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THE GREAT DEPRESSION: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END,
by HOURLY HISTORY.
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Midway through description of depression author derails discourse into a diatribe against Roosevelt and never recovers it. If that was the main purpose the book is a fraud and so is the title, giving very little of actual plight of people.
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"The ten-year period between 1929 and 1939 was one of the most tumultuous ever experienced in American history. It threatened the very nature of American society, from the nation’s fundamental belief in capitalism to its dominant ethos of rugged individualism. These ideas would be fundamentally changed by the time the depression was over and the United States entered World War II.
"The cycle of the United States economy, but especially the 15 years leading up to 1929, provided the major causes of the depression that would define the 1930s in American history. The causes came from various fronts. One was the state of American farming in the 1920s; second was the lack of oversight and caution with regards to the stock market. Finally, United States foreign policy not only harmed the American economy but also contributed to the depression becoming a global phenomenon.
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"The shock waves caused by the collapse of the stock market set off a chain of events that touched every level of American society. Lack of creative leadership was apparent even to contemporaries of President Herbert Hoover. Many of the private social agencies, such as churches and civic clubs, were overwhelmed by the rise of people needing assistance. A great number of Americans were displaced in various regions of the country, going from place to place looking for work and relief. A famous group of people looking for relief was the Bonus Army. These men were World War I veterans appealing to Washington for bonus payments promised them.
"The election of 1932 was a turning point. For the first time since the end of World War I, the Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Franklin Roosevelt assumed the presidency in 1933, and his first 100 days became a standard measure for all future presidents. This collection of action, which lasted well beyond the first 100 days, coalesced under the title of the New Deal.
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"Even at the nadir of the depression, Americans found various methods of coping with the harsh realities of the era. Many Americans joined political groups and social movements, partook in many cultural institutions, and rediscovered many aspects of traditional American culture. Many of these movements were aided by government programs that were part of the New Deal.
"The election of 1936 solidified the president’s and the Democratic Party’s position of power. Roosevelt and the Democrats were able to build an effective coalition of American voters. Urban centers, especially immigrant communities, African-Americans, and southern segregationists propelled the Roosevelt administration to elective success election after election."
Presumably the author shall explain the "southern segregationists propelled the Roosevelt administration to elective success election after election." bit.
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"But Roosevelt had his critics and his missteps. Huey Long and Father Charles Coughlin were among the harshest critics of Roosevelt and the New Deal. The Supreme Court ruled against many of the New Deal legislative gains. Many Americans were taken aback by Roosevelt’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court with judges sympathetic to his programs. In 1937 and 1938, the economy experienced a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, a number that had been on the decline since 1934."
Weren't "Huey Long and Father Charles Coughlin" known nazi sympathisers?
"Americans returned to work as Europe prepared for war. By the time the Second World War started and the United States was providing weapons and supplies to Great Britain and France, the Great Depression was over. After World War II many of the institutions and programs created by the New Deal to combat the depression remained. Though a number of recessions occurred in post-war America, another depression has been avoided."
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"“There may be a recession in stock prices, but not anything in the nature of a crash.”
"—Irving Fisher, 1929"
Presumably the author shall explain who this was.
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"For convenience sake, the Great Depression is given the start date of 1929. Like any historical event, there are antecedents that can be traced to years, even decades, before the event took place. This is also true of the Great Depression. A number of causes from the decade before brought about the economic and social calamity of the 1930s.
"The Treaty of Versailles brought an end to World War I, the worst conflict the world had ever seen. Millions were dead from four years of brutal fighting, and millions more were displaced because of the damage caused by the conflict. The treaty that officially ended the war not only required Germany to accept all blame for the starting the war but also obliged the country to assume the economic responsibility. Germany was expected to pay France and Great Britain over $30 billion in reparations. Unfortunately, Germany was almost completely bankrupt from the war and had no means to repay such a staggering amount. ... "
Germany lied. There was money enough to pay for sabotage in France, which German agents paid in gold marks. But reparations weren't paid, after all the havoc Germany wreaked deliberately to break France.
" ... Conversely, France and Britain were unable to repay the United States for their support during the war. Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States from 1923 to 1929, refused to restructure any of the war debt, thereby keeping the European economy suppressed and ultimately unable to purchase from U.S. companies."
The president who got famous for never speaking more than two words.
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"Toward the end of the 1920s, American companies needed consumers anywhere they could get them. After the war, many people in the rush of new products, for instance cars, bought much of their goods on credit. As personal debt rose, spending eventually decreased. American business, however, did not slow production—not of consumer goods nor the large industries that supplied them. Major industries such as textiles and steel were especially hard hit. One of the stalwarts of American business for the past 60 years, the railroad industry, experienced decline because of the rise of automobiles. By 1929, close to half of American families had cars. Between 1925 and 1929, new housing construction also declined.
"One sector of the economy was hit harder than all of the rest: agriculture. The 1920s are often remembered as a time of great prosperity, but not for farming. During this time, the McNary-Haugen Bill was introduced and passed in Congress. It required the U.S. government to buy surplus crops from farmers to prevent them from realizing another loss. The government would, in turn, sell the crops on the world market, though the market in Europe wasn’t nearly as lucrative as it had been immediately following the war. More than likely, the government would be selling the crops at a loss. In order to recover the losses, taxes would be raised in the United States. Calvin Coolidge vetoed the measure twice saying he was resisting the “tyranny of bureaucratic regulation and control.”"
Why has he not been blamed - and rightfully so - for the depression that he might have perpetrated single-handedly, being in a position to stop it and not having done so?
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"Though the New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1773, the buying and selling of stocks was not common practice in the United States at least among the middle-class. In the past, there had been limited buying of bonds and commodities by the middle-class, but after World War I, investing in companies became much more common. Two methods of buying, however, were especially risky. First, speculating on stocks was quite common in investment circles during the 1920s. The second method was a bit of a corollary to speculation: buying on margin.
"Buying on margin is the practice of using credit to secure the purchase. For instance, to buy an expensive stock, an investor needs, as an example, $100. The investor only has $50, so they must secure the additional funds somehow, namely credit. So the buyer secures a loan for 50% of the price, or 50% margin. This strategy works out great if the stock’s value rises. The investor can take their profit, pay off the loan, and pocket the rest. If the stock falls, however, the money isn’t only lost, but the investor still needs to pay back the loan. If enough stocks fall in value at the same time, the investors who were trading on margin would be in a precarious position. In the late 1920s, American investors were buying as much as 75% on margin.
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"After the election of 1928 and the ascendency to the presidency by Herbert Hoover in the spring of 1929, these warning signs weren’t readily apparent or simply ignored and dismissed. The American economy had always been cyclical in nature, and even if the prosperity of the 1920s was coming to a close, it didn’t mean anything devastating was going to happen. There was still a great deal of optimism concerning the American economy. As Hoover said during his campaign, “with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.”
"September and October of 1929 saw a great deal of volatility in the stock market. It was apparent that the market was in the process of a correction. On Thursday, October 24, 1929, over 12 million shares were dumped by investors, losing 2 percent of its value. The market rebounded on Friday, in large part thanks to investment banks buying stock to stimulate the market. But it wasn’t enough. The market fell again on the following Monday, and on October 29, Black Tuesday, the market moved over 16 million shares, causing a 12 percent loss of its total value, the largest single-day loss in the history of the market. The stock market would continue to fall for the next three years. It would not reach its record high of September 1929 until 1954.
"The crash of the stock market caused a chain reaction throughout the financial sector of the United States. Shortly after the final sell-off of October 29, 1929, bank customers wanted to become liquid, that is, they wanted to have their money in hand. The banks were unable to provide funds for the amount of customers demanding their money. Banks were the main institutions helping investors buy on margin. When the market crashed, those lenders did not see a repayment on the loans, hence the shortage of cash available. As news of the shortage of funds spread, people panicked and went to their banks. The banks tried to pay back their customers, sometimes as little as twenty cents to the dollar, but more often they simply couldn’t pay. When a bank couldn’t make its payments, it was forced to close, and all that was deposited was lost. In the 1920s, about 70 banks closed each year. From October 1929 until October 1930, over 700 banks were forced to close. By 1933, shortly before Herbert Hoover left the presidency, another 4,000 banks closed."
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"“If, with all the advantages I’ve had, I can’t make a living, I’m just no good, I guess.”
"—Unemployed Person, 1933"
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"After the stock market crash and the ensuing run on the banks, many, including President Hoover, believed the worst was over. In fact it was just the beginning. Purchasing was already slowing before the crash; now it was at a crawl. Businesses began to lay off workers as demand evaporated. Unemployment rose dramatically. President Hoover elicited a promise from major manufacturers not to continue the layoffs in order to help people return to spending. At first, employers tried to comply with the president’s request but eventually could not honor the pledge. By 1933, between 25-30% of Americans were out of work.
"As people lost their jobs or saw their wages drastically cut, the consequences were often devastating. In large urban areas that had grown significantly since the 1890s, public charitable organizations were inundated with requests for assistance. Some were forced to close because of the high demand. Others like the Catholic Church helped as much as they could, but their efforts to relieve the poor had historically been a temporary measure. Their works of charity weren’t meant to be long-term. Though churches didn’t close, sometimes all they could offer was prayers.
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"Incomes shrank or became non-existent, many were forced out of their homes for not meeting their mortgage payment or, more likely in the case of the working class, were unable to pay their rent. Shantytowns, called Hoovervilles after the president, sprang up around the country, populated with people made homeless by the economic hardships of the depression. Others took to traveling, searching for work wherever they could find it. Though transient homelessness had been around since the beginning of the United States, the increase in wandering homeless men was significant during the depression.
"Those wandering from city to city and town to town weren’t the only transients in the United States. In 1930 due to drought and poor soil conditions, a massive erosion of land occurred throughout the Midwest. High winds propelled the dirt and dust to blacken out the sun and create large drifts of soil across the plains. More popularly known as the Dust Bowl, the harsh climate condition made farming from the Dakotas to Texas virtually impossible. Many people from the region, including Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas, moved, predominantly toward California in hopes of working on the bountiful farms rumored to be there. The transients, collectively known as Okies and immortalized in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, did not receive a warm welcome in the Golden State. Like everywhere else in the United States, work was hard to come by, if it could be had at all.
