1930 1940

America: Pathways to the Present: Cambridge Ed.
1930-1940
Copyright 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as

Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. All rights reserved.
Theme 1: The Stock Market Crash

Hoovers Response
Theme 2: The New Deal for All?
Theme 3: Social Effects of the Depression
The New Deal
Theme 4: From Isolationalism to War

Theme 1
Government and the People

The Stock Market Crash

Chapter 15, Section 1
What events led to the stock markets Great Crash in

1929?
Why did the Great Crash produce a ripple effect
throughout the nations economy?
What were the main causes of the Great Depression?
The Market Crashes

The market crash in October of 1929 happened very quickly.

In September, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an average of
stock prices of major industries, had reached an all time high of
381.
On October 23 and 24, the Dow Jones Average quickly
plummeted, which caused a panic.
On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, most people sold their
stocks at a tremendous loss.
This collapse of the stock market is called the Great Crash.
Overall losses totaled $30 billion.
The Great Crash was part of the nations business cycle, a span in
which the economy grows, and then contracts.
Effects of the Great Crash, 1929

Great
Crash
World Payments
Investors
Investors
lose
millions.
Businesse
s lose
profits.
Businesses
and Workers
Consumer
spending
drops.
Businesses
Worker cut
investment
s are
laid off. and
production
production.
Some fail.
Banks
Overall U.S.
production
plummets.
Businesses
U.S.
and workers
Allies cannot
investors
cannot
pay debts to
have little or
repay bank
United
no
money to
or no
loans.
States.
Savings
invest.
money to
Banks
accounts
invest.
run out
are
of
Europeans
U.S.
wiped
money cannot
investment
out.
and fail. afford
s in
Bank
American
Germany
runs
goods.
decline.
occur
German war
.
payments to
Allies fall
off.
The Great Depression

The economic contraction that began with the Great

Crash triggered the most severe economic downturn
in the nations historythe Great Depression.
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 until the
United States entered World War II in 1941.
The stock market crash of 1929 did not cause the
Great Depression. Rather, both the Great Crash and
the Depression were the result of deep underlying
problems with the countrys economy.
Underlying Causes of the Depression

An Unstable
Economy
The prosperous economy of the 1920s lacked a firm base.

The nations wealth was unevenly distributed. Those who had the
most tended to save or invest rather than buy goods.
Industry produced more goods than most consumers wanted or
could afford.
Overspeculation
Speculators bought stocks with borrowed money and then

pledged those stocks as collateral to buy more stocks.
The stock market boom was based on borrowed money.
Government
Policies
During the 1920s, the Federal Reserve System cut interest rates to
assist economic growth.
In 1929, it limited the money supply to discourage lending.
As a result, there was too little money in circulation to help the
economy after the Great Crash.
The Stock Market CrashAssessment

________ was part of the nations business cycle.

(A) The Great Crash
(B) Overspeculation
(C) Black Tuesday
(D) An uneven distribution of wealth
How did the Federal Reserve try to assist economic growth?
(A) Raising interest rates
(B) Limiting the money supply
(C) Lowering interest rates
(D) Helping investors accumulate more collateral
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The Stock Market CrashAssessment

________ was part of the nations business cycle.

(A) The Great Crash
(B) Overspeculation
(C) Black Tuesday
(D) An uneven distribution of wealth
How did the Federal Reserve try to assist economic growth?
(A) Raising interest rates
(B) Limiting the money supply
(C) Lowering interest rates
(D) Helping investors accumulate more collateral
The Election of 1932

How did President Hoover respond to the Great

Depression?
What did Roosevelt mean when he offered Americans
a New Deal?
Why was the election of 1932 a significant turning
point for American politics?
Hoovers Limited Strategy

