Lesson 17: The Great Depression and the New Deal

Objectives learn about American culture during the 1920s and 1930s know the factors that led to the Great Depression learn about FDR's New Deal and how he helped out the American economy know the many new heroes of American culture

American Culture during the 1920s and 1930s Cultural trends in the 1920s and 1930s changed America forever. The major cultural changes were due to the growing influence of technology which brought artists, authors, and athletes more into the public eye. The increase in newspapers, newsreels, movies, and radio had a major impact on the American public. American pop-culture was born. Having access to information from New York City to the rural West shortened the distance between both geographic locations and life experiences. But life in cities differed greatly from that of rural areas. The arts were more accessible in cities. During this period, Martha Graham, a dancer and choreographer, helped introduce freedom and expression to the art form of modern dance. Literature also flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. For example, Willa Cather wrote about pioneer life in My Antonia, which deals with a romance in the Great Plains. Another writer, T.S. Eliot, contributed such works as The Waste Land, which criticized the machine age that he felt was causing negative changes in cities all over America. Musicians gained popularity through performances in cities, often traveling to New York City or Chicago to seek out fame. Many African American artists' careers evolved from the Harlem Renaissance, a time when black artists, writers, and musicians thrived. Issues of racial pride were emphasized by many artists of the day. Richard Wright wrote numerous novels, including Native Son, exploring the different experiences of African Americans in particular regions of the country. He stressed the importance of accurately portraying black characters to a white audience. This broke the stereotype of the humble, subservient, and humorous black man as exemplified by the popular "minstrel shows" of the day in which black and white performers put on "black face", and played roles designed to reinforce stereotypes and racism. Marian Anderson became a well known black opera singer. Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and poet Langston Hughes, opened the door for black authors to be taken seriously as literary figures. A movement evolved within African American culture that emphasized the idea of the “New Negro," which meant feeling a sense of pride at being African American and using assertiveness to exhibit this pride. Alain Locke was the first man to write about this concept. He wanted African Americans to become fully integrated into American society, and yet retain their cultural heritage. As a result of the “New Negro” concept, blacks became visible in this period in both politics and the arts. Marcus Garvey was a well-known proponent of the “back to Africa” movement. He encouraged black Americans to move to Africa where white-dominated racial segregation would no longer suppress blacks’ opportunities. Though few actually repatriated to Africa, over half a million African Americans followed Garvey’s teachings. Although his radical ideals weren't popular among other black leaders of the time, he is well remembered because of his ideas on "back to Africa." The idea of a “new woman” also arose during this time. This movement, led by advocates of women’s rights, centered on changing the status of women within society and within their personal relationships. The “new woman” was more economically independent than other women of the time. She was a career woman and would believe in the ideals of “new feminism,” proposed by Charlotte Perkins Gilman who supported the rejection of male domination by all women. Certain individuals and new consumer products helped with the promotion of the new woman idea. Gender relations within marriage were discussed in Middletown, a sociological study of a small American city by Robert and Helen M. Lynd. According to the study, women had begun to work outside of the home and men began to contribute to household chores. Also, products like canned goods, bread, and clothing could now be purchased ready-made, so women could buy these things instead of making them by hand. Middletown pointed out that the traditional employment opportunities for women were beginning to change. Women were no longer limited to jobs as domestic servants. Because of industrialization, they were able to expand their endeavors outside of the home. So many women chose to go to work in offices and factories that there was a shortage of domestic servants. One of the most memorable images of women from the 1920s is of "flappers," women who rejected the strictly defined dress and actions of women of the early 20th century. The "new woman" of the 1920s could drink and smoke in public and wear clothes that revealed the neck and the legs, rebellious actions for that time. Flapper-dresses made women’s figures look straight and boyish. The dresses allowed flappers to feel independent and more equal to men. Other feminists did not think flappers went as far as they could have. The National Woman’s Party, led mostly by Alice Paul, worked through the legal system to try to make gender discrimination illegal in all ways. After the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment (women’s suffrage), Paul worked for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Though the Equal Rights Amendment passed through both houses of Congress, it was never approved by two-thirds of the states, and has therefore never been added to the Constitution. Native Americans also made advancements in the fight for their rights during this time. In 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act which granted citizenship to many Native Americans. Unfortunately, some states refused to allow Native Americans to vote after this act. To further organize for their cause, Native Americans formed the National Council of American Indians in 1926.

American Heroes With the invention of radio came radio broadcasts of sporting events over the airwaves. Football and baseball games could now be heard, play by play, by listeners located far from the actual events. Some major sports heroes had their reign in the 1920s. A popular football player during this time was Red Grange, known as the “Galloping Ghost,” who some say is the greatest football player of all time. In baseball, Babe Ruth became a legend earning the nickname the “king of home runs.” He retired with a then-record high of 60 runs in a season. Native American Jim Thorpe became an Olympian, winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in 1912. He played college football, leading his team to national victory, and then went on to play Major League baseball for 6 years, all the while leading his football team to world championships. By the end of his career in 1928, Thorpe had become a major American sports hero. In 1936, Jesse Owens, a black American, won four gold medals at the Berlin Summer Olympics. With the airplane only a decade old, many pilots pushed the envelope throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Charles Lindbergh made the first nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927. Around the same time, Richard E. Byrd made the first polar flights, to the North and South poles. Amelia Earhart, a famous female pilot, became the first woman to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1932, and in 1935, she was the first person to make a solo crossing of the Pacific. Two years later, in an attempt to be the first female pilot to fly around the world, Earhart was lost at sea on the last leg of the 29,000 mile trip.

