriving in northern cities sparked violence and riots 1919 was known as the Red Summer for all the blood spilt across the country

Racial Tensions
The worst of all the riots occurred in Chicago Blacks and Whites at Lake Michigan started throwing rocks at one another It was done because blacks were using beaches designated as white only A white threw rocks at black children that were swimming One was struck, knocked unconscious and drown

Racial Tensions
The incident sparked a wave of violence 23 blacks and 15 whites were killed 537 people were wounded and the destruction left 100s homeless The Klu Klux Klan returned A Methodist preacher, William J. Simmons revived the organization In 1922 there were 100,000 members Two years later it surged to 4 million

Racial Tensions
The organization began to target any organization or group that was UnAmerican Catholics, Jews, Immigrants were all targeted Beatings and killings took place all across the country In 1925, the Indiana Klan leader was sentenced to prison for assaulting a girl who later poisoned herself Membership declined

Racial Tensions
African American, Marcus Garvey, had a different idea The Jamaican born leader sought unit African Americans and move to Africa He wanted to create a free African Nation in the motherland Many joined his cause, raised money and sailed to Africa

Racial Tensions
Garveys follower dressed in military apparel The formed UNIA, Universal Negro Improvement Union Many African Americans objected Garvey His streamline was convicted of fraud and he was deported to Jamaica His ideas would serve later Black Pride movements

American History
The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial

Since the turn of the century, many Americans were were uneasy with social values Cities seemed immoral and radical ideas were spreading Many felt that: 1) Science and Technology were taking a large role 2) War and problems caused many to question Gods role in human affairs 3) The Bible was made by man

The Scopes Trial

In response to these challenges, religious traditionalists published a series of pamphlets They were known as the Fundamentals As a result, there was a massive religious revival attacking the ills of society and defending God and the Bible The issue came to a head in 1925

The Scopes Trial

The debate raged over the teaching of evolution in public schools In 1925, Tennessee passed the Butler Act It forced schools to teach the Biblical account of mans origin It banned the teaching of evolution John T. Scopes a school teacher decided to challenge the act as unconstitutional

The Scopes Trial

Sides quickly formed and mass media descended on Tennessee William Jennings Bryan decided to take up the defense with Scopes supported by Clarence Darrow Both men were well known for their debating skills Darrow attacked Bryan and the Bible as being the work of man Bryan, a master at the Bible, remarked that not all of the Bible could be taken literally

The Scopes Trial

The Jury found Scopes guilty and fined him $100 dollars The trial so exhausted Bryan that he died a few days later Fundamentalists saw Bryan as a martyr and the trial as a victory Modernists felt Darrow had done a great job for science and reason Fundamentalism continued to grow

American History
The Red Scare

The Red Scare

In the years that directly followed WWI, chaos ensued in Russia As we discussed, the Russian government was overthrown by Vladimir Lenin A civil war raged for years between whites and reds The reds triumphed in 1920 Russia was renamed the USSR

The Red Scare

When Lenin died in 1924, the state of the Soviet Union was quite bleak The nation had endured years of civil war, starvation and disease As the Bolsheviks seized control, they speculated as to how they could catch up to the west Political factions and members vied to fix the nations economic woes and promote themselves to the vacated leading position left absent by Lenin

The Red Scare

Leon Trotsky, Lenins right hand man promoted the idea to industrialize the USSR by taxing the peasants Nikolai Bukharin, another political leader thought it had to be accomplished through agriculture He wanted to enrich the peasants and get raise the money for industrialization by increasing the agricultural output This was adopted as the New Economic Policy

The Red Scare

Behind the backdrop stood Josef Stalin He was viewed as a nobody even though he held a powerful position Stalin was a mere paper pusher who held power to recruit and enlist party members Not only did he serve as the gateway to receive powerful positions but he decided who got promoted and to where Soon, vast members of the party owed their membership to Stalin alone

The Red Scare

Stalin, like many others, began plotting to become the soviet figurehead At first he backed Bukharins economic policies because he saw Trotsky as the greater threat After Trotsky was expelled from the party he turned on Bukharin In 1928, Stalin emerged as the supreme leader of Soviet Russia and began his own policies