Hoover convinced business leaders to help maintain public confidence in

the economy.
To protect domestic industries, Congress passed the Hawley-Smoot tariff,
the highest import tax in history. European countries also raised their
tariffs, and international trade suffered a slowdown.
Hoover set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which gave
government credit to banks, industries, railroads, and insurance
companies. The theory was that prosperity at the top would help the
economy as a whole. Many Americans saw it as helping bankers and big
businessmen, while ordinary people went hungry.
Hoover did not support federal public assistance because he believed it
would destroy peoples self-respect and create a large bureaucracy.
Finally, public opinion soured for Hoover when he called the United States
Army to disband a protest of 20,000 unemployed World War I veterans
called the Bonus Army.
Signs of Change
Prohibition Is Repealed In February 1933, Congress passed the Twenty-first

Amendment, which repealed the eighteenth amendment
prohibiting the sale of alcohol.
The Empire State
Building
2,500 to 4,000 people worked on the construction.

The cost of construction was about $41 million.
At that time, it was the worlds tallest building and had 102
stories and 67 elevators.
The End of an Era
Many things that symbolized the 1920s faded away.

- Organized crime gangster Al Capone was sent to
prison.
- Calvin Coolidge died.
- Babe Ruth retired.
A New Deal for America

FDR promised a New Deal for the American people.

He was ready to experiment with government roles in
an effort to end the Depression.
As governor of New York, Roosevelt had set up an
unemployment commission and a relief agency.
FDRs wife, Eleanor, was an experienced social
reformer. She worked for public housing legislation,
state government reform, birth control, and better
conditions for working women.
When the Roosevelts campaigned for the presidency,
they brought their ideas for political action with them.
The Election of 1932

Franklin Roosevelt
Believed that government had a
responsibility to help people in
need.
Called for a reappraisal of values
and more controls on big
business.
Helped many Americans reassess
the importance of making it on
their own without any help.
Much of his support came from
urban workers, coal miners, and
immigrants in need of federal
relief.
Roosevelt won 57 percent of the
popular vote and almost 89
percent of the electoral vote.
Herbert Hoover
Believed that federal government
should not try to fix peoples
problems.
Argued that federal aid and
government policies to help the
poor would alter the foundation
of our national life.
He argued for voluntary aid to
help the poor and argued against
giving the national government
more power.
Hoover gave very few campaign
speeches and was jeered by
crowds.
The Election of 1932Assessment

What was one way President Hoover wanted to battle the Depression?
(A) Federal relief programs
(B) U.S. expansion into foreign markets
(C) Stock market investment
(D) Voluntary aid
Roosevelt won public support from which groups?
(A) Urban workers and coal miners
(B) Big business executives
(C) Supporters of international trade
(D) Journalists and newspaper publishers
The Election of 1932Assessment

What was one way President Hoover wanted to battle the Depression?
(A) Federal relief programs
(B) U.S. expansion into foreign markets
(C) Stock market investment
(D) Voluntary aid
Roosevelt won public support from which groups?
(A) Urban workers and coal miners
(B) Big business executives
(C) Supporters of international trade
(D) Journalists and newspaper publishers
Forging a New Deal

How did Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt work to

restore the nations hope?
What major New Deal programs were created in the
first hundred days, and who were some of FDRs key
players in these programs?
What caused the New Deal to falter?
What were the key goals and accomplishments of the
Second New Deal?
What did the outcome of the 1936 election indicate?
Restoring Hope and the First Hundred Days

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady,
knew that restoring a sense of hope and building public confidence were
essential to calming panic and creating support for the Presidents plans.
FDR promised a new deal for the American people, but he did not have a
sure plan for it. The term New Deal came to refer to the relief, recovery, and
reform programs of FDRs administration that were aimed at combating the
Great Depression.
In the first hundred days of his presidency, Roosevelt pushed many
programs through Congress to provide relief, create jobs, and stimulate
the economy.
Some of FDRs programs were based on the work of federal agencies that
had controlled the economy during World War I and on agencies created
by state governments to ease the Depression.
Former Progressives figured prominently, inspiring New Deal legislation or
administering programs.
Two, of Four, Areas of New Deal Reform

Stabilizing
Financial
Institutions
FDR wanted to restore public confidence in the nations banks.

Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which authorized the
government to inspect the financial health of all banks.
Congress also passed the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933. This act
established a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure
bank deposits.
Providing
Relief and
Creating
Jobs
FDR persuaded Congress to establish the Federal Emergency Relief

Administration (FERA). FERA put money into public works programs,
government-funded projects to build public facilities and create jobs.
One public works program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The CCC put more then 2.5 million men to work maintaining forests,
beaches, and parks.
Two More Areas of New Deal Reform

Regulating
the
Economy
In 1933, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).

NIRA established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which tried
to balance the unstable economy through extensive planning.
The NRA established codes for fair business practices. These codes
regulated wages, working conditions, production, and prices, and set a
minimum wage.
Assisting
Homeowners
and
Farmers
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) worked to improve housing

standards and conditions, and insure mortgages.
The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) raised farm prices
through subsidies. They paid farmers not to raise certain crops and
livestock, hoping that lower production would cause prices to rise.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provided jobs, hydroelectric power,
flood control, and recreational opportunities to farmers in the
underdeveloped Tennessee Valley.
The Second New Deal

When the New Deal failed to bring about significant economic

improvement, critics began to attack the programs. Opponents warned
that New Deal agencies were giving increasing power to the federal
government.
The Supreme Court declared the NIRA unconstitutional because it gave the
President lawmaking powers and regulated local rather than interstate
commerce. The Supreme Court also struck down the tax that funded AAA
subsidies to farmers.
In response to the critics, FDRs administration launched an even bolder
set of legislation. The Second New Deal included more social welfare
benefits, stricter controls over business, stronger support for unions, and
higher taxes on the rich.
New agencies attacked unemployment. The Works Progress
Administration (WPA) employed more than 8 million workers, building or
improving playgrounds, schools, hospitals, and airfields. It supported the
creative work of writers and artists.
New and Expanded Agencies

The Resettlement Administration and later the Farm Security

Administration (FSA) helped migrant farmers, sharecroppers, and tenant
farmers who were ignored by the AAA.
The New Deal also brought electricity to rural America. The Rural
Electrification Administration (REA) offered loans to electric companies
and farm cooperatives for building power plants and extending power
lines.
In July 1935, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act, called the
Wagner Act, which legalized such union practices as collective bargaining
and closed shops. Closed shops are workplaces open only to union
members.
Congress also passed the Social Security Act. This act established the
Social Security system to provide financial security for people who could
not support themselves. The three types of insurance were:
Old-age pensions and survivors benefits
Unemployment insurance
Aid for dependent children, the blind, and the disabled
The 1936 Election

FDR won a landslide victory over Republican

candidate Alfred M. Landon.
FDR carried every state except Maine and Vermont,
winning 523-8 in the electoral college.
FDRs victory showed that most Americans supported
the New Deal.
Forging a New DealAssessment

Frances Perkins was the first woman Cabinet member. What post did she
hold?
(A) Secretary of Defense
(B) Secretary of the Interior
(C) Energy Secretary
(D) Secretary of Labor
How did the National Recovery Administration try to balance the unstable
economy?
(A) By raising interest rates
(B) By limiting the money supply
(C) By establishing codes for fair business practices
(D) By creating a Social Security system
Forging a New DealAssessment

Frances Perkins was the first woman Cabinet member. What post did she
hold?
(A) Secretary of Defense
(B) Secretary of the Interior
(C) Energy Secretary
(D) Secretary of Labor
How did the National Recovery Administration try to balance the unstable
economy?
(A) By raising interest rates
(B) By limiting the money supply
(C) By establishing codes for fair business practices
(D) By creating a Social Security system
Theme 2
Who are the Americans

The New Deal Affects Many Groups

How are women affected by the New Deal?

