The Great Depression. Turning Points IN WORLD HISTORY. Don Nardo, Book Editor

Transcription

1 Turning Points IN WORLD HISTORY The Great Depression Don Nardo, Book Editor David L. Bender, Publisher Bruno Leone, Executive Editor Bonnie Szumski; Editorial Director David M. Haugen, Managing Editor Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego, California

2 Contents Foreword 9 Introduction: The Great Depression and the New Deal 11 Chapter 1: The Origins and Onset of the Great Depression 1. The Stock Market Crash by James D. Horan 29 In the years and months leading up to October 1929, the United States enjoyed seeming prosperity and looked forward to a bright future. But between October 24 and 29 ("Black Tuesday"), the values of stocks suddenly fell, bankrupting millions of people and setting in motion a worldwide economic depression. 2. The Causes of the Stock Market Crash and Depression by Edward R. Ellis 3 5 Many causes and factors contributed to the onset of the Great Depression. Perhaps the most crucial was the fact that a tiny minority of the population controlled most of the wealth, while many average families could not afford to buy the goods they themselves produced. 3. From The History of the New Deal, by Basil Rauch 44 President Hoover and his advisors were unable to stem the disastrous tide of the worsening economic crisis, in large part because they believed it was wrong for the federal government to regulate big business or to intrude too much in people's lives. Chapter 2: The Depression's Debilitating Impact 1. The Plight of the Cities by John F. Bauman and Thomas H. Coode ' 52 The sight of unemployed workers standing in breadlines, sleeping on curbsides, or selling apples by roadsides became common in American cities in the 1930s as the economic crisis deepened. Sadly, initial relief efforts proved almost futile and hopelessness became widespread.

3 2. Rural Poverty, Drought, and Migration by T.H. Watkins 65 During the early 1930s, as the Great Depression ravaged the American economy, a severe drought devastated the Midwest, creating the infamous "Dust Bowl" and forcing hundreds of thousands of families to pull up stakes and migrate in search of new homes. 3. The Struggles of American Blacks by Edwin P. Hoyt 75 Although almost all Americans suffered deprivations during the depression years, a noted scholar explains, blacks "suffered more than any other group in North or South, even more than any other minority." 4. Depression-Era Cinema Reflected Social Values by Robert S. McElvaine 88 The percentage of Americans who went to the movies on a regular basis was far greater in the 1930s than it is today. A leading scholar of the depression era tells how screen characters and plots often expressed and reinforced audience perceptions of an unfair, corrupt, and hopeless social system. Chapter 3: Roosevelt Conies to Power 1. F.D.R. Takes the Reins of State by Samuel Eliot Morison 98 On March 4, 1933, a few months after an impressive election victory over Republican president Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office. In his inaugural address, F.D.R. electrified the nation with his frank call to arms against the devastating economic crisis. 2. Roosevelt Forms the "Brain Trust" by Ted Morgan 108 Though an inspiring, creative leader, Franklin Roosevelt did not conceive all the political and economic ideas of the New Deal on his own. He was assisted by a panel of academic advisors, who became known collectively as the "Brain Trust" because they were in a sense the "brains" behind the New Deal. 3. The Historic "Hundred Days" by William E. Leuchtenburg 114 The first legislative session presided over by President Roosevelt, a period lasting exactly one hundred days, witnessed the rapid passage of an unprecedented series

4 of major reform bills, an auspicious beginning for the ambitious New Deal that promised to put the country on its feet. Chapter 4: New Deal Programs, Policies, and Controversies 1. The SEC Regulates Wall Street by Mario Einaudi 12 7 One of Roosevelt's first goals in implementing the New Deal was to clean up Wall Street. To that end, his administration established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which strictly regulates the stock exchange in an effort to combat fraud and protect the public. 2. Social Security Protects the Elderly and Infirm by Arthur M.Schlesinger Jr. 134 In 1935, Congress passed President Roosevelt's Social Security program, which had been formulated by a special committee headed by his talented secretary of labor, Frances Perkins. Still in place today, the program provides a small but important safety net for aged, sick, and other individuals who cannot work. 3. Foreign Relations Under the New Deal by Louis M. Hacker 142 At the same time that they were instituting sweeping domestic programs to fight the economic and social ravages of the depression, Roosevelt and his New Dealers were also formulating wide-ranging foreign policy. At first, the United States thought it could avoid involvement in global disputes, but the reality that the nations of the world had become interdependent soon became unavoidable. 4. Roosevelt and the New Deal at Odds with the Supreme Court by Paul K. Conkin 151 On May 27, 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional. This, along with the negation of some other New Deal programs, prompted President Roosevelt to try to pack the Court, a move that damaged his image and that of the New Deal as a whole. NIEDERS. B18LI0THBK GOTTINGEM

5 Epilogue: After the New Deal / 1. The Legacy of the Depression and the New Deal by William E. Leuchtenburg 159 Though far from perfect, the New Deal permanently altered the landscape of American life by mandating minimal working standards, creating old-age pensions, bringing electricity to rural America, regulating Wall Street, and instituting dozens of other government programs and protections that today are taken for granted. Appendix: Excerpts from Original Documents Pertaining to the Great Depression 177 Chronology 207 For Further Research 210 Index 214