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"Appeals to the government for aid were largely unmet. It wasn’t because of cruelty or callous nature, but there simply weren’t many mechanisms in place to help such a large amount of people in need. Even more, the culture of the United States, especially within the halls of government, was averse to providing aid or welfare to its citizens. Herbert Hoover embodied this attitude. He was born to modest means and worked his way up in local and then national government. Though Hoover was a self-made man, he wasn’t unfeeling to the plight of those suffering. After World War I, he directed the American relief effort to Europe, taking special care to provide for those displaced by the fighting. Hoover, however, like most politicians of his generation, believed it was his duty to be a good steward of the nation’s finances. To that end, he thought it was negligent, almost immoral, to have a deficit in the national economy. Better to endure some short-term hardship than saddle the nation with a greater problem like a financial deficit.
"Unfortunately, the suffering wasn’t short term. Hoover wanted to help, but it was from an outdated perspective. His administration thought the best strategies was to ensure that the nation didn’t fall into debt. In order to stave off the possible shortfalls from decreased revenues, Hoover proposed a tax increase in 1931. Though Hoover’s Republican Party controlled Congress, they voted against such a strategy.
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"Another example of resisting a relief effort in order to preserve the budget was an episode remembered as the Bonus Army. In 1924, well before the economy took its historic tumble, Congress passed a bill to pay World War I veterans bonuses for their service to the nation. As circumstances became direr, it was proposed in 1932 by Congress to make the payments sooner rather later, as was originally proposed. In order to show support for the legislation, an estimated 43,000 veterans and their families arrived in Washington. Ultimately the bill did not pass, but the veterans stayed on in the capital, remaining in a camp they had established in an area of Washington called the Anacostia Flats. After the city police failed to disperse the Bonus Army, Hoover decided to send in the U.S. Army.
"Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, with Dwight Eisenhower in his staff and George Patton commanding a cavalry regiment, the army charged the “bonusers” using fixed bayonets and tear gas. While there were no deaths from the action, 55 veterans were injured and 135 arrested. The Bonus Army was a black eye for the Hoover administration and it, along with his ineffectual response to the depression, seriously damaged his bid for reelection."
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"“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
"—Franklin Roosevelt, 1933"
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"The fall of 1932 approached and with it the first presidential election during the worst economic crisis the United States had ever known. Though chances for reelection were slim, the Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover was the representative of the Grand Old Party. His challenger was from a prominent New York family, cousin to former president Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
"Harvard educated, former secretary of the Navy, and former governor of New York, Roosevelt was an unlikely representative of the more populist Democratic Party. While the Republican Party was relatively united behind Hoover, the Democratic Party was far more divided. The progressive-urban wing of the party, which Roosevelt represented, the less progressive remnants of machine-style politics, and southern segregationists all had influence under the Democratic banner. Uniting those disparate voices, as well as defeating Hoover in the general election, was the task confronting Roosevelt.
"Roosevelt and the Democrats were up to the task. In the popular vote, Roosevelt won 57% of the vote to Hoover’s 39%. The margin in the Electoral College was far more telling. Roosevelt received 472 electoral votes to Hoover’s 59. In both houses of Congress, the Democrats won solid majorities, gaining close to 100 seats in the House and 12 seats in the Senate. It was clear that the people of the United States wanted change. The voters rallied around Roosevelt’s promise of a New Deal—the term that came to identify the presidential and legislative plan of the Democrats. It was a promise of industrial recovery, agricultural recovery, and relief for the jobless. When Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, the expectation was that he and his allies in Congress would take immediate action. The new president did not disappoint.
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"The first 100 days of the Roosevelt presidency became the standard measure for all subsequent presidents. Washington was a flurry of action in the first three months of the new administration. As Roosevelt himself explained, “it is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
"The first task was to get the country back on secure financial footing. To achieve this, Roosevelt proposed a bank holiday through the Bank Holiday Emergency Funding Act. All banks in the United States were closed for four days and analyzed by the government. Those that could be saved were given funding to help them recover. Those that were seen as too far gone were forced to close. The end result was a healthier financial structure that hopefully people would trust again.
"To further build that trust, the Roosevelt administration created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The purpose of the FDIC was to protect the money of bank customers regardless of the condition of the bank. If a bank failed and was insured, the FDIC was authorized to pay up to $2,500 to each depositor. The FDIC has become ubiquitous throughout American banking reaching an insured rate of $250,000 for each depositor.
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"Other aspects of the economy needed assistance as well. The stock market was the target of the Federal Security Act, which contained two important provisions. The first was that it enforced limits on the amount of stocks that could be bought on margin. Second, and most long-lasting was the creation of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC.) The SEC was intended to be a watchdog over the financial sector, preventing unfair and dangerous trading practices. Though its effectiveness has waxed and waned over the decades, it still provides a measure of security regarding the stock market that did not exist before 1933.
"Industry wasn’t overlooked in the legislation of the New Deal. The National Industry Recovery Act promoted cooperation between competitors and various industries to adjust prices and create wage stability for workers. The two main aspects of the act were the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA.) The mission of the NRA was to promote fair competition between businesses, often through the use of regulations. In the first two years of the NRA, it created over 700 new codes that businesses had to follow. The NRA also established rules promoting fair labor practices. The legislation made it legal for workers to join a union if they chose. Further, it outlawed “yellow dog contracts.” These were contracts between worker and employer, pledging that the worker would not join a union; if they did so, the employee was terminated.
"Along with protecting workers rights to join unions free of harassment, later legislation in the New Deal—but still in the first term of Roosevelt’s presidency—was the creation of the National Labor Relations Act. Most significantly, the NLRA created the National Labor Review Board. This agency, still in existence today, promotes fair labor practices throughout the United States economy and provides a body to voice grievances to and act as an arbiter between employers and workers. The original 1935 act made it legal for workers to collectively bargain. This was a monumental step in American labor history. Prior to 1935, the right to collectively bargain was not guaranteed and often actively fought against by American employers.
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"Rural and agricultural America was also touched by the New Deal. In the first 100 days, three programs were enacted to aid the rural heartland of the country. The Agricultural Adjustment Act provided funding to farmers who reduced production on their farms. This way the surpluses that plagued the 1920s were vastly reduced. Unfortunately, the Agricultural Adjustment Act hurt some of the poorest citizens who were hit the hardest by the depression. Sharecroppers in the south and itinerant farmers in the midwest and west were put out of work. If the land wasn’t being worked, there was no incentive to keep the workers.
"Though it did not help displaced farm workers, the Civilian Conservation Corps created in 1933 did provide work to many. It provided opportunities for young men to work on a variety of projects. This was a key component to many of the programs engineered by the New Deal: work. It is a particular scourge of American society that people receive payment while not working. Roosevelt was conscious of this attitude and went to great lengths to emphasize that his plan was about creating and sustaining jobs for the American worker, not giving handouts.
"The third program that had a great impact on rural Americans was the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority. This government-controlled corporation (still in operation today) was created to modernize and make the Tennessee Valley more livable for its residents. It brought electricity, flood control, navigation, and other improvements to portions of seven states, predominantly in the south. In order to bring these improvements, many more workers were needed, another immediate benefit of the TVA.
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"All of these acts, even with some of their focus on workers in a collective sense, didn’t touch people in a personal way. The individual, however, was not overlooked by the New Deal. The Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed by Congress in the first month of Roosevelt’s presidency. It provided $500 million (equivalent to $9.4 billion in 2017) to be distributed to state and local agencies with the stipulation that the money went to poor relief.
"All of this couldn’t happen without spending. The Roosevelt administration along with the Democratic Congress spent great amounts of money, placing the country in a financial deficit. Popularized by John Maynard Keynes, deficit spending became a governmental norm that is still employed today. The theory of Keynesian Economics posits that strategically spending to a deficit will ultimately stimulate the economy and eventually become unnecessary.
"What made all of this enormously popular wasn’t just the spending, regulation, and job creation; it was the personal touch most associated with Roosevelt himself. With his cigarette holder and patrician background, it might seem odd that the majority of Americans gravitated to Roosevelt. But the key to his popularity was his embrace of the newest mass media, the radio. Almost from the beginning of his presidency, Roosevelt hosted a weekly radio program detailing key events and legislation going on in Washington. These “fireside chats” were the antithesis of Herbert Hoover, derided as the do-nothing president. With each address, Roosevelt showed the American people that the government they had elected was doing something. It might not be successful, but it was action. That more than anything made people feel more confident about the future."
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"“They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.”
"—Franklin Roosevelt"
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"As Roosevelt’s first term continued, much to the consternation of Roosevelt and the Democrats, the depression continued as well. In 1935, after a wave of legislation that was nearly unprecedented in United States history, the economic hardships that gripped the nation were still evident. Unemployment was still about 20%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had risen steadily from 1933 to 1934, had slowed the following year. Approaching the halfway mark of this initial term, the campaign for reelection wasn’t too far off nor was it a foregone conclusion.
"Two of the most popular policy initiatives were enacted in 1935: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Social Security Act. Both appealed to working-class voters and provided a boost to the 1936 election. The WPA was created after Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act. Less than a month after Roosevelt signed the legislation into law, he established the WPA.
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"During its existence, the WPA employed over 8 million workers, with a one-year high in 1938 of 3.3 million workers employed. The work completed by the workers of the WPA changed the landscape of the nation. The WPA was responsible for the construction of 650,000 miles of road, 124,000 bridges, and 125,000 schools, hospitals, and post offices. In addition to such everyday structures like bridges, schools, and post offices, the WPA built Midway Airport in Chicago, LaGuardia Airport in New York, the River Walk in San Antonio, and the Oregon State Library in Salem Oregon, to name just a few of the more famous structures created by the administration. The blending of Art Deco, Modernism, and a working-class aesthetic make WPA projects stand out in American architecture. By the time the WPA was dissolved in 1943, it had left an indelible mark upon the country.