Explain the roles African Americans take during the
New Deal.
Describe how Mexican-Americans population
changes in the U.S.
How are Native Americans treated by the New Deal?
What progress does Labor Unions make?
Describe the culture in the 1930s.
Women Make their Mark

Women Make their Mark
Frances Perkins, secretary of labor, is first female cabinet member

FDR also appoints 2 women as diplomats, 1 as federal judge
Women still face discrimination in workplace from male workers
NRA sets some lower minimum wages for women
Federal work programs hire far fewer women than men
Only slight increase in overall % of women working for wages
African-American Activism
African Americans Take Leadership Roles

FDR appoints more than 100 African Americans to government
Mrs. Roosevelt plays key role
Educator Mary McLeod Bethune heads Division of Negro Affairs
of NYA
Helps organize Black Cabinet of African-American advisers
Daughters of American Revolution refuse Marian Anderson
concert
Mrs. Roosevelt resigns; arranges for Lincoln Memorial concert
African-American Activism
The President Fails to Support Civil Rights

FDR afraid of upsetting white Southern Democratic
voters
Refuses to approve anti-lynching law, end to poll tax
New Deal agencies discriminate against African
Americans
pay them lower wages, favor whites
African Americans help organize Southern Tenant
Farmers Union
Generally support Roosevelt administration,
New Deal
Mexican-American Fortunes
Mexican Americans Under FDR

Mexican Americans generally support New Deal
Many come to U.S. in 1920s, settle mainly in Southwest
work on farms
CCC, WPA help some Mexican Americans
Disqualify migrant workers with no permanent address
Native Americans Gain Support
Native Americans and the New Deal

1924, Native Americans receive full citizenship
John Collier, commissioner of Indian affairs, changes
policies
Indian Reorganization Act favors native autonomy,
mandates changes:
lands belong to entire tribe; government cant sell
unclaimed areas
children can attend schools on reservations
tribes elect tribal councils to govern reservations
FDR Creates a New Deal Coalition

The New Deal Coalition
New Deal Coalitiondifferent groups that support Democratic
Party
Labor Unions Flourish

Prolabor legislation leads unions to donate money for FDR
reelection
19331941, union membership grows from 3 million to over 10
million, American Federation of Labor traditionally craft unions
only
Committee for Industrial Organization organizes industrial
unions
Expelled by AFL, becomes Congress of Industrial
Organizations (CIO)
FDR Creates a New Deal Coalition
Labor Disputes
Sit-down strike important bargaining tactic of 1930s
prevents owners from hiring strikebreakers
NLRB forces Republic Steel to negotiate after clash with
strikers
FDR Wins in 1936

Political organizations in large Northern cities support
FDR
Urban, religious, ethnic groups also support FDR
FDR appoints officials of urban-immigrant
background
Culture in the 1930s
Movies are a Hit

About 65% of population goes to movies once a week
Films offer escape from reality; show wealth, romance,
fun
Gone With the Windperhaps most famous film of era
Musicalslive action or animatedway to forget
problems
Comedies, realistic gangster movies especially popular
Several films present New Deal policies in positive light
Radio Entertains
90% of households have a radio; families listen together
every day
Dramas, variety shows play in evening
Orson Wellesactor, director, producer, writer
Soap operas for homemakers broadcast in middle of day
Childrens shows after school hours
Immediate news coverage becomes customary
Artists Decorate America

Federal Art Project pays artists to make art, teach in
schools, Aim to promote art appreciation, positive image
of America
Murals typically portray dignity of ordinary people at
work, Many outstanding works painted by artists,
including Grant Wood
Federal Theater Project hires actors, artists
Woody Guthrie Sings of America

Singer, songwriter Woody Guthrie sings of plight of poor
Diverse Writers Depict American Life

Federal Writers Project supports many who become
major writers
Richard Wright, African-American author, writes Native
Son
John Steinbeck writes The Grapes of Wrath about Dust
Bowl migrants
Some writers examine difficulty of life in 1930s
Others show dignity of ordinary people, values of smalltown life
Theme 3
Economic and Social Change

Social Effects of the Depression

How did poverty spread during the Great Depression?

