US History - Chapter 25

25The Great Depression and the New Deal

1930s there was no planned relief
poverty was considered a disgrace that one had only oneself to blame for
when the crash came in 1929, few men had unemployment funds
elsewhere in the world compulsory unemployment insurance was a reality for more than 38
millions workers
in the United States, relief could be obtained only by singing a paupers oath
the theory was that if a man wanted to work he had only to look for a job, therefore relief
should be made as nasty as possible to force people to work
at the onset of the depression, relief was in most instances, by your local responsibilities
even in this situation, relief was given with ill grace and was designed to humiliate the needy
President Hoover expected private agencies to help with the unemployment problems
Hoover had earned the reputation as the great humanitarian because of his record as relief
administrator for Europe
Then he had not minded bringing food and funds to hungry Europeans
Seemed ironic that Hoover now stood firm on the principle of no relief
Little relief came from employers and many of the needy themselves agreed with the
philosophy of prosperity
They were ashamed to seek relief and they were ashamed they had no jobs
Most of the press adopted the position that business was simply suffering from a lack of
confidence. The way to make readers confident again was to print very little news about what
the depression was doing to the people.
it took the government a very long time to face the facts of the depression, truth was that
nobody was willing or prepared to provide relief to the needy; not on the scale it was required
Few counties or states had well organized public relief programs
they were not prepared to meet the rising need
Private agencies such as churches could not carry the burden and bigger programs were needed





Because the government was slow to act, many distressed Americans were beginning to
mobilize behind a variety of protest movements
One that attracted the most attention was that of American veterans
Spring of 1932, veterans of WWI began a march from Oregon to Washington DC, to lobby
congress for passage to the Patman bill
Bill proposed immediate payment of a veterans bonus, authorized by congress on 1924 but not
due and payable until 1945
Over a quarter of a million of ex-soldiers, jobless and hungry needed that money now
They needed the money now but president Hoover refused to pay it
The protestors camped out in vacant lots and empty government buildings
Relief and Shame
The Bonus Army Marches on Washington
US History - Chapter 25

Early in July of 1932, eager to get the demonstrators out of sight, Congress offered to pay their
passage home
About 5000 accepted the money and the bus ticket, but the majority stayed in Washington
Rumors floated around that Hoover was ready to out the remaining veterans by force if
necessary
By mid-july of 1932, Hoover asked the police to clear the remaining veterans out of the federal
areas
Fighting broke out between police officers and bonus marchers and two marchers were killed
President Hoover ordered the army to drive the veterans out
Would president Hoover be foolish enough to use arms against war veterans bearing petitions
to get their government to right a wrong
Hoover was embarrassed by the presence of the marchers and he was eager for an excuse to
expel them
Hoover saw the clash between the police and the protesters as evidence of dangerous
radicalism and the violence that was present throughout the nation
Hoover wanted the marchers removed for political purposes, to persuade the American people
that the government was threatened with an actual overthrow and that the courage and
decisiveness of president Hoover had averted a revolution
Hoover wanted to show the country that the danger of insurrection was real and that his
administration was prepared to meet it
directive was carried out by General Douglas MacArthur who used tanks, gas, sabers, bayonets
and fire against unarmed men, women and children to prove the presidents point
Instead of the intended response, most of the public took it as evidence of the governments
and Hoovers insensitivity
The veterans were not radicals or revolutionaries, they were simply unemployed desperate
men, looking to their government for help.




When FDR became president, he reached out t the public in many ways
Perhaps the most effective was his use of radio
He was the first president to grasp the impact of broadcasting and began a series of
informal addresses known was fireside chats
Through these chats he explained his programs and asked the public for support and he
took care to cultivate good relationships with the press
In FRD first hundred days, he and congress produces an amazing amount of legislation
The key to recovery, according to the president, was action
FDR would say: Take a method and try it. If it fails, try another. But above all, try
something.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, known as the TVA, was one of the most celebrated
accomplishment of the new deal
It was a bold experiment in government economic planning
For many years, congress had advocated federal development of water resources to
produce cheap electrical power
They hoped to reduce the ability of utility monopolies to charge high rates
The New Deal
US History - Chapter 25