"The other key legislative initiative of 1935 was the Social Security Act. The depression was difficult for everyone in the United States, but it was especially difficult for the elderly. With unemployment at such high levels, the prospects for workers over the age of 60 were bleak. What’s more, the idea of working to a certain age and being able to retire was quite foreign to American workers. Very few working-class people could afford retirement. A person often worked until they were physically unable and then hoped their family was in a position to help them. Some workers worked until they died.
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"In order to provide some relief to older workers and make the prospect of retiring a little less remote, Roosevelt proposed the Social Security Act of 1935. The plan called for employees to have part of their wages withheld by the federal government as a method of saving for the future. Employers were required to match the employee contributions. When a person reached the age of 65, they could receive the money that had been saved for them through the Social Security program.
"Ida May Fuller was the first recipient of a Social Security payment in 1940, one month after she retired as a legal secretary. Though it provided a much-needed benefit to many workers, the new program did not cover certain occupations. Farmers, including sharecroppers, domestic workers, and the self-employed were not able to participate in the program. These provisions disproportionally hurt African-Americans, who made up the majority of sharecroppers and domestics in the south. Even so, Social Security is perhaps the most enduring program to come out of Roosevelt’s first term.
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"The popularity of the WPA and Social Security buoyed Roosevelt’s reelection prospects for 1936. Those that voted for Roosevelt in 1932 returned, and a coalition of voters returned Roosevelt to the White House for a second term. This coalition, sometimes referred to as the New Deal Coalition, was made up of Democratic voters in the south, African-Americans, women, and union members. Those that didn’t fall into these categories (and many Americans did) were inspired to vote for Roosevelt because the prevailing attitude was that he and the Democratic Party were making real progress toward recovery from the depression. All of these factors proved too much for the Republican nominee, Alf Landon, the governor of Kansas.
"The election of 1932 was a large win for Roosevelt and the Democrats, but 1936 was a landslide. It was the largest percentage of the popular vote won by a presidential candidate in history, gaining 60.8% of the vote to Landon's 36.5%. In the Electoral College, it was even more lopsided. Roosevelt gained a remarkable 98% of the vote or 523 of a possible 531 votes. It wasn’t just Roosevelt celebrating either; the Democrats won an additional twelve seats in the Senate and another nine seats in the House. The majorities Democrats enjoyed after the 1932 elections were made even stronger in 1936. From a Democratic perspective, happy days were indeed here again."
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"The Great Depression was the greatest economic hardship ever endured in the United States. Almost a third of all workers were unemployed. In the early years of the depression, very little relief was available. Even as the New Deal emerged, it wasn’t a solution for all workers. Many still remained unemployed, and many of those employed by programs only had temporary positions. After the particular job was finished, uncertainty returned. This almost constant stress took a toll on many Americans. Not being able to work caused feelings of anxiety, resentfulness, and humiliation. After the crash in 1929, suicides in the United States rose by 30% in 1930. People were in a desperate condition and were looking for ways to cope.
"One of the major ways to find solace in such a harsh world was to join together with others who were in similar straights. As Roosevelt and the Democrats gained power, they promoted policies friendly to organized labor. This was a stark contrast to the policies of previous administrations, dating back to the turn of the twentieth century. By making collective bargaining legal and making it safe to join unions, membership in labor organization rose rapidly in the 1930s.
"Generating this rise in union membership was a change in philosophy by many union organizers. Led by John L. Lewis, the United Mine Workers of America encouraged the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to support industrial unionism. As opposed to only being for skilled workers, industrial unionism organized workers based on the industry they were a part of, for instance the United Steelworkers, United Rubber Workers, and the United Auto Workers. At first, it was named the Committee for Industrial Organization, but when it was expelled from the AFL in 1937, the name changed to the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the CIO.
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"The United Auto Workers (UAW) saw the most significant gains in unionization, gaining admission to General Motors, the largest corporation in the world at the time, and Chrysler. But it did not come without a price. Thousands were arrested in Detroit and Flint, Michigan and thousands more injured as police and private security assaulted the striking workers. A battle outside of a Ford Motor Factory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1937, remembered as the Battle of the Overpass, highlighted the violence that union organizers faced, even in an era that was friendlier toward organized labor. Pictures from the event were widely circulated in the nation, causing Ford to lose a great deal of its positive public image.
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"The United Auto Workers (UAW) saw the most significant gains in unionization, gaining admission to General Motors, the largest corporation in the world at the time, and Chrysler. But it did not come without a price. Thousands were arrested in Detroit and Flint, Michigan and thousands more injured as police and private security assaulted the striking workers. A battle outside of a Ford Motor Factory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1937, remembered as the Battle of the Overpass, highlighted the violence that union organizers faced, even in an era that was friendlier toward organized labor. Pictures from the event were widely circulated in the nation, causing Ford to lose a great deal of its positive public image.
"Unions weren’t the only organizations that saw dramatic growth during the depression. Political organizations also grew during the decade, especially the Communist Party. There is a debate about how many members the party gained in the 1930s, but its influence was significant. A number of leading writers, intellectuals, and artists were either sympathetic to the Communist Party or became members. Ordinary workers did not necessarily flock to the Communist banner, but they were collectively more accepting of their politics than they had been prior to the Great Depression. The Communist Party played a significant role in organizing labor organizations and in being some of the first Americans to recognize the rise of fascism in Europe.
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"The heightened political atmosphere of the era along with a more active government than previous eras was reflected in much of the art produced in the depression. It was an era that celebrated the common man. Norman Rockwell captured scenes that many of the middle-class readers of The Saturday Evening Post could relate to. For example, the cover entitled “Springtime” from 1935 looked like a country boy of modest means, yet still carrying books.
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"The heightened political atmosphere of the era along with a more active government than previous eras was reflected in much of the art produced in the depression. It was an era that celebrated the common man. Norman Rockwell captured scenes that many of the middle-class readers of The Saturday Evening Post could relate to. For example, the cover entitled “Springtime” from 1935 looked like a country boy of modest means, yet still carrying books.
"Even more of a representative of the common man was movie star (among many other career paths) Will Rogers. A prominent supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, Rogers used his various platforms to celebrate (and sometimes needle) the president and the New Deal. He often portrayed a worldly countryman who outsmarted business types. Moreover, Rogers’ films often reasserted the power of the community over a corrupt or unfair authority.
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"The most enduring film legacy to come out of the depression were the films of Frank Capra. He often had characters in his movies that wanted to be heard by greater forces, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Alternatively, his films carried the message of a community rising to the aid of an individual who needs their help, like in American Madness. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town carries a similar theme, with the titular character being declared insane for providing great amount of relief to farmers from a fortune he inherited. Before the corporate lawyer can take control of the money, however, Deeds is rescued by a reporter (who is also his love interest).
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"The most enduring film legacy to come out of the depression were the films of Frank Capra. He often had characters in his movies that wanted to be heard by greater forces, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Alternatively, his films carried the message of a community rising to the aid of an individual who needs their help, like in American Madness. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town carries a similar theme, with the titular character being declared insane for providing great amount of relief to farmers from a fortune he inherited. Before the corporate lawyer can take control of the money, however, Deeds is rescued by a reporter (who is also his love interest).
"Not all of the films played on themes that were easily recognized in the modern world. As much as films and other entertainments were a reflection of and inspired by the times, they often provided something else: an escape. Movies like the Wizard of Oz took viewers to a magical place, and Gone with the Wind recollected a grander time and the possibility of recovery from trying events. The Marx Brothers provided laughs, and Walt Disney amazed audiences with stunning animation in the films Snow White and Fantasia. Even Frank Capra made light films such as It Happened One Night and You Can’t Take It With You.
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"Comic strips came into mass distribution in the latter part of the nineteenth century, becoming a staple of the daily newspaper in the process. Comic books as we think of them today became quite popular in the 1930s, with Famous Funnies debuting in 1934. Especially significant to modern culture was the creation of the superhero comic. Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, debuted in 1938. Though geared more toward children and adolescents, even in its earliest forms, comic books appealed to adult readers as well.
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"Comic strips came into mass distribution in the latter part of the nineteenth century, becoming a staple of the daily newspaper in the process. Comic books as we think of them today became quite popular in the 1930s, with Famous Funnies debuting in 1934. Especially significant to modern culture was the creation of the superhero comic. Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, debuted in 1938. Though geared more toward children and adolescents, even in its earliest forms, comic books appealed to adult readers as well.
"Franklin Roosevelt used radio effectively throughout his presidency, and the radio was also provided entertainment straight to people’s homes. By the end of the decade, all Major League baseball teams were broadcasting their games. Variety programs were quite popular, mixing comedy and music, and broadcasts of plays were common. In the 1930s, there was an explosion of serial dramas, or soap operas, that dominated the airwaves. What better way to escape the troubles of everyday life than to be thrust into a captivating world of glamor and intrigue? It might not have been a long respite, but it was a respite nonetheless.
................................................................................................
"Any discussion of culture in the 1930s would be incomplete without a mention of the Federal Project Number One. This initiative had four main areas dedicated to art, theatre, writing, and music, all under separate auspices. The Federal Art Project supported the work of such visual artists like Jackson Pollack, Diego Rivera, Mark Rothko, and hundreds of others.
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"Any discussion of culture in the 1930s would be incomplete without a mention of the Federal Project Number One. This initiative had four main areas dedicated to art, theatre, writing, and music, all under separate auspices. The Federal Art Project supported the work of such visual artists like Jackson Pollack, Diego Rivera, Mark Rothko, and hundreds of others.
"The Federal Theatre Project had a similar reach and influence. Important figures in American theatre were supported by the project including Orson Welles, Arthur Miller, and John Housman. The theatre branch of the arts initiative produced over 40 productions between 1935 and 1938. It also provided support for theatre in the African-American community. The most famous—and controversial at the time—production was the all African-American cast of Macbeth (often referred to as Voodoo Macbeth because of its Caribbean setting), performed in Harlem and directed by Orson Welles. The play was a commercial, artistic, and social success.
................................................................................................
"Of all of the components of Federal Project Number One, the Federal Writers Project was the most prolific. Like the Federal Theatre Project, it had a profound influence on the African-American writing community, aiding in the careers of Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, and Arna Bontemps. Many noteworthy authors worked on the Project’s American Life Histories and American Guides among other projects. Nelson Algren, Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, and many others contributed to the work of the Writers Project.