What social problems were caused by poverty in the
1930s?
How did some people struggle to survive hard times?
Poverty Spreads
People of all levels of society faced hardships during the Great

Depression.
Unemployed laborers, unable to pay their rent, became homeless.
Sometimes the homeless built shacks of tar paper or scrap
material. These shanty town settlements came to be called
Hoovervilles.
Farm families suffered from low crop prices.
As a result of a severe drought and farming practices that
removed protective prairie grasses, dust storms ravaged the
central and southern Great Plains region. This area, stripped of
its natural soil, was reduced to dust and became known as the
Dust Bowl.
The combination of the terrible weather and low prices caused
about 60 percent of Dust Bowl families to lose their farms.
Poverty Strains Society

Impact on Health
Some people starved and thousands went hungry.

Children suffered long-term effects from poor diet and
inadequate medical care.
Stresses on
Families
Living conditions declined as families crowded into small

houses or apartments.
Men felt like failures because they couldnt provide for their
families.
Working women were accused of taking jobs away from men.
Discrimination
Increases
Competition for jobs produced a rise in hostilities against

African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans.
Lynchings increased.
Aid programs discriminated against African Americans.
Social Effects of the

DepressionAssessment
What factors contributed to disaster for farming families living in the Dust
Bowl?
(A) Drought
(B) Farmers plowing under prairie grasses
(C) Decreased prices for agricultural goods
(D) All of the above
The shanty towns made up of temporary shacks were called:
(A) Roosevilles
(B) Hoovervilles
(C) Greenspans
(D) Simpson towns
Social Effects of the

DepressionAssessment
What factors contributed to disaster for farming families living in the Dust
Bowl?
(A) Drought
(B) Farmers plowing under prairie grasses
(C) Decreased prices for agricultural goods
(D) All of the above
The shanty towns made up of temporary shacks were called:
(A) Roosevilles
(B) Hoovervilles
(C) Greenspans
(D) Simpson towns
The New Deals Critics

What were some of the shortcomings and limits of the

New Deal?
What were the chief complaints of FDRs critics inside
and outside of politics?
How did the court-packing fiasco harm FDRs
reputation?
Limitations of the New Deal

The New Deal fell short of many peoples expectations.

The Fair Labor Standards Act covered fewer than one quarter of all
gainfully employed workers. It set the minimum wage at 25 cents an hour,
which was below what most workers already made.
The NRA codes, in some cases, permitted lower wages for womens work,
and gave boys and men strong preference in relief and job programs.
No New Deal programs protected domestic service, the largest female
occupation.
Many federal relief programs in the South reinforced racial segregation and
because the Social Security Act excluded farmers and domestic workers, it
failed to cover nearly two thirds of working African Americans.
FDR also refused to support a bill to make lynching a federal crime
because he feared that his support of the bill would cause southern
Congressmen to block all of his other programs.
Political Critics
New Deal Does Too Much
New Deal Does Not Do Enough
A number of Republicans, in Congress

and elsewhere, opposed Roosevelt.
They believed that the New Deal went
too far.
Many wealthy people regarded FDR as
their enemy.
A group called the American Liberty
League, founded in 1934, spearheaded
much of the opposition. The group
was led by former Democratic
presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith,
the National Association of
Manufacturers, and leading business
figures.
The league charged the New Deal with
limiting individual freedom in an
unconstitutional, un-American
manner.
Many Progressives and Socialists