If the government could produce it and use its resources and do it cheaply, the
government would be able to make electricity more widely available
The founders of the TVA also envisioned an ambitious at social reform throughout the
region
They wanted it to help local industries, teach farmers new and more efficient techniques,
plant new forests, and improve education and social services
June 1933: congress passed the Glass-Steagall Banking Act
This law created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC, which ensured
individual bank deposits up to $2,500
Money was protected by the federal government
Significance? Designed to increase public confidence in banks
1934: FDR persuaded congress to establish the Securities and Exchange Commission, the
SEC, a regulatory agency that supervised financial markets
The first chairmen was Joseph P. Kennedy
Although FDR enjoyed popularity during the first two years in office, by the end of 1934,
he began to encounter serious challenges
During the first years , the president had tried to win over the business community
He invited corporate leaders to the White House to help shape some of his early
programs
But conservative business leaders believed that any government interference with
private enterprise was a dangerous step to socialism
Many were embittered because of FDR administration support for organized labor
August 1934 a powerful group of industrialists formed the American Liberty League
Claimed to have 2 objectives:
1. To protect the personal and property right of individuals
2. To protect the right of private enterprise to function without private interference
Significance of Liberty League concerning FDR? There was no point in trying to make
friends with big business
1936 FDR was ready to make attacks on big business and organized money
More successful than the liberty league and attracting popular support were several
dissident groups who attacked the New Deal for not doing enough for helping those in
need
Francis E. Townsend: was a physician who proposed a plan where the government
would pay $200 a month to every American over the age of 60.
Each recipient would have to spend the money within a free weeks of acquiring it
Plan was designed to both promote growth and put money into circulation.
Father Charles E. Coughlin: in his weekly sermons which he broadcast over the radio he
attracted a large following.
Attacked capitalists and bankers because he blamed them for the depression
Target then became Jewish bankers since many of them were the most successful.
His anti-Semitic message was intensely appealing to his audience.
It was now the jews rather than the Catholics who bore the brunt of nativist fury.
Father Coughlin accused the FDR of not doing enough to curve the money power and he
established the national union for social justice to mobilize support for his demands.
Huey P. Long: last of the dissidents, who people thought to be most frightening threat
Senator from Louisiana
US History - Chapter 25

FDR once called him one of the two most frightening men in America
He had come to power by attacking oil companies, utilities and the conservative political
establishment.
He dominated the Louisiana politics so much that some people called him a dictator.
Attacked FDRs administration for not doing enough to distribute the American
distribution of wealth
Created the Share our Wealth society to promote his solution to depression.
Unders Longs plan the federal government would confiscate the excess wealth and the
income of the rich and give it to the poor, so his plan would guarantee every American an
annual income of $2500
Significance of the rise of the dissident challengers? Created a concern in the
administration that they had to move more aggressively in 1935.
Result? whole new series of legislation often labeled the Second New Deal.
The New Deal(original) had experienced with variety of relief programs but it had
carefully avoided anything that looked like permanent welfare.
With the Second New Deal the FDR gave support for plan for social insurance.
One of the most important pieces of legislation in american history; The Social Security
Act 1935: created a system of social insurance directed at several specifically defined
people.
Finally there is a piece of legislation that reflected the growing belief in USA that
the Federal Government had a responsibility to assist those who the private
economy could not provide for.
Last of the Western Nations to adopt such a plan.
The most important part of the law established monthly pensions to be paid by the
federal government to qualified people, retired over the age of 65.
Pension is funded by a special social security tax, its part paid by employers and part paid
by employees.





The dust bowl disaster on the Great Plains began in Kansas in part of an area that had
always known dust
1933: following a severe drought, a series of dust storms swept the area
In one of these storms on April of 1935, the flying gravel derailed a train, broke store
windows and damaged $20 million worth of damage of wheat in Texas
People began to move out
The term dust bowl was coined to describe the ravaged region which cut into Kansas,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas
The Dust Bowl