The Red Scare

Stalins new policy, revolution from above turned soviet Russia to collectivization Stalin abolished private property and personal profit Farms were taken, given to the state and run as a sort of commune Stalin speculated that Russia was 100 years behind Europeans and desired to catch up to them in the next ten years

The Red Scare

Communal farms were given quotas of output that would create a surplus This surplus would be used to industrialize Russia In order to get the workers to produce and meet quotas a sharp method of rewards and punishments was imposed Workers were given ration cards, if they did not meet their daily quotas they did not get fed If they rebelled they cards were taken and they were kicked out to starve

The Red Scare

Stalin implemented a massive propaganda machine Posters, flyers, papers were distributed to inspire and motivate hard work Those who made impressive personal accomplishments medals, special ceremonies and personal gifts Since all money went to transform and build the Russian industry, Russian citizens were stripped of luxury Through it all, the face of Stalin was emblazoned as their savior and hero

The Red Scare

Peasants did resist however across Russia against the brutality of this new regime In the Ukraine and Kazakh almost 40% of the population died Labor camps were created for political rebels where they were forced to labor to death 25% of all economic output came from these labor camps [gulags] where horrible crimes were committed As many as 10 to 20 million died as Russia industrialized

The Red Scare

By the end of the 1930s however, Stalins dream had reached its goal Pouring every bit of money into industry and demanding every once of physical labor from its people, Russia had industrialized This would become very apparent in WWII Stalin pushed to advance communism across the world

The Red Scare

Most Americans were fearful of communism It stood as a threat to American freedom Immigrants were treated with greater scrutiny as many were viewed as communists Revolutions took place in many European cities American worried it would soon come home

The Red Scare

In Seattle, 1000s of workers went on strike The mayor called them revolutionaries Several bombs were sent through the mail with the intent of killing the mayor The media made it appear communists were to blame The Red Scare was reaching a fever pitch

The Red Scare

More mail bombs were sent One nearly killed the Attorney General He remarked afterward that he was convinced people were trying to overthrow the government He assembled a special task force to root out subversives 1000s were arrested and charged with anarchy Most were innocent

The Red Scare

Americans assumed the worst on May 1, 1920 the Socialist Holiday It came and went without incident Things began to slowly cool off The following month, a gunman robbed and killed a guard and paymaster of a shoe company Police arrested two Italian immigrants, Saco and Vanzetti

The Red Scare

Both of them were anarchists and carried a gun similar to that used in the crime Many Americans saw through the case The two men were anarchists but they were innocent The trial found the two guilty and they were killed at the electric chair in 1927

The Red Scare

Several strikes rocked the nation during the 1920s Strikers were accused of being communists Many unions began to fall apart under communist accusations During the boom of the 1920s strikes slowed The country would soon turn to new leadership

American History
Politics of the 1920s

Republicanism
The Red Scare had political consequences Americans felt that democrats leaned more towards communism Republicans would hold power for the next decade Warren G. Harding, a republican became the next US president

Republicanism
Harding was a mixed bag as president He appointed Herbert Hoover as secretary of commerce Charles Hughes as supreme court justice and Andrew Mellon as treasurer Those were all great appointments that greatly propelled the US into an era of prosperity Other appointments however were friends that were incompetent and dishonest

Republicanism
Harding moved the US away from international affairs He did not join the League of Nations because he felt it was another corrupt alliance system The US therefore adopted a policy of isolationism Harding also advocated disarmament He, along with other nations, signed treaties to reduce the size of their navies

Republicanism
Harding was all about business He wanted the American economy to run free and boom He placed tariffs on foreign goods to encourage people to buy domestic The tariff enraged European nations They owed the US a debt for WWI With the US not buying their goods they could not repay their debts

Republicanism
In 1922, congress decided to reduce the amount of money nations had to repay Germany remained a sore spot They were struggling greatly following WWI Veterans were rebelling against the government War debts to France caused inflation and the economy to fall apart