attacked the New Deal because they
believed that the programs did not
provide enough help.
Muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair
believed that the entire economic
system needed to be reformed.
In 1934, Sinclair ran for governor of
California on the Democratic ticket.
His platform, End Poverty in
California (EPIC), called for a new
economic system in which the state
would take over factories and farms.
In Wisconsin, a Progressive candidate
won the governorship. The
Progressives and the state Socialist
Party joined forces, calling for a
redistribution of income.
Other Critics
Some other New Deal critics were demagogues, leaders who manipulate
people with half-truths, deceptive promises, and scare tactics.
One such demagogue was Father Charles E. Coughlin. At times Father
Coughlin contradicted himself. One time he advocated the nationalization,
or government takeover and ownership, of banks and the redistribution of
wealth. Another time he defended the sanctity of private property. At first
he supported the New Deal, later he described Roosevelt as a great
betrayer and liar. By the end of the 1930s Coughlin was issuing antiJewish statements and showering praise on Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini, two menacing leaders in Europe.
Huey Long, one time governor of Louisiana, and then United States
senator, was another type of demagogue. Long called for a redistribution
of wealth in the United States. Long developed a program called ShareOur-Wealth. The goal was to limit individual personal wealth and increase
the minimal income of all citizens. Long also called for increased benefits
for veterans, shorter working hours, payments for education, and pensions
for the elderly.
Modern-Day Critics
Some historians and economists believe that the New Deal did not achieve
the greatest good for the greatest number of Americans. They argue that
New Deal programs hindered economic progress and threatened Americas
core beliefs in free enterprise. They also charge that the programs created
a bloated and powerful federal government and encouraged inefficient use
of resources.
Modern critics also attack the policy of paying farmers not to plant. In a
time of hunger, the program wasted precious resources. Farm production
quotas penalized efficient and less-efficient farmers equally, while the free
market would have weeded out inefficiency and rewarded productivity.
Finally, the New Deal receives criticism from people who oppose deficit
spendingpaying out more money from the annual federal budget than the
government receives in revenues.
Debate about the New Deal continues today. Critics believe that the
programs violated the free market system. Supporters believe that
providing relief to the poor and unemployed was worth the compromise.
The Court-Packing Fiasco

Roosevelt received criticism not only for his programs, but for his actions.
None aroused more suspicion than his attempt to pack the Supreme court.
Roosevelt, in an effort to gain more support in the Supreme Court, proposed a
major court-reform bill. He recommended that Congress allow him to add six
additional Supreme Court justices, one for every justice over 70 years old. His
argument was that this would lighten the case load for aging justices. His real
intention, however, was to pack the Court with judges supportive of the New
Deal.
Critics warned that FDR was trying to undermine the constitutional separation
of powers. They were concerned that Roosevelt was trying to gain unchecked
powers, which was a serious concern in a time when several dictators ruling in
Europe tilted their countries toward tyranny.
In the end, FDR still wound up with a Court that tended to side with him. Some
of the older justices retired and Roosevelt was able to appoint justices who
favored the New Deal. However, he also suffered political damage. Many
Republicans and southern Democrats united against New Deal legislation. This
alliance remained a force for years to come.
The New Deals CriticsAssessment

Which Factor Contributed to the modern-day criticism of the New Deal?

(A) Critics believed that rural electrification would cause farm areas to
have the same problems as urban centers.
(B) Critics believed that free enterprise would have given a better deal to
African American businesses
(C) Critics felt that the New Deal threatened Americans core belief in free
enterprise.
(D) Critics believed that the New Deal increased incidents of urban crime
and homelessness.
Novelist Upton Sinclair opposed New Deal programs because
(A) They discouraged free enterprise.
(B) He believed that the programs did not protect the interests of big
business.
(C) He was concerned the Roosevelt was trying to gain dictorial power.
(D) He believed that the entire economic system needed to be reformed.
The New Deals CriticsAssessment

Which Factor Contributed to the modern-day criticism of the New Deal?

(A) Critics believed that rural electrification would cause farm areas to
have the same problems as urban centers.
(B) Critics believed that free enterprise would have given a better deal to
African American businesses
(C) Critics felt that the New Deal threatened Americans core belief in free
enterprise.
(D) Critics believed that the New Deal increased incidents of urban crime
and homelessness.
Novelist Upton Sinclair opposed New Deal programs because
(A) They discouraged free enterprise.
(B) He believed that the programs did not protect the interests of big
business.
(C) He was concerned the Roosevelt was trying to gain dictorial power.
(D) He believed that the entire economic system needed to be reformed.
Last Days of the New Deal

What factors led to the recession of 1937, and how did

the Roosevelt administration respond?
What triumphs and setbacks did unions experience
during the New Deal era?
What effects did the New Deal have on American
culture?
What lasting effects can be attributed to the New
Deal?
The Recession of 1937