................................................................................................
"Of all of the components of Federal Project Number One, the Federal Writers Project was the most prolific. Like the Federal Theatre Project, it had a profound influence on the African-American writing community, aiding in the careers of Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, and Arna Bontemps. Many noteworthy authors worked on the Project’s American Life Histories and American Guides among other projects. Nelson Algren, Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, and many others contributed to the work of the Writers Project.
"The most famous and perhaps most important collection to come out of the Federal Writers Project was the Slave Narratives. Under the direction of John Lomax, federal staffers went throughout the south and recorded 2,900 recollections of former slaves. Collected between 1936 and 1938, the work comprised 17 volumes of work housed in the Library of Congress. These records provide one of the most important sources on the United States before the Civil War and on the slave experience in particular."
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"As the 1936 election proved, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal were enormously popular. Its programs provided relief to millions of Americans and its policies produced changes that seemed to be working. With Congress as a willing ally and accomplice, it appeared as though nothing stood in the way of Roosevelt’s agenda. But there was one glaring exception to this: the Supreme Court.
"Upon his election in 1932, Roosevelt inherited a court that leaned more conservative than liberal. Four justices, termed the Four Horsemen by the press, were mostly appointees of Republican presidents (Pierce Butler, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter, and James Clark Reynolds, respectively). The lone exception was an appointee of Woodrow Wilson: James Clark McReynolds, Wilson’s former attorney general.
................................................................................................
"Starting in January of 1936, the Four Horsemen along with two other justices declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 unconstitutional, in violation of the tenth amendment. Three other cases in 1936 voided other New Deal measures. In Carter v. Carter Coal Company, the court struck down legislation that regulated coal expenditures. In Morehead v. New York, the court struck down a law requiring a minimum wage put in place for women and children workers. The biggest blow, however, to Roosevelt’s agenda came from the Schechter Poultry Corp v. United States case. The high court ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act, one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress and a key part of the New Deal, was unconstitutional. Specifically, the court ruled unanimously that the NIRA was an excessive use of the legislature’s power and that it blurred the line between the executive and legislative branches of government.
"These legal setbacks not only angered Roosevelt but also concerned him. He was worried that all of the hard work of the previous term and what he had planned for the future might be undone by a scant court majority of five men. To combat this, Roosevelt and his advisors came up with a plan to alter the Supreme Court in their favor. For every justice over 70 years old, the president would appoint a new justice, up to six new appointees. Roosevelt proposed the plan to the public in one of his fireside chats. He argued that the Constitution and the New Deal needed to be protected from the Supreme Court, especially those members that were out of touch.
"It was a proposition too far for Roosevelt to achieve. Public opinion was tepidly split at first, and as more bipartisan voices rose up against the plan to “pack the court,” it was clear that the plan was becoming more and more unpopular. A committee of private citizens, the Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government, spoke out against the bill and organized a letter-writing campaign to register their disapproval.
................................................................................................
"The plan didn’t fare well in either chamber of Congress either. The bill proposing the changes never made it to the House floor. In an unorthodox maneuver, Roosevelt then had the bill introduced to the Senate. Traditionally, bills proposed by the president start in the House and then move on to the upper chamber. In this case, it didn’t matter. The Senate did hold a hearing on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it met strong resistance there as well. Interestingly from a Republican standpoint, the argument over the bill did not include them. Instead, it split Democratic senators. Though it eventually made it to the full Senate floor, it was lambasted and sent back to committee for revision. By the time a compromise bill passed the Senate, the issue was almost moot, and none of the stipulations for the high court were included in the final bill. Roosevelt effectively lost the battle over the court."
" The public did not turn against the president or the New Deal ... "
" ... Ironically, Roosevelt would have a major impact on the Supreme Court. As the president who served the longest (and the only one able to do so as it turns out), Roosevelt appointed eight justices in his tenure. William O. Douglass, appointed in 1939, served until his retirement in 1975. Roosevelt influenced the court for four decades, long after he died in 1945."
Author discourses on someone who was a nazi sympathiser.
" ... Long and his popularity. Many called him a demagogue and compared him to Hitler in style and temperament. ... "
"It wasn’t just from the left that Roosevelt and the New Deal faced criticism. As one might expect, there was a generous amount of criticism from the right as well. The former president Herbert Hoover was a vocal critic of Roosevelt and the New Deal, still clinging to ideas of a balanced budget and maintaining a pro-business attitude. Roosevelt’s former colleague, Al Smith, also felt that the New Deal went too far toward workers’ rights. William Randolph Hearst, once a supporter of the New Deal, began to oppose it when New Deal policies started to levy higher taxes on the wealthy and on inheritance. Such policies, among many others, caused some of the most wealthy and established Americans to label Roosevelt as a traitor to his class."
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Author goes on to talk of another nazi at length.
"Though not the wealthiest of critics, one of the loudest was a priest from Michigan, Father Charles Coughlin. ... "
"Various prominent Catholic Roosevelt supporters tried to get Coughlin to lay off of the administration, but they were unsuccessful. As Europe and the world slid closer and closer to war, Coughlin’s anti-internationalism became more and more isolationist and nationalist. What’s more, Father Coughlin was espousing decidedly anti-Semitic views. Though he never endorsed Nazism, he did speak favorably of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. He held that communism was largely the result of Jewish leadership and the fascists were a better alternative.
"The Roosevelt administration and the Vatican tried through various means to get Father Coughlin off the air but to no avail. It wasn’t until the eve of World War II that Father Coughlin would be removed from the air. Tighter restrictions were placed on radio stations, especially those that broadcast controversial views, for instance the idea that the United States should maintain a rigid neutrality with regards to World War II. Later, as the United States entered World War II, Father Coughlin was forced from all public activity, save his weekly homilies from his home parish in Michigan.
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"Though progress during the depression was often slow, overall from the low point of 1933, there was a steady improvement to the economy. Unemployment trended downward, production and wages rose. After the low point of 1932, the stock market made steady gains during Roosevelt’s presidency. By early 1937, much of the economic sector had reached 1929 levels.
"Then between 1937 and mid-1938, things began to fall. Unemployment shot up to almost 20%. Manufacturing production also fell off considerably. Though wages stayed relatively stable, the number of people losing their jobs made consumers cautious, causing s slow-down in purchasing. This, in turn, caused production to be cut back even further. The stock market also tumbled throughout 1937, closing the year down 37%. People feared that the depression was returning."
Author returns to war on Roosevelt.
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"In the end, Roosevelt and Congress returned to higher levels of spending, pouring funds back into the WPA and the PWA, among other relief programs. A new Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed, spreading funding among the nation’s farmers. The Keynesian argument won out. By the end of 1938, the economy was again on the upswing, much to the relief of Roosevelt."
" ... As the decade was drawing to a close, however, there were other events that were causing as much, if not more, concern than the economy. By the fall of 1938, world affairs became a greater concern for many Americans."
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" ... A Senate committee investigated U.S. involvement before and during the First World War and found that American companies, mostly in banking and munitions, profited greatly from the war. After these facts were brought to light, the moniker Merchants of Death was used to describe those that profited from the war. Popular opinion believed that getting involved in other nation’s business was not only bad for American soldiers but was a moral wrong when it came to making money off of war."
"The policy of neutrality was continued in 1936 and was expanded in 1937 to cover civil wars, a direct response to some American companies selling materials to General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. The Neutrality Act of 1937 also held the provision of “Cash and Carry.” It allowed warring nations to buy American materials if they provided the shipping and paid upfront. This way there was no debt to draw the U.S. in, nor was American merchant ships at risk faring into war zones. Roosevelt also called on the United States to “quarantine” conflicts, especially aggressor nations. He was specifically concerned with Japan who had invaded China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War.
"The Spanish Civil War was another international conflict that further ruptured the overall isolationist view of the United States and its citizens. Over 2,000 Americans volunteered to fight against the fascist forces of General Franco in the Lincoln Battalion, part of the International Lincoln Brigade. The Spanish Civil War was seen as an important struggle in the fight against fascism, especially by those on the left in U.S. politics.
................................................................................................
"Events in 1939 further chipped away at the American policy of isolationism and neutrality. The first was the German violation of the Munich Agreement by invading Czechoslovakia. The promise of “peace in our time” was broken, and the Munich Agreement has become a cautionary tale, encouraging a decisive and strong action instead of appeasement when dealing with belligerent nations. After the invasion of Poland in September of 1939, the date given as the start of World War II, Roosevelt was able to convince Congress to extend the Cash and Carry plan to aid Great Britain and France in their fight against Germany. In addition, the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 were repealed, giving the Roosevelt administration much greater leeway in deciding how to deal with warring nations.
"On the home front, two incidents swayed public opinion more toward intervention. One was in February of 1939 at the German American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden. Not only was a rally of 20,000 pro-Nazis shocking, but the violence that erupted between protesters and guards of the Bund convinced many that Nazism was counter to American values.
"The second incident that influenced public opinion was the voyage of the MS St. Louis. The ship left Hamburg in the spring of 1939 and arrived in Havana at the end of May. After being refused by the Cuban government, the St. Louis tried to dock in the United States. Public opinion was divided, as was the mood of Congress and Roosevelt. Many people were sympathetic to the specific situation but were also fearful of relaxing any immigration laws that, in some minds, would increase competition for jobs and resources. The refugees on board the ship sent a personal telegram to the president. Roosevelt did not answer. The St. Louis was forced to sail away from Miami. After an unsuccessful appeal to the Canadian government, the ship was forced to return to Europe. The sad coda to this story is that of the 937 passengers who embarked from Hamburg, 532 were sent to concentration camps; of those, 254 died. Though the latter information did not come to light until after the war, the story of the St. Louis was further evidence that world events would, sooner rather than later, approach American shores.
................................................................................................