More Technological Advances Besides the radio, many other important technological advances were made during the ‘20s and ‘30s. Edward L. Thorndike advanced education during this time by devising an intelligence test to assist in evaluating the educational process. His work was innovative and became the foundation of modern intelligence tests. In the food industry, Clarence Birdseye developed a method of quick-freezing food that changed the preservation of fruits and vegetables from that point on. His contributions led the way to the multi-billion dollar food industry we have today.

The Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression During the 1920s, Americans invested in stocks and bonds in staggering numbers hoping to become instantly wealthy. Many people did not have the cash on hand, so they invested their life savings and borrowed money, a practice known as investing "on margin," in which people buy stock with money loaned to them. On October 29, 1929, the stock market hit bottom. This day, remembered as “Black Tuesday,” is the single worst day in the history of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The market had become shaky and many who had invested lost everything. There are stories of stock brokers who jumped from windows because they were financially ruined. The crash spurred a massive selling spree as people scrambled to sell all of their stock and salvage their money. Businesses collapsed, banks closed their doors, and investors and brokers could do nothing to save their investments. Thousands of workers lost their jobs and an era known as the Great Depression began. Herbert Hoover, elected president in 1928, did not fully grasp the seriousness of the Great Depression. In early 1930, he declared that the was worst over. Soon after the economy took yet another blow as the unemployment rate rose, increasing numbers of businesses and banks failed, and many people lost their homes. By 1932, approximately 12 million Americans were unemployed. Soup and bread lines were present throughout the country and schools closed when there was no money to pay teachers. Hoover failed to propose any government solution, and the crisis worsened. The American people grew disillusioned by the lack of help from the president and government. Many poverty stricken shantytowns, dubbed "Hoovervilles," grew as more and more people lost their jobs and homes.

FDR and the New Deal In 1932 Hoover ran against Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the former Governor of New York. Roosevelt’s popular slogan, “Happy Days Are Here Again,” promised relief to the people and governmental efforts to end the depression. He won the election and in his inaugural address, heard by millions on radio, he made his famous proclamation “that the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. Primary Source Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address President Hoover, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends, This is a day of national consecration, and I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our nation impels. This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly, and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance... This nation asks for action, and action now. Our greatest possible task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable task if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.... It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us, But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.... I shall ask Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis--broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.... We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action.... In this dedication of a nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us! May He guide me in the days to come. Samuel I. Rosenmanm ed., The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, New York: Random House, vol.2. Roosevelt was quite a change from the conservative Hoover. For example, Hoover opposed direct federal relief for the people, whereas Roosevelt believed such aid was necessary. He asked Congress for expanded presidential powers to wage war on the economic crisis. His new governmental policies and programs became known as The New Deal. The three general aims of Roosevelt's New Deal program were relief, recovery, and reform. The New Deal sought to give relief to the unemployed; hasten the speed of recovery for business, commerce, agriculture, and labor; measure specific weaknesses in the economic system. Congress started by passing an Emergency Banking Act that helped put 12,000 banks back in business. Many New Deal programs followed: The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which guaranteed home loans The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which employed young men to build public works projects for the government The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which offered cash payments to the unemployed and put people to work The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which guaranteed the savings of bank depositors up to $2,500 During the first hundred days of the FDR administration, government assistance programs helped get the country moving again. Public works projects created thousands of new jobs and created new infrastructure, like the Lincoln Tunnel and the Golden Gate Bridge. The New Deal educated the country, giving everyone a better understanding about the consequences of taxation, debt, and spending. Many of the programs established during this time are still in place today and have helped the country avoid another Great Depression. The Golden Gate Bridge Other examples of change in the government included Roosevelt’s “black cabinet.” His wife, Eleanor, wisely advised him to integrate his administration. For the first time, the President hired blacks for various mid-level government positions. Mary McLeod Bethune was one woman appointed to the cabinet. The members of this unofficial cabinet met regularly to discuss ways to advance the interests of African Americans as well as to ensure that black Americans were not excluded from the benefits provided through the various New Deal relief programs. Roosevelt had a great amount of personal charm and his cheerful personality was a significant asset in his attempt to lead the nation out of the despair of the depression. He exuded confidence in all his actions, and his exceptional speaking voice was very effective in getting across ideas to the people in his "fireside chats" over the radio. Just like Teddy Roosevelt, he was a controversial president. His supporters idolized him and his enemies hated him. He had such a hold on the people that they elected him President four times, more than any other president.