In August 1937, the economy collapsed again. Industrial production

and employment levels fell.
The nation entered a recession, a period of slow business activity.
The new Social Security tax was partly to blame. The tax came
directly out of workers paychecks, through payroll deductions.
With less money in their pockets, Americans bought fewer goods.
Americans also had less money because FDR had to cut back on
expensive programs such as the WPA.
The President had become concerned about the rising national
debt, or the total amount of money the federal government borrows
and has to pay back. The government borrows when its revenue, or
income, does not keep up with its expenses.
To fund the New Deal, the government had to borrow massive
amounts of money. As a result the national debt rose from $21
billion in 1933 to $43 billion by 1940.
Unions Triumph
In 1935, some union representatives wanted to create a place for unskilled

labor within the American Federation of Labor. They created the
Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO). The AFL did not support this
effort and suspended the CIO in 1936.
By 1938, the CIO coalition, or alliance of groups with similar goals, had 4
million members. John L. Lewis became president of the CIO, which
changed its name to the Congress of Industrial Organization. The aim of
the coalition of industrial unions was to challenge conditions in the
industry. Their main tool was the strike.
The passage of the Wagner Act, in 1935, legalized collective bargaining and
led to an era of strikes. Many work stoppages took the form of sit-down
strikes, in which laborers stop working, but refuse to leave the building
and supporters set up picket lines outside. Together the strikers and the
picket lines prevent the company from bringing in scabs, or non-union
substitute workers. These tactics, although not always successful, proved
quite powerful. In 1939, the Supreme Court outlawed the sit-down strike
as being too potent a weapon and an obstacle to negotiation.
The New Deals Effects on Culture

Literature: Pearl Bucks The Good Earth (1931), Zora Neale Hurstons
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), and John Steinbecks The
Grapes of Wrath (1939) were all Depression-era novels that were
destined to become classics. James Agee and Walker Evans lived with
Alabama sharecroppers to produce their nonfiction masterpiece Let
Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941).
Radio and Movies: Radio became a major source of entertainment

with comedy shows and the first soap operas. Movies also gave
Americans a needed escape from hard times. For a quarter,
customers could see a double feature or take the whole family to a
drive-in theater. Some films of the day were Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington, The Marx Brothers Duck Soup and Monkey Business,
and The Wizard of Oz.
The WPA and the Arts: FDR believed that the arts were not luxuries.
He earmarked WPA funds to support unemployed artists, musicians,
historians, theater people, and writers.
Lasting New Deal Achievements

The New Deal had a profound effect on American life. Voters

began to expect a President to formulate programs and solve
problems. People accepted government intervention in their
lives. Workers demanded more changes in the workplace. The
New Deal also left a physical legacy with monuments that dot
the American landscape.
Many New Deal bridges, dams, tunnels, public buildings, and
hospitals exist to this day. Some federal agencies such as the
Tennessee Valley Authority and the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation have also endured.
The Social Security system has gone through some changes,
but is a part of the lives of all Americans.
Perhaps the New Deals greatest achievement was to restore a
sense of hope to the nation.
Last Days of the New DealAssessment

What act legalized collective bargaining?

(A) Wagner Act
(B) Fair Labor Standards Act
(C) Glass-Steagal Act
(D) Emergency Banking Act
______________ was partly to blame for the 1937 recession.
(A) The WPA
(B) The development of the CIO
(C) The Social Security tax
(D) Senator Huey Longs Share-Our-Wealth program
Last Days of the New DealAssessment

What act legalized collective bargaining?

(A) Wagner Act
(B) Fair Labor Standards Act
(C) Glass-Steagal Act
(D) Emergency Banking Act
______________ was partly to blame for the 1937 recession.
(A) The WPA
(B) The development of the CIO
(C) The Social Security tax
(D) Senator Huey Longs Share-Our-Wealth program
Theme 4
The U.S.A. and the World

From Isolationism to War

Why did the United States choose neutrality in the

1930s?
How did American involvement in the European
conflict grow from 1939 to 1941?
Why did Japans attack on Pearl Harbor lead the
United States to declare war?
Good Neighbor Policy