Republicanism
Because Germany could not pay its debts, France and England could not pay theirs to the US The US became the key to the whole process In 1924 and again in 1928 the US helped reorganize the Germany economy Loans were given to Germany to pay France and England which paid it back to the US The system worked for awhile but a catastrophic failure was on the horizon

Republicanism
As American became more isolationist they also became more nativist Nativism favored natural born Americans over immigrants and it flared for several reasons: 1) Patriotism: Americans believed foreigners would never be loyal to the US 2) Religion: many immigrants were not protestant 3) Urban Conditions: Immigrants were blamed for dirty city conditions

Republicanism
4) Jobs: American feared losing work to immigrants 5) Red Scare: Americans feared immigrants were more susceptible to communism President Harding heard his peoples cries He responded by creating a quota system on immigrants A numerical limit of 3% was placed on all immigrants

Republicanism
The new law essentially halted all immigrants from Asia into the US Harding enjoyed huge popularity Then it peaked and all came tumbling down Several scandals in the Harding administration came to light Some officials stole government money, other took bribes in order to get laws passed

Republicanism
Harding was greatly stressed by the scandals and died in office in 1923 The worst of the scandals was the Teapot Dome Scandal Hardings secretary of the interior gave government oil fields in California and Wyoming to private companies in return for money $300,000 dollars in illegal payments were made disguised as government gifts

Republicanism
Vice President Calvin Coolidge became the next president Coolidge was not involved in any of the government scandals He was elected in 1924 Coolidge was a great public speaker but in private he was a man of few words One person remarked that he could be silent in five languages

Republicanism
The major theme of Coolidge could be summarized in one phrase The chief business of the American people is business Coolidge advocated a hands off approach to the economy and he let it run free It created an economic boom known as the Roaring 20s

Republicanism
Herbert Hoover urged Coolidge to regulate the purchase of cheap stocks which he refused The Mississippi River flooded and when victims pleaded for government help he refused France came to the US with the idea of outlawing war though a treaty The Kellog-Briand Pact involved 60 nations that swore never to declare war on one another. It was unrealistic

Republicanism
In 1928, Coolidge decided not to run for a second term The Republicans nominated J. Edgar Hoover who was a protestant prohibitionist The Democrats nominated Alfred Smith, a catholic who sought to end prohibition The vote drew in many women and Hoover was elected as the next US president

American History
Big Business

Jigsaw

American History
The American Economy

The Economy
The mood of Americans in the late 1920s was great Medical advances had reduced diseases like whooping cough and diphtheria Life expectancy increased by 10 years Technology was making life easier The economy appeared healthy and was booming America had entered the world stage and was in position to lead it

The Economy
In 1925, the value of American stock was 27 billion dollars In 1928 it was 39 billion In 1929 it soared to 87 billion Wages in the 1920s rose 40% It was estimated if Americans put 15 dollars a week in savings it would bring a $400 dollar income in 20 years Many felt American potential was limitless

The Economy
Business began enjoying great success and paid back employees They paid for vacations, gave them health care, recreation and taught English and other skills They felt this would prevent unions and strikes This new philosophy was called Welfare Capitalism Labor unions began to disappear

The Economy
Despite the optimism, trouble was looming Wealth was distributed unevenly The rich became richer, huge corporations made money while small businesses struggled 200 companies controlled 49% of the economy In 1929, .1% of the population earned 34% of the nations total savings

The Economy
80% of Americans did not have savings of any shape or form The government was part to blame In the 1920s taxes were reduced Only the wealthy paid income tax therefore it made the rich richer Americans spent heavily on credit Everyone wanted electric lights, refrigerators, radios and cars The economy was doing so well they thought they would pay it off later

The Economy
The stock market was doing so well many Americans invested unwisely The press told stories of people who invested everything and became rich overnight Life savings went into the stock market This would come back to haunt many Americans

The Economy
Businesses too were overly optimistic The assembly line had created massive surpluses that consumers could not use up In 1925, the auto industry began to lose money The purchase of iron, rubber, and glass declined Housing construction fell 25% Business was beginning to slip and the world depended on the US market