"In late 1939, the political atmosphere in the United States was not ready for the full mobilization of the military. However, Roosevelt was able to push forward on a limited mobilization and called for an increase of 227,000 in the regular army and another 235,000 for the National Guard. These preparations were largely in response to the German victory in Poland and almost assured invasion of the west come 1940 and the continued war between Japan and China. In both conflicts, the United States supported, as much as they could, the invaded nations.
"As the decade came to a close, this international turmoil had an effect on the U.S. economy. Unemployment fell to its lowest point since the depression had started. Industry was also responding as the Roosevelt administration called for increases in the production of aircraft and naval vessels. By the fall of 1940, a new Selective Service Act enacted a draft for the first time when the United States was at peace."
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" ... If there was any doubt that the Great Depression was coming to a close, the entry of the United States into World War II placed that question to bed. Near the end of the war, the United States was almost at full employment, with an unemployment rate at a scant 1.2%. Women were employed in record numbers, and opportunities for minorities in the United States were as plentiful as they had ever been."
Author next links post WWII fear of return of depression to US becoming major producers and exporter of war machine and equipment.
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
Causes of the Great Depression
The Depression and the Hoover Administration
The Election of 1932 and the Rise of Franklin Roosevelt
The New Deal Continues and the Election of 1936
The Depression and American Culture
Setbacks and Detractors
Last Steps Toward Recovery—and War
Conclusion
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REVIEW
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Introduction
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"The ten-year period between 1929 and 1939 was one of the most tumultuous ever experienced in American history. It threatened the very nature of American society, from the nation’s fundamental belief in capitalism to its dominant ethos of rugged individualism. These ideas would be fundamentally changed by the time the depression was over and the United States entered World War II.
"The cycle of the United States economy, but especially the 15 years leading up to 1929, provided the major causes of the depression that would define the 1930s in American history. The causes came from various fronts. One was the state of American farming in the 1920s; second was the lack of oversight and caution with regards to the stock market. Finally, United States foreign policy not only harmed the American economy but also contributed to the depression becoming a global phenomenon.
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"The shock waves caused by the collapse of the stock market set off a chain of events that touched every level of American society. Lack of creative leadership was apparent even to contemporaries of President Herbert Hoover. Many of the private social agencies, such as churches and civic clubs, were overwhelmed by the rise of people needing assistance. A great number of Americans were displaced in various regions of the country, going from place to place looking for work and relief. A famous group of people looking for relief was the Bonus Army. These men were World War I veterans appealing to Washington for bonus payments promised them.
"The election of 1932 was a turning point. For the first time since the end of World War I, the Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Franklin Roosevelt assumed the presidency in 1933, and his first 100 days became a standard measure for all future presidents. This collection of action, which lasted well beyond the first 100 days, coalesced under the title of the New Deal.
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"Even at the nadir of the depression, Americans found various methods of coping with the harsh realities of the era. Many Americans joined political groups and social movements, partook in many cultural institutions, and rediscovered many aspects of traditional American culture. Many of these movements were aided by government programs that were part of the New Deal.
"The election of 1936 solidified the president’s and the Democratic Party’s position of power. Roosevelt and the Democrats were able to build an effective coalition of American voters. Urban centers, especially immigrant communities, African-Americans, and southern segregationists propelled the Roosevelt administration to elective success election after election."
Presumably the author shall explain the "southern segregationists propelled the Roosevelt administration to elective success election after election." bit.
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"But Roosevelt had his critics and his missteps. Huey Long and Father Charles Coughlin were among the harshest critics of Roosevelt and the New Deal. The Supreme Court ruled against many of the New Deal legislative gains. Many Americans were taken aback by Roosevelt’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court with judges sympathetic to his programs. In 1937 and 1938, the economy experienced a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, a number that had been on the decline since 1934."
Weren't "Huey Long and Father Charles Coughlin" known nazi sympathisers?
"Americans returned to work as Europe prepared for war. By the time the Second World War started and the United States was providing weapons and supplies to Great Britain and France, the Great Depression was over. After World War II many of the institutions and programs created by the New Deal to combat the depression remained. Though a number of recessions occurred in post-war America, another depression has been avoided."
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December 11, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 1. Causes of the Great Depression
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"“There may be a recession in stock prices, but not anything in the nature of a crash.”
"—Irving Fisher, 1929"
Presumably the author shall explain who this was.
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"For convenience sake, the Great Depression is given the start date of 1929. Like any historical event, there are antecedents that can be traced to years, even decades, before the event took place. This is also true of the Great Depression. A number of causes from the decade before brought about the economic and social calamity of the 1930s.
"The Treaty of Versailles brought an end to World War I, the worst conflict the world had ever seen. Millions were dead from four years of brutal fighting, and millions more were displaced because of the damage caused by the conflict. The treaty that officially ended the war not only required Germany to accept all blame for the starting the war but also obliged the country to assume the economic responsibility. Germany was expected to pay France and Great Britain over $30 billion in reparations. Unfortunately, Germany was almost completely bankrupt from the war and had no means to repay such a staggering amount. ... "
Germany lied. There was money enough to pay for sabotage in France, which German agents paid in gold marks. But reparations weren't paid, after all the havoc Germany wreaked deliberately to break France.
" ... Conversely, France and Britain were unable to repay the United States for their support during the war. Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States from 1923 to 1929, refused to restructure any of the war debt, thereby keeping the European economy suppressed and ultimately unable to purchase from U.S. companies."
The president who got famous for never speaking more than two words.
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"Toward the end of the 1920s, American companies needed consumers anywhere they could get them. After the war, many people in the rush of new products, for instance cars, bought much of their goods on credit. As personal debt rose, spending eventually decreased. American business, however, did not slow production—not of consumer goods nor the large industries that supplied them. Major industries such as textiles and steel were especially hard hit. One of the stalwarts of American business for the past 60 years, the railroad industry, experienced decline because of the rise of automobiles. By 1929, close to half of American families had cars. Between 1925 and 1929, new housing construction also declined.
"One sector of the economy was hit harder than all of the rest: agriculture. The 1920s are often remembered as a time of great prosperity, but not for farming. During this time, the McNary-Haugen Bill was introduced and passed in Congress. It required the U.S. government to buy surplus crops from farmers to prevent them from realizing another loss. The government would, in turn, sell the crops on the world market, though the market in Europe wasn’t nearly as lucrative as it had been immediately following the war. More than likely, the government would be selling the crops at a loss. In order to recover the losses, taxes would be raised in the United States. Calvin Coolidge vetoed the measure twice saying he was resisting the “tyranny of bureaucratic regulation and control.”"
Why has he not been blamed - and rightfully so - for the depression that he might have perpetrated single-handedly, being in a position to stop it and not having done so?
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"Though the New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1773, the buying and selling of stocks was not common practice in the United States at least among the middle-class. In the past, there had been limited buying of bonds and commodities by the middle-class, but after World War I, investing in companies became much more common. Two methods of buying, however, were especially risky. First, speculating on stocks was quite common in investment circles during the 1920s. The second method was a bit of a corollary to speculation: buying on margin.
"Buying on margin is the practice of using credit to secure the purchase. For instance, to buy an expensive stock, an investor needs, as an example, $100. The investor only has $50, so they must secure the additional funds somehow, namely credit. So the buyer secures a loan for 50% of the price, or 50% margin. This strategy works out great if the stock’s value rises. The investor can take their profit, pay off the loan, and pocket the rest. If the stock falls, however, the money isn’t only lost, but the investor still needs to pay back the loan. If enough stocks fall in value at the same time, the investors who were trading on margin would be in a precarious position. In the late 1920s, American investors were buying as much as 75% on margin.
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"After the election of 1928 and the ascendency to the presidency by Herbert Hoover in the spring of 1929, these warning signs weren’t readily apparent or simply ignored and dismissed. The American economy had always been cyclical in nature, and even if the prosperity of the 1920s was coming to a close, it didn’t mean anything devastating was going to happen. There was still a great deal of optimism concerning the American economy. As Hoover said during his campaign, “with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.”
"September and October of 1929 saw a great deal of volatility in the stock market. It was apparent that the market was in the process of a correction. On Thursday, October 24, 1929, over 12 million shares were dumped by investors, losing 2 percent of its value. The market rebounded on Friday, in large part thanks to investment banks buying stock to stimulate the market. But it wasn’t enough. The market fell again on the following Monday, and on October 29, Black Tuesday, the market moved over 16 million shares, causing a 12 percent loss of its total value, the largest single-day loss in the history of the market. The stock market would continue to fall for the next three years. It would not reach its record high of September 1929 until 1954.
"The crash of the stock market caused a chain reaction throughout the financial sector of the United States. Shortly after the final sell-off of October 29, 1929, bank customers wanted to become liquid, that is, they wanted to have their money in hand. The banks were unable to provide funds for the amount of customers demanding their money. Banks were the main institutions helping investors buy on margin. When the market crashed, those lenders did not see a repayment on the loans, hence the shortage of cash available. As news of the shortage of funds spread, people panicked and went to their banks. The banks tried to pay back their customers, sometimes as little as twenty cents to the dollar, but more often they simply couldn’t pay. When a bank couldn’t make its payments, it was forced to close, and all that was deposited was lost. In the 1920s, about 70 banks closed each year. From October 1929 until October 1930, over 700 banks were forced to close. By 1933, shortly before Herbert Hoover left the presidency, another 4,000 banks closed."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 2. The Depression and the Hoover Administration
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"“If, with all the advantages I’ve had, I can’t make a living, I’m just no good, I guess.”
"—Unemployed Person, 1933"
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"After the stock market crash and the ensuing run on the banks, many, including President Hoover, believed the worst was over. In fact it was just the beginning. Purchasing was already slowing before the crash; now it was at a crawl. Businesses began to lay off workers as demand evaporated. Unemployment rose dramatically. President Hoover elicited a promise from major manufacturers not to continue the layoffs in order to help people return to spending. At first, employers tried to comply with the president’s request but eventually could not honor the pledge. By 1933, between 25-30% of Americans were out of work.
"As people lost their jobs or saw their wages drastically cut, the consequences were often devastating. In large urban areas that had grown significantly since the 1890s, public charitable organizations were inundated with requests for assistance. Some were forced to close because of the high demand. Others like the Catholic Church helped as much as they could, but their efforts to relieve the poor had historically been a temporary measure. Their works of charity weren’t meant to be long-term. Though churches didn’t close, sometimes all they could offer was prayers.