Roosevelts Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, participated in the Montevideo
Conference of December 1933, where he backed a declaration favored by most
nations of the Western Hemisphere: No state has the right to intervene in the
internal or external affairs of another. In December Roosevelt stated, The
definite policy of the United States from now on is one opposed to armed
intervention. In 1934 at Roosevelts direction the 1903 treaty with Cuba
(based on the Platt Amendment) that gave the United States the right to
intervene to preserve internal stability or independence was abrogated.
Although domestic economic problems and World War II diverted attention
from the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelts Good Neighbor policy represented
an attempt to distance the United States from earlier interventionist policies,
such as the Roosevelt Corollary and military interventions in the region during
the 1910s and 1920s.
From Isolationism to War

Rather than addressing foreign concerns, President Roosevelt

focused on domestic issues surrounding the Great Depression
during the 1930s.
Congress further prevented international involvement by passing
a series of Neutrality Acts.
The first Neutrality Act prevented the United States from
providing weapons to nations at war.
The second act banned loans to nations at war.
The third act permitted trade of nonmilitary goods with
fighting nations, as long as those nations paid cash and
transported the cargo themselves. This policy became known
as cash and carry.
The Neutrality Acts prevented the United States from selling arms
even to those nations that were trying to defend themselves from
aggression.
American Involvement Grows

Debating the American Role

After the German invasion of
Poland, many Americans began
to feel that the United States
shared the Allies interests.
Roosevelt asked Congress to
revise the Neutrality Acts to make
them more flexible.
Isolationists formed the America
First Committee to protest
increasing American aid to
Britain.
The Lend-Lease Act

In December 1940, Britain
confessed its inability to pay cash
for supplies.
In response, Roosevelt
announced a new plan to provide
war supplies to Britain without
any payment in return.
Despite protest from the America
First Committee, Congress
passed the Lend-Lease Act in
March 1941. This act authorized
the President to aid any nation
whose defense he believed was
vital to American security.

1930 1940

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America: Pathways to the Present: Cambridge Ed.

Copyright 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as

America: Pathways to the Present: Cambridge Ed.

Theme 1: The Stock Market Crash

Copyright 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as

America: Pathways to the Present: Cambridge Ed.

Copyright 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as

The Stock Market Crash

What events led to the stock markets Great Crash in

The Market Crashes

The market crash in October of 1929 happened very quickly.

Effects of the Great Crash, 1929

The Great Depression

The economic contraction that began with the Great

Underlying Causes of the Depression

The prosperous economy of the 1920s lacked a firm base.

Speculators bought stocks with borrowed money and then

The Stock Market CrashAssessment

________ was part of the nations business cycle.

The Stock Market CrashAssessment

________ was part of the nations business cycle.

The Election of 1932

How did President Hoover respond to the Great

Hoovers Limited Strategy

Hoover convinced business leaders to help maintain public confidence in

Prohibition Is Repealed In February 1933, Congress passed the Twenty-first

2,500 to 4,000 people worked on the construction.

The End of an Era

Many things that symbolized the 1920s faded away.

A New Deal for America

FDR promised a New Deal for the American people.

The Election of 1932

The Election of 1932Assessment

The Election of 1932Assessment

Forging a New Deal

How did Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt work to

Restoring Hope and the First Hundred Days

Two, of Four, Areas of New Deal Reform

FDR wanted to restore public confidence in the nations banks.

FDR persuaded Congress to establish the Federal Emergency Relief

Two More Areas of New Deal Reform

In 1933, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) worked to improve housing

The Second New Deal

When the New Deal failed to bring about significant economic

New and Expanded Agencies

The Resettlement Administration and later the Farm Security

The 1936 Election

FDR won a landslide victory over Republican

Forging a New DealAssessment

Forging a New DealAssessment

America: Pathways to the Present: Cambridge Ed.

Copyright 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as

The New Deal Affects Many Groups

How are women affected by the New Deal?

Women Make their Mark

Women Make their Mark

Frances Perkins, secretary of labor, is first female cabinet member

African Americans Take Leadership Roles

The President Fails to Support Civil Rights

Mexican Americans Under FDR

Native Americans Gain Support

Native Americans and the New Deal