The Economy
Farmers also fell on hard times During the war, America fed many nations and farming boomed Many bought land and equipment on credit Following the war, demand slowed and debts were called in Many farms went bankrupt and banks failed as a result Congress attempted to bail out farmers but Coolidge vetoed initiatives

The Economy
In September of 1929, American stocks peaked and began a slow fall Some people began to sell their stocks and the rate of the fall speed up Many brokers assured Americans the market was healthy and experiencing a small bump In October, more investors began to sell People who had bought stock in GE for $400 dollars sold it for $283

The Economy
The following week, stock prices continued to fall rapidly Many investors withdrew all their money from the market On Tuesday, October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed The market continued to fall for the next several weeks Overall, 30 billion dollars disappeared

The Economy
At first, only those who had invested in the stock market lost their money A short time later there was a ripple effect across America Many banks gave out huge loans to businessmen who invested the cash When the market fell they could no longer repay the loans Banks had also given credit to consumers to buy products

The Economy
Many people did not earn enough to repay the loans When the banks called in its loans people lost everything As banks began to fail, many Americans rushed to withdraw their savings Most of the money was invested and not in bank vaults As people withdrew their savings at once, banks failed

The Economy
Those who came late had lost all their money Within just a few years after the stock market crash, 5,500 banks had failed Businesses went broke or stopped spending Jobs were scaled back and people went without work Houses were sold along with all possessions Many lived in their cars The Great Depression had begun

American History
TheGreat Depression

The Great Depression

The Great Depression represents one of the most difficult times in American history As a result of the stock market crash and bank failures businesses closed Henry Ford shut down his Detroit factories leaving 75,000 without work Small businesses failed leaving more Americans without jobs By 1932, 12 million Americans were without work

The Great Depression

The depression was felt across the world The US could no longer lend loans to Germany German banks failed and they stopped paying France and Britain As a result, Britain and France stopped paying debts owed to the US Europeans also stopped buying American goods because they could no longer afford them

The Great Depression

The first few years of the depression were tough Many Americans awaited a quick recovery that never came Many people lost their homes and all their possessions There were 15,000 people alone in New York that were homeless Many flocked to central park and built makeshift shelters from cardboard, tar, and wood fragments

The Great Depression

President Hoover was blamed for not fixing the economy The shantytown of New York was called Hooverville Newspapers were called Hoover Blankets Pockets turned inside out were Hoover Flags Those who did not live in Hoovervilles lived in their cars Others refused this lifestyle and traveled the country as hobos searching for work

The Great Depression

Hoovers administration reached a low point in 1932 20,000 jobless WWI vets had had enough For their service in the War, the US government had promised them a pension bonus in 1945 Veterans gathered in Washington asking the government to pay the bonus early They called their gathering the Bonus Army

The Great Depression

The House of Representatives agreed to the payout but the Senate shot it down Some vets gave up and headed home but many stayed Soon, a shantytown was built up on the steppes surrounding DC Some became upset and violent acts broke out Hoover called in the army under the control of Douglas MacArthur MacArthur used guns, teargas and tanks to clear away gathered vets The incident spelled the end for Hoover

The Great Depression

Farmers in the midwest faced additional problems In the previous years, pioneers had overturned the soil of the great plains for farming During the war, farmers depleted the soil by over growing crops for profit During the 1920s the great plains were struck by drought The green plains of the midwest turned into a massive dust bowl

The Great Depression

Massive dust storms across the great plains arose and covered the nation Dust darkened the skies in New York, Washington and New England In New England, snow was stained red from topsoil in the midwest Ships hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic were coated with dirt More than 60% of farmers lost their lands 440,000 people left Oklahoma Few returned until the 1940s

The Great Depression

President Hoover continued his stance that the economy would recover He remarked No one starved but many did and 1000s were hungry Schools across the nation failed Without work, parents could not longer afford to feed their children Parents told their kids to fend for themselves Others sought work to help their parents