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"Incomes shrank or became non-existent, many were forced out of their homes for not meeting their mortgage payment or, more likely in the case of the working class, were unable to pay their rent. Shantytowns, called Hoovervilles after the president, sprang up around the country, populated with people made homeless by the economic hardships of the depression. Others took to traveling, searching for work wherever they could find it. Though transient homelessness had been around since the beginning of the United States, the increase in wandering homeless men was significant during the depression.
"Those wandering from city to city and town to town weren’t the only transients in the United States. In 1930 due to drought and poor soil conditions, a massive erosion of land occurred throughout the Midwest. High winds propelled the dirt and dust to blacken out the sun and create large drifts of soil across the plains. More popularly known as the Dust Bowl, the harsh climate condition made farming from the Dakotas to Texas virtually impossible. Many people from the region, including Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas, moved, predominantly toward California in hopes of working on the bountiful farms rumored to be there. The transients, collectively known as Okies and immortalized in the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, did not receive a warm welcome in the Golden State. Like everywhere else in the United States, work was hard to come by, if it could be had at all.
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"Appeals to the government for aid were largely unmet. It wasn’t because of cruelty or callous nature, but there simply weren’t many mechanisms in place to help such a large amount of people in need. Even more, the culture of the United States, especially within the halls of government, was averse to providing aid or welfare to its citizens. Herbert Hoover embodied this attitude. He was born to modest means and worked his way up in local and then national government. Though Hoover was a self-made man, he wasn’t unfeeling to the plight of those suffering. After World War I, he directed the American relief effort to Europe, taking special care to provide for those displaced by the fighting. Hoover, however, like most politicians of his generation, believed it was his duty to be a good steward of the nation’s finances. To that end, he thought it was negligent, almost immoral, to have a deficit in the national economy. Better to endure some short-term hardship than saddle the nation with a greater problem like a financial deficit.
"Unfortunately, the suffering wasn’t short term. Hoover wanted to help, but it was from an outdated perspective. His administration thought the best strategies was to ensure that the nation didn’t fall into debt. In order to stave off the possible shortfalls from decreased revenues, Hoover proposed a tax increase in 1931. Though Hoover’s Republican Party controlled Congress, they voted against such a strategy.
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"Another example of resisting a relief effort in order to preserve the budget was an episode remembered as the Bonus Army. In 1924, well before the economy took its historic tumble, Congress passed a bill to pay World War I veterans bonuses for their service to the nation. As circumstances became direr, it was proposed in 1932 by Congress to make the payments sooner rather later, as was originally proposed. In order to show support for the legislation, an estimated 43,000 veterans and their families arrived in Washington. Ultimately the bill did not pass, but the veterans stayed on in the capital, remaining in a camp they had established in an area of Washington called the Anacostia Flats. After the city police failed to disperse the Bonus Army, Hoover decided to send in the U.S. Army.
"Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, with Dwight Eisenhower in his staff and George Patton commanding a cavalry regiment, the army charged the “bonusers” using fixed bayonets and tear gas. While there were no deaths from the action, 55 veterans were injured and 135 arrested. The Bonus Army was a black eye for the Hoover administration and it, along with his ineffectual response to the depression, seriously damaged his bid for reelection."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 3. The Election of 1932 and the Rise of Franklin Roosevelt
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"“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
"—Franklin Roosevelt, 1933"
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"The fall of 1932 approached and with it the first presidential election during the worst economic crisis the United States had ever known. Though chances for reelection were slim, the Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover was the representative of the Grand Old Party. His challenger was from a prominent New York family, cousin to former president Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
"Harvard educated, former secretary of the Navy, and former governor of New York, Roosevelt was an unlikely representative of the more populist Democratic Party. While the Republican Party was relatively united behind Hoover, the Democratic Party was far more divided. The progressive-urban wing of the party, which Roosevelt represented, the less progressive remnants of machine-style politics, and southern segregationists all had influence under the Democratic banner. Uniting those disparate voices, as well as defeating Hoover in the general election, was the task confronting Roosevelt.
"Roosevelt and the Democrats were up to the task. In the popular vote, Roosevelt won 57% of the vote to Hoover’s 39%. The margin in the Electoral College was far more telling. Roosevelt received 472 electoral votes to Hoover’s 59. In both houses of Congress, the Democrats won solid majorities, gaining close to 100 seats in the House and 12 seats in the Senate. It was clear that the people of the United States wanted change. The voters rallied around Roosevelt’s promise of a New Deal—the term that came to identify the presidential and legislative plan of the Democrats. It was a promise of industrial recovery, agricultural recovery, and relief for the jobless. When Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, the expectation was that he and his allies in Congress would take immediate action. The new president did not disappoint.
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"The first 100 days of the Roosevelt presidency became the standard measure for all subsequent presidents. Washington was a flurry of action in the first three months of the new administration. As Roosevelt himself explained, “it is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
"The first task was to get the country back on secure financial footing. To achieve this, Roosevelt proposed a bank holiday through the Bank Holiday Emergency Funding Act. All banks in the United States were closed for four days and analyzed by the government. Those that could be saved were given funding to help them recover. Those that were seen as too far gone were forced to close. The end result was a healthier financial structure that hopefully people would trust again.
"To further build that trust, the Roosevelt administration created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The purpose of the FDIC was to protect the money of bank customers regardless of the condition of the bank. If a bank failed and was insured, the FDIC was authorized to pay up to $2,500 to each depositor. The FDIC has become ubiquitous throughout American banking reaching an insured rate of $250,000 for each depositor.
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"Other aspects of the economy needed assistance as well. The stock market was the target of the Federal Security Act, which contained two important provisions. The first was that it enforced limits on the amount of stocks that could be bought on margin. Second, and most long-lasting was the creation of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC.) The SEC was intended to be a watchdog over the financial sector, preventing unfair and dangerous trading practices. Though its effectiveness has waxed and waned over the decades, it still provides a measure of security regarding the stock market that did not exist before 1933.
"Industry wasn’t overlooked in the legislation of the New Deal. The National Industry Recovery Act promoted cooperation between competitors and various industries to adjust prices and create wage stability for workers. The two main aspects of the act were the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA.) The mission of the NRA was to promote fair competition between businesses, often through the use of regulations. In the first two years of the NRA, it created over 700 new codes that businesses had to follow. The NRA also established rules promoting fair labor practices. The legislation made it legal for workers to join a union if they chose. Further, it outlawed “yellow dog contracts.” These were contracts between worker and employer, pledging that the worker would not join a union; if they did so, the employee was terminated.
"Along with protecting workers rights to join unions free of harassment, later legislation in the New Deal—but still in the first term of Roosevelt’s presidency—was the creation of the National Labor Relations Act. Most significantly, the NLRA created the National Labor Review Board. This agency, still in existence today, promotes fair labor practices throughout the United States economy and provides a body to voice grievances to and act as an arbiter between employers and workers. The original 1935 act made it legal for workers to collectively bargain. This was a monumental step in American labor history. Prior to 1935, the right to collectively bargain was not guaranteed and often actively fought against by American employers.
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"Rural and agricultural America was also touched by the New Deal. In the first 100 days, three programs were enacted to aid the rural heartland of the country. The Agricultural Adjustment Act provided funding to farmers who reduced production on their farms. This way the surpluses that plagued the 1920s were vastly reduced. Unfortunately, the Agricultural Adjustment Act hurt some of the poorest citizens who were hit the hardest by the depression. Sharecroppers in the south and itinerant farmers in the midwest and west were put out of work. If the land wasn’t being worked, there was no incentive to keep the workers.
"Though it did not help displaced farm workers, the Civilian Conservation Corps created in 1933 did provide work to many. It provided opportunities for young men to work on a variety of projects. This was a key component to many of the programs engineered by the New Deal: work. It is a particular scourge of American society that people receive payment while not working. Roosevelt was conscious of this attitude and went to great lengths to emphasize that his plan was about creating and sustaining jobs for the American worker, not giving handouts.
"The third program that had a great impact on rural Americans was the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority. This government-controlled corporation (still in operation today) was created to modernize and make the Tennessee Valley more livable for its residents. It brought electricity, flood control, navigation, and other improvements to portions of seven states, predominantly in the south. In order to bring these improvements, many more workers were needed, another immediate benefit of the TVA.
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"All of these acts, even with some of their focus on workers in a collective sense, didn’t touch people in a personal way. The individual, however, was not overlooked by the New Deal. The Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed by Congress in the first month of Roosevelt’s presidency. It provided $500 million (equivalent to $9.4 billion in 2017) to be distributed to state and local agencies with the stipulation that the money went to poor relief.
"All of this couldn’t happen without spending. The Roosevelt administration along with the Democratic Congress spent great amounts of money, placing the country in a financial deficit. Popularized by John Maynard Keynes, deficit spending became a governmental norm that is still employed today. The theory of Keynesian Economics posits that strategically spending to a deficit will ultimately stimulate the economy and eventually become unnecessary.
"What made all of this enormously popular wasn’t just the spending, regulation, and job creation; it was the personal touch most associated with Roosevelt himself. With his cigarette holder and patrician background, it might seem odd that the majority of Americans gravitated to Roosevelt. But the key to his popularity was his embrace of the newest mass media, the radio. Almost from the beginning of his presidency, Roosevelt hosted a weekly radio program detailing key events and legislation going on in Washington. These “fireside chats” were the antithesis of Herbert Hoover, derided as the do-nothing president. With each address, Roosevelt showed the American people that the government they had elected was doing something. It might not be successful, but it was action. That more than anything made people feel more confident about the future."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 4. The New Deal Continues and the Election of 1936
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"“They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.”
"—Franklin Roosevelt"
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"As Roosevelt’s first term continued, much to the consternation of Roosevelt and the Democrats, the depression continued as well. In 1935, after a wave of legislation that was nearly unprecedented in United States history, the economic hardships that gripped the nation were still evident. Unemployment was still about 20%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had risen steadily from 1933 to 1934, had slowed the following year. Approaching the halfway mark of this initial term, the campaign for reelection wasn’t too far off nor was it a foregone conclusion.
"Two of the most popular policy initiatives were enacted in 1935: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Social Security Act. Both appealed to working-class voters and provided a boost to the 1936 election. The WPA was created after Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act. Less than a month after Roosevelt signed the legislation into law, he established the WPA.
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"During its existence, the WPA employed over 8 million workers, with a one-year high in 1938 of 3.3 million workers employed. The work completed by the workers of the WPA changed the landscape of the nation. The WPA was responsible for the construction of 650,000 miles of road, 124,000 bridges, and 125,000 schools, hospitals, and post offices. In addition to such everyday structures like bridges, schools, and post offices, the WPA built Midway Airport in Chicago, LaGuardia Airport in New York, the River Walk in San Antonio, and the Oregon State Library in Salem Oregon, to name just a few of the more famous structures created by the administration. The blending of Art Deco, Modernism, and a working-class aesthetic make WPA projects stand out in American architecture. By the time the WPA was dissolved in 1943, it had left an indelible mark upon the country.
"The other key legislative initiative of 1935 was the Social Security Act. The depression was difficult for everyone in the United States, but it was especially difficult for the elderly. With unemployment at such high levels, the prospects for workers over the age of 60 were bleak. What’s more, the idea of working to a certain age and being able to retire was quite foreign to American workers. Very few working-class people could afford retirement. A person often worked until they were physically unable and then hoped their family was in a position to help them. Some workers worked until they died.
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"In order to provide some relief to older workers and make the prospect of retiring a little less remote, Roosevelt proposed the Social Security Act of 1935. The plan called for employees to have part of their wages withheld by the federal government as a method of saving for the future. Employers were required to match the employee contributions. When a person reached the age of 65, they could receive the money that had been saved for them through the Social Security program.
"Ida May Fuller was the first recipient of a Social Security payment in 1940, one month after she retired as a legal secretary. Though it provided a much-needed benefit to many workers, the new program did not cover certain occupations. Farmers, including sharecroppers, domestic workers, and the self-employed were not able to participate in the program. These provisions disproportionally hurt African-Americans, who made up the majority of sharecroppers and domestics in the south. Even so, Social Security is perhaps the most enduring program to come out of Roosevelt’s first term.
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"The popularity of the WPA and Social Security buoyed Roosevelt’s reelection prospects for 1936. Those that voted for Roosevelt in 1932 returned, and a coalition of voters returned Roosevelt to the White House for a second term. This coalition, sometimes referred to as the New Deal Coalition, was made up of Democratic voters in the south, African-Americans, women, and union members. Those that didn’t fall into these categories (and many Americans did) were inspired to vote for Roosevelt because the prevailing attitude was that he and the Democratic Party were making real progress toward recovery from the depression. All of these factors proved too much for the Republican nominee, Alf Landon, the governor of Kansas.
"The election of 1932 was a large win for Roosevelt and the Democrats, but 1936 was a landslide. It was the largest percentage of the popular vote won by a presidential candidate in history, gaining 60.8% of the vote to Landon's 36.5%. In the Electoral College, it was even more lopsided. Roosevelt gained a remarkable 98% of the vote or 523 of a possible 531 votes. It wasn’t just Roosevelt celebrating either; the Democrats won an additional twelve seats in the Senate and another nine seats in the House. The majorities Democrats enjoyed after the 1932 elections were made even stronger in 1936. From a Democratic perspective, happy days were indeed here again."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 5. The Depression and American Culture
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"The Great Depression was the greatest economic hardship ever endured in the United States. Almost a third of all workers were unemployed. In the early years of the depression, very little relief was available. Even as the New Deal emerged, it wasn’t a solution for all workers. Many still remained unemployed, and many of those employed by programs only had temporary positions. After the particular job was finished, uncertainty returned. This almost constant stress took a toll on many Americans. Not being able to work caused feelings of anxiety, resentfulness, and humiliation. After the crash in 1929, suicides in the United States rose by 30% in 1930. People were in a desperate condition and were looking for ways to cope.
"One of the major ways to find solace in such a harsh world was to join together with others who were in similar straights. As Roosevelt and the Democrats gained power, they promoted policies friendly to organized labor. This was a stark contrast to the policies of previous administrations, dating back to the turn of the twentieth century. By making collective bargaining legal and making it safe to join unions, membership in labor organization rose rapidly in the 1930s.
"Generating this rise in union membership was a change in philosophy by many union organizers. Led by John L. Lewis, the United Mine Workers of America encouraged the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to support industrial unionism. As opposed to only being for skilled workers, industrial unionism organized workers based on the industry they were a part of, for instance the United Steelworkers, United Rubber Workers, and the United Auto Workers. At first, it was named the Committee for Industrial Organization, but when it was expelled from the AFL in 1937, the name changed to the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the CIO.
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"The United Auto Workers (UAW) saw the most significant gains in unionization, gaining admission to General Motors, the largest corporation in the world at the time, and Chrysler. But it did not come without a price. Thousands were arrested in Detroit and Flint, Michigan and thousands more injured as police and private security assaulted the striking workers. A battle outside of a Ford Motor Factory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1937, remembered as the Battle of the Overpass, highlighted the violence that union organizers faced, even in an era that was friendlier toward organized labor. Pictures from the event were widely circulated in the nation, causing Ford to lose a great deal of its positive public image.
"Unions weren’t the only organizations that saw dramatic growth during the depression. Political organizations also grew during the decade, especially the Communist Party. There is a debate about how many members the party gained in the 1930s, but its influence was significant. A number of leading writers, intellectuals, and artists were either sympathetic to the Communist Party or became members. Ordinary workers did not necessarily flock to the Communist banner, but they were collectively more accepting of their politics than they had been prior to the Great Depression. The Communist Party played a significant role in organizing labor organizations and in being some of the first Americans to recognize the rise of fascism in Europe.
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"The heightened political atmosphere of the era along with a more active government than previous eras was reflected in much of the art produced in the depression. It was an era that celebrated the common man. Norman Rockwell captured scenes that many of the middle-class readers of The Saturday Evening Post could relate to. For example, the cover entitled “Springtime” from 1935 looked like a country boy of modest means, yet still carrying books.
"Even more of a representative of the common man was movie star (among many other career paths) Will Rogers. A prominent supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, Rogers used his various platforms to celebrate (and sometimes needle) the president and the New Deal. He often portrayed a worldly countryman who outsmarted business types. Moreover, Rogers’ films often reasserted the power of the community over a corrupt or unfair authority.
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"The most enduring film legacy to come out of the depression were the films of Frank Capra. He often had characters in his movies that wanted to be heard by greater forces, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Alternatively, his films carried the message of a community rising to the aid of an individual who needs their help, like in American Madness. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town carries a similar theme, with the titular character being declared insane for providing great amount of relief to farmers from a fortune he inherited. Before the corporate lawyer can take control of the money, however, Deeds is rescued by a reporter (who is also his love interest).
"Not all of the films played on themes that were easily recognized in the modern world. As much as films and other entertainments were a reflection of and inspired by the times, they often provided something else: an escape. Movies like the Wizard of Oz took viewers to a magical place, and Gone with the Wind recollected a grander time and the possibility of recovery from trying events. The Marx Brothers provided laughs, and Walt Disney amazed audiences with stunning animation in the films Snow White and Fantasia. Even Frank Capra made light films such as It Happened One Night and You Can’t Take It With You.
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"Comic strips came into mass distribution in the latter part of the nineteenth century, becoming a staple of the daily newspaper in the process. Comic books as we think of them today became quite popular in the 1930s, with Famous Funnies debuting in 1934. Especially significant to modern culture was the creation of the superhero comic. Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, debuted in 1938. Though geared more toward children and adolescents, even in its earliest forms, comic books appealed to adult readers as well.
"Franklin Roosevelt used radio effectively throughout his presidency, and the radio was also provided entertainment straight to people’s homes. By the end of the decade, all Major League baseball teams were broadcasting their games. Variety programs were quite popular, mixing comedy and music, and broadcasts of plays were common. In the 1930s, there was an explosion of serial dramas, or soap operas, that dominated the airwaves. What better way to escape the troubles of everyday life than to be thrust into a captivating world of glamor and intrigue? It might not have been a long respite, but it was a respite nonetheless.
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"Any discussion of culture in the 1930s would be incomplete without a mention of the Federal Project Number One. This initiative had four main areas dedicated to art, theatre, writing, and music, all under separate auspices. The Federal Art Project supported the work of such visual artists like Jackson Pollack, Diego Rivera, Mark Rothko, and hundreds of others.
"The Federal Theatre Project had a similar reach and influence. Important figures in American theatre were supported by the project including Orson Welles, Arthur Miller, and John Housman. The theatre branch of the arts initiative produced over 40 productions between 1935 and 1938. It also provided support for theatre in the African-American community. The most famous—and controversial at the time—production was the all African-American cast of Macbeth (often referred to as Voodoo Macbeth because of its Caribbean setting), performed in Harlem and directed by Orson Welles. The play was a commercial, artistic, and social success.
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"Of all of the components of Federal Project Number One, the Federal Writers Project was the most prolific. Like the Federal Theatre Project, it had a profound influence on the African-American writing community, aiding in the careers of Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, and Arna Bontemps. Many noteworthy authors worked on the Project’s American Life Histories and American Guides among other projects. Nelson Algren, Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, and many others contributed to the work of the Writers Project.
"The most famous and perhaps most important collection to come out of the Federal Writers Project was the Slave Narratives. Under the direction of John Lomax, federal staffers went throughout the south and recorded 2,900 recollections of former slaves. Collected between 1936 and 1938, the work comprised 17 volumes of work housed in the Library of Congress. These records provide one of the most important sources on the United States before the Civil War and on the slave experience in particular."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 6. Setbacks and Detractors
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"As the 1936 election proved, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal were enormously popular. Its programs provided relief to millions of Americans and its policies produced changes that seemed to be working. With Congress as a willing ally and accomplice, it appeared as though nothing stood in the way of Roosevelt’s agenda. But there was one glaring exception to this: the Supreme Court.