The Great Depression

250,000 teenagers left home and illegally hitched rides on trains These teens faced dangers every day Many were beaten, some shot, girls were raped In many cases they were all alone without help They traveled from city to city seeking work Most had little success

The Great Depression

Many families across America started to grow their own food to survive Some begged, some stole, others searched restaurant garbage bins Many committed suicide Men abandoned family due to pressure and the lack of ability to care for them The average Americans health plummeted Most no longer went to doctors or dentists

The Great Depression

Life became terribly difficult The roaring twenties were an incredible contrast with the low life of the 1930s The depression across the world would lead to desperation Many nations turned to radicals to lead their nations In many instances, the seeds of WWII were being sown As bad as the situation was, hope remained and things slowly, but gradually improved as the decade closed

American History
TheNew Deal

Americans suffered a greatly during the depression They never gave up though

The New Deal

Many banded together and helped those in need Some shared food, others shelter Farmers worked together When farmers lost land, the bank would seize it and auction it off Many farmers worked together and held penny auctions in order to get their land back

The New Deal

In Europe, the depression brought political change Governments were toppled and dictators arose In America, most citizens had faith that democracy would handle their problems In 1933, congress repealed the 18th amendment Despite the nation repealing the consumption of alcohol, 8 states continued to ban it

The New Deal

During the 1930s the Empire State Building was raised Many viewed it as a symbol for hope in a new future 4,000 people helped build it It stood at 102 stories tall and had 67 elevators When the building opened, 1000s of people paid 1 dollar for a trip to the top

The New Deal

President Hoover remained enemy #1 to most Americans He did little to fix the ruined economy He produced the Hawley-Smoot Tariff which increased tariffs on European goods Europeans responded with their own tariffs that hurt the nations economy Other initiatives also failed to restore the economy By 1932, Americans were ready for a change in leadership

The New Deal

In July of 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the democratic nomination Upon selection he remarked: I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people FDR graduated from Harvard with a degree in law He was elected twice to the New York senate He served as secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson

The New Deal

In 1920, FDR ran for vice president and lost In 1921 he contracted Polio and lost the use of his legs That did not keep him down From 1929 to 1932 he served as the governor of New York As governor, he set up relief organizations that gave money to the poor and needy His New Deal sought a similar program for the nation

The New Deal

The election of 1932 between Roosevelt and Hoover was about two different views on government The Republicans under Hoover argued less government was best The Democrats with Roosevelt held that the nation needed a stronger government A strong government that could help those in need Many people did not necessarily support Roosevelt so much that they hated Hoover

The New Deal

Roosevelt won the presidency by a huge margin, 7 million votes In 1933, amidst a down pour of rain, Roosevelt was sworn into office He stated, This nation asks for action and action now The Great Depression had taught many Americans they needed the government Many thought they could make it on their own. Now they acknowledged the need for help

The New Deal

Then came Roosevelt's most famous line, So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself Having overcome fear in his own life, Roosevelt spoke with conviction Roosevelt was soon tested After his inauguration WWI vets again assembled in a second bonus army Roosevelt built a camp for them and provided them with three meals a day

The New Deal

Rather than send the army he sent his wife Eleanor She met with the Vets, thanked them for their service and reassured them They would later be drafted into Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps The first Sunday after taking office, Roosevelt spoke to the nation over the radio It was the first of his weekly fireside chats

The New Deal

His easy manner restored American faith From his inauguration in March through June of 1933, Roosevelt pushed program after program through congress Many of these programs were recovery, relief and reform programs These programs were known as the first 100 days Roosevelt was meeting the Great Depression head on

American History
TheNew Deal

Class Activity
Student exploration of New Deal Programs

American History
TheNew Deal

The New Deal

Many Americans were happy with Roosevelts New Deal Programs Part of its success came from the people Roosevelt placed on his staff He surrounded himself with the great intellectuals on the day creating what many called the Brain Trust Roosevelt was the first president to appoint a woman to a Cabinet Post Frances Perkins helped pass laws that helped wage earners and the unemployed