"Upon his election in 1932, Roosevelt inherited a court that leaned more conservative than liberal. Four justices, termed the Four Horsemen by the press, were mostly appointees of Republican presidents (Pierce Butler, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter, and James Clark Reynolds, respectively). The lone exception was an appointee of Woodrow Wilson: James Clark McReynolds, Wilson’s former attorney general.
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"Starting in January of 1936, the Four Horsemen along with two other justices declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 unconstitutional, in violation of the tenth amendment. Three other cases in 1936 voided other New Deal measures. In Carter v. Carter Coal Company, the court struck down legislation that regulated coal expenditures. In Morehead v. New York, the court struck down a law requiring a minimum wage put in place for women and children workers. The biggest blow, however, to Roosevelt’s agenda came from the Schechter Poultry Corp v. United States case. The high court ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act, one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress and a key part of the New Deal, was unconstitutional. Specifically, the court ruled unanimously that the NIRA was an excessive use of the legislature’s power and that it blurred the line between the executive and legislative branches of government.
"These legal setbacks not only angered Roosevelt but also concerned him. He was worried that all of the hard work of the previous term and what he had planned for the future might be undone by a scant court majority of five men. To combat this, Roosevelt and his advisors came up with a plan to alter the Supreme Court in their favor. For every justice over 70 years old, the president would appoint a new justice, up to six new appointees. Roosevelt proposed the plan to the public in one of his fireside chats. He argued that the Constitution and the New Deal needed to be protected from the Supreme Court, especially those members that were out of touch.
"It was a proposition too far for Roosevelt to achieve. Public opinion was tepidly split at first, and as more bipartisan voices rose up against the plan to “pack the court,” it was clear that the plan was becoming more and more unpopular. A committee of private citizens, the Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government, spoke out against the bill and organized a letter-writing campaign to register their disapproval.
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"The plan didn’t fare well in either chamber of Congress either. The bill proposing the changes never made it to the House floor. In an unorthodox maneuver, Roosevelt then had the bill introduced to the Senate. Traditionally, bills proposed by the president start in the House and then move on to the upper chamber. In this case, it didn’t matter. The Senate did hold a hearing on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it met strong resistance there as well. Interestingly from a Republican standpoint, the argument over the bill did not include them. Instead, it split Democratic senators. Though it eventually made it to the full Senate floor, it was lambasted and sent back to committee for revision. By the time a compromise bill passed the Senate, the issue was almost moot, and none of the stipulations for the high court were included in the final bill. Roosevelt effectively lost the battle over the court."
" The public did not turn against the president or the New Deal ... "
" ... Ironically, Roosevelt would have a major impact on the Supreme Court. As the president who served the longest (and the only one able to do so as it turns out), Roosevelt appointed eight justices in his tenure. William O. Douglass, appointed in 1939, served until his retirement in 1975. Roosevelt influenced the court for four decades, long after he died in 1945."
Author discourses on someone who was a nazi sympathiser.
" ... Long and his popularity. Many called him a demagogue and compared him to Hitler in style and temperament. ... "
"It wasn’t just from the left that Roosevelt and the New Deal faced criticism. As one might expect, there was a generous amount of criticism from the right as well. The former president Herbert Hoover was a vocal critic of Roosevelt and the New Deal, still clinging to ideas of a balanced budget and maintaining a pro-business attitude. Roosevelt’s former colleague, Al Smith, also felt that the New Deal went too far toward workers’ rights. William Randolph Hearst, once a supporter of the New Deal, began to oppose it when New Deal policies started to levy higher taxes on the wealthy and on inheritance. Such policies, among many others, caused some of the most wealthy and established Americans to label Roosevelt as a traitor to his class."
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Author goes on to talk of another nazi at length.
"Though not the wealthiest of critics, one of the loudest was a priest from Michigan, Father Charles Coughlin. ... "
"Various prominent Catholic Roosevelt supporters tried to get Coughlin to lay off of the administration, but they were unsuccessful. As Europe and the world slid closer and closer to war, Coughlin’s anti-internationalism became more and more isolationist and nationalist. What’s more, Father Coughlin was espousing decidedly anti-Semitic views. Though he never endorsed Nazism, he did speak favorably of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. He held that communism was largely the result of Jewish leadership and the fascists were a better alternative.
"The Roosevelt administration and the Vatican tried through various means to get Father Coughlin off the air but to no avail. It wasn’t until the eve of World War II that Father Coughlin would be removed from the air. Tighter restrictions were placed on radio stations, especially those that broadcast controversial views, for instance the idea that the United States should maintain a rigid neutrality with regards to World War II. Later, as the United States entered World War II, Father Coughlin was forced from all public activity, save his weekly homilies from his home parish in Michigan.
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"Though progress during the depression was often slow, overall from the low point of 1933, there was a steady improvement to the economy. Unemployment trended downward, production and wages rose. After the low point of 1932, the stock market made steady gains during Roosevelt’s presidency. By early 1937, much of the economic sector had reached 1929 levels.
"Then between 1937 and mid-1938, things began to fall. Unemployment shot up to almost 20%. Manufacturing production also fell off considerably. Though wages stayed relatively stable, the number of people losing their jobs made consumers cautious, causing s slow-down in purchasing. This, in turn, caused production to be cut back even further. The stock market also tumbled throughout 1937, closing the year down 37%. People feared that the depression was returning."
Author returns to war on Roosevelt.
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"In the end, Roosevelt and Congress returned to higher levels of spending, pouring funds back into the WPA and the PWA, among other relief programs. A new Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed, spreading funding among the nation’s farmers. The Keynesian argument won out. By the end of 1938, the economy was again on the upswing, much to the relief of Roosevelt."
" ... As the decade was drawing to a close, however, there were other events that were causing as much, if not more, concern than the economy. By the fall of 1938, world affairs became a greater concern for many Americans."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Chapter 7. Last Steps Toward Recovery—and War
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" ... A Senate committee investigated U.S. involvement before and during the First World War and found that American companies, mostly in banking and munitions, profited greatly from the war. After these facts were brought to light, the moniker Merchants of Death was used to describe those that profited from the war. Popular opinion believed that getting involved in other nation’s business was not only bad for American soldiers but was a moral wrong when it came to making money off of war."
"The policy of neutrality was continued in 1936 and was expanded in 1937 to cover civil wars, a direct response to some American companies selling materials to General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. The Neutrality Act of 1937 also held the provision of “Cash and Carry.” It allowed warring nations to buy American materials if they provided the shipping and paid upfront. This way there was no debt to draw the U.S. in, nor was American merchant ships at risk faring into war zones. Roosevelt also called on the United States to “quarantine” conflicts, especially aggressor nations. He was specifically concerned with Japan who had invaded China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War.
"The Spanish Civil War was another international conflict that further ruptured the overall isolationist view of the United States and its citizens. Over 2,000 Americans volunteered to fight against the fascist forces of General Franco in the Lincoln Battalion, part of the International Lincoln Brigade. The Spanish Civil War was seen as an important struggle in the fight against fascism, especially by those on the left in U.S. politics.
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"Events in 1939 further chipped away at the American policy of isolationism and neutrality. The first was the German violation of the Munich Agreement by invading Czechoslovakia. The promise of “peace in our time” was broken, and the Munich Agreement has become a cautionary tale, encouraging a decisive and strong action instead of appeasement when dealing with belligerent nations. After the invasion of Poland in September of 1939, the date given as the start of World War II, Roosevelt was able to convince Congress to extend the Cash and Carry plan to aid Great Britain and France in their fight against Germany. In addition, the Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 were repealed, giving the Roosevelt administration much greater leeway in deciding how to deal with warring nations.
"On the home front, two incidents swayed public opinion more toward intervention. One was in February of 1939 at the German American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden. Not only was a rally of 20,000 pro-Nazis shocking, but the violence that erupted between protesters and guards of the Bund convinced many that Nazism was counter to American values.
"The second incident that influenced public opinion was the voyage of the MS St. Louis. The ship left Hamburg in the spring of 1939 and arrived in Havana at the end of May. After being refused by the Cuban government, the St. Louis tried to dock in the United States. Public opinion was divided, as was the mood of Congress and Roosevelt. Many people were sympathetic to the specific situation but were also fearful of relaxing any immigration laws that, in some minds, would increase competition for jobs and resources. The refugees on board the ship sent a personal telegram to the president. Roosevelt did not answer. The St. Louis was forced to sail away from Miami. After an unsuccessful appeal to the Canadian government, the ship was forced to return to Europe. The sad coda to this story is that of the 937 passengers who embarked from Hamburg, 532 were sent to concentration camps; of those, 254 died. Though the latter information did not come to light until after the war, the story of the St. Louis was further evidence that world events would, sooner rather than later, approach American shores.
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"In late 1939, the political atmosphere in the United States was not ready for the full mobilization of the military. However, Roosevelt was able to push forward on a limited mobilization and called for an increase of 227,000 in the regular army and another 235,000 for the National Guard. These preparations were largely in response to the German victory in Poland and almost assured invasion of the west come 1940 and the continued war between Japan and China. In both conflicts, the United States supported, as much as they could, the invaded nations.
"As the decade came to a close, this international turmoil had an effect on the U.S. economy. Unemployment fell to its lowest point since the depression had started. Industry was also responding as the Roosevelt administration called for increases in the production of aircraft and naval vessels. By the fall of 1940, a new Selective Service Act enacted a draft for the first time when the United States was at peace."
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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Conclusion
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" ... If there was any doubt that the Great Depression was coming to a close, the entry of the United States into World War II placed that question to bed. Near the end of the war, the United States was almost at full employment, with an unemployment rate at a scant 1.2%. Women were employed in record numbers, and opportunities for minorities in the United States were as plentiful as they had ever been."
Author next links post WWII fear of return of depression to US becoming major producers and exporter of war machine and equipment.
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December 12, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
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THE GREAT DEPRESSION: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END,
by HOURLY HISTORY.
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December 11, 2022 - December 12, 2022.
Purchased December 11, 2022.
ASIN:- B07BYWBPGP
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5155913360
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