The New Deal

Roosevelt even appointed many African Americans to key political positions An important key to Roosevelts success was his wife Eleanor She helped mediate the Bonus Army dispute She also traveled the nation for her husband as his disability made traveling difficult She turned heads more than once on with her stance on equal rights for African Americans

The New Deal

While many of Roosevelts programs were providing work for Americans, the economy continued to stagnate Two of his programs, the NIRA and AAA were deemed unconstitutional Many saw the programs giving too much power and regulation to the US Government Roosevelt was not done He soon launched a Second New Deal with a new wave of programs

The New Deal

The Second New Deal brought into creation the Workers Progress Administration It built and improved playgrounds, schools and hospitals In response to the AAA falling in supreme court, Roosevelt launched a new program for farmers The Farm and Security Administration loaned 1 billion dollars to struggling farmers

The New Deal

The Rural Electrification Act brought power to remote areas across the US It was estimated that only 10% of rural American had electric power It brought power to 98% of American farms Roosevelt's programs had won the faith of the American people In 1936 Roosevelt won in another landslide vote

The New Deal

For all of its gains and progress, the New Deal did have its critics and shortcomings Women in particular were at a disadvantage NRA codes permitted lower wages for women doing equal work as men In relief programs, men and boys received the most assistance Jobs also went primarily to males who were seen as the heads of households

The New Deal

African Americans received similar treatment Many received lower wages for the same work They were kept out of skilled and professional jobs The New Deal did little to prevent discrimination, in many ways it made it worse Lynchings in the South were rampant and the US government did little to help

The New Deal

Rich Republicans were also strongly opposed to the New Deal They were taxed more than the poor They felt New Deal programs elevated the poor and uneducated and pulled down the rich Social Security was also hated by Republicans They saw it as a move toward socialism Republicans called the New Deal unAmerican and akin to Bolshevism

The New Deal

There were others who complained the New Deal did not do enough Upton Sinclair wanted the government to take control of business and farms He was accused of communism Others across the nation felt it was not doing enough for the poor They advocated a total redistribution of wealth evenly across the nation

The New Deal

A dynamic speaker, Father Charles Coughlin captivated American audiences At first he backed the New Deal He advocated government takeovers of business Then he went against Roosevelt He went so far as to shower praise on Mussolini and Hitler in Europe Many Americans lashed out In 1942, Catholic Officials ordered him to stop broadcasting

The New Deal

In Louisiana, Huey Long grew to immense popularity He became a powerful US Senator in 1932 He built his power on helping the poor, improving education and medical care He was an original supporter of FDR but broke from many of his New Deals He advocated seizing money from the wealthy and giving it to the poor He also wanted veteran benefits, better education and pensions for the elderly

The New Deal

These two men, and others, made a huge impact They were known as demagogues, people he appealed to the poor and underprivileged They used this as a tool to build themselves up and become powerful It is thought that if Long had lived, he may have posed a serious threat to Roosevelt in the 1936 election

The New Deal

Today, many see Roosevelts programs in great light They are viewed as the nations saving grace Critics however have seen serious flaws in Roosevelt's programs In some ways they hindered economic progress, encouraged inefficient use of resources and empowered the government The greatest criticism arises on the issue of deficit spending

The New Deal

The nation began to deficit spend in order to help its people It is part of the debt the nation has today The US went from a lending nation to a nation in debt In 1937 the US experienced a recession Despite all of the growth, the economy began to slide Roosevelt scaled back many of his programs and increased taxes His goal was to balance the national debt

The New Deal

The national debt went from 21 million in 1933 to 43 billion in 1937 Hard times would continue until the onset of WWII With the economy in s slump, there was a new wave of business strikes In 1935, the Wagner Act made it easy for people to unionize 36% of the American People belonged to unions Many strikes took place in the form of sitdowns

The New Deal

Strikes lasted until 1939 when the supreme court again stuck down strikes Roosevelt also attempted a court packing scheme Because the supreme court had shot down his plans, he tried to add 6 more justices This initiative created a black mark on his New Deal

American History
TheNew Deal