Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Why people criticized Herbert Hoover (1929-33)
|
1. Initial response to the Depression passive: leave business to sort itself out
2. Hoover's reaction to 'Black Sunday' seen as inadequate. At this time he was still following the idea of voluntarism rather than full scale gov 3. Allowed situation of industry and business to worsen, also due to relying on notion of voluntarism 4. Passive ways allowed unemployment to reach 11 million (1932) 5. Failure to sort out the banking system which eventually became so serious that the whole banking system had to be suspended for a day 6. Agricultural Marketing Act - Huge failure in its main aim to stabilize produce prices 7. Hawley Smoot Tariff (1930) - Another failure. Pused import duties up to extremely high levels. Did little to help farmers and had a harmful effect on international trade. Did not veto despite advisors' recommendation. Many historians say this was single biggest mistake 8. Hoover refused to offer any concessions to the 'Bonus Army' - by 1932 Great Depression reaching its lowest depths. All ec |
|
|
How successful was President Hoover in lifting America out of the Great Depression in the years 1930-32?
|
Intro: GD that started in 1929 had bad social effects on American and its citizens. Unable to cope with idea of not being employed - many felt their fault (due to high work ethic present at time). 1-2 million were forced to become hoboes. Poverty high, relief not given, peeps going hungry in richest country in food production in world, Hoover heavily criticised for his lack of making work policies, but recently historians say maybe too hard
Hoover strongly believed fed interven unacceptable, yet got gov more involved than any other government before him. Did this by promoting Voluntarism - examples of this can be seen in the expansion of federal lending and encouragement of public work schemes. Debatable how successful his policies were. Many argue that Hoover's principles of voluntarism and self-help were wholly inadequate to meet the magnitude of the crisis facing the country. 1. Depression so severe no pres could deal with it successfully. YET Commitment to combating Depression - tirelessly worked long |
|
|
What were the effects of the Great Depression?
|
PURFECT!!!
POVERTY * People went hungry in one of the richest food-producing countries * Farm prices were so low that food could not be profitably harvested * 58 farms in every thousand changed hands in 1929 - 19.5 were forced sales due to banks repoing farms as a result of non-payment of mortgages. UNEMPLOYMENT * USA ill-equipped to handle unemployment - little provision made (eg no federal unemployment benefit) * Work ethic: very prevalent + unemployment among the able-bodied was held to be their own fault * Devastating psychological effects eg: many cases of people pretending to still be going to work in the morning RELIEF NEEDED * Most came from charities * No state had any system of recognised unemployment insurance before 1932. Majority of elderly people lived below the poverty line. Few private pension schemes - so old people traditionally had to keep working, live on their savings, or rely on kids for support. The Depression made these options no longer viable * Only 25% entitled to relief rec |
|
|
Why did the Depression last so long?
|
TIMES!!!
TARIFFS * HH himself always blamed foreign economies. Felt that it was their lack of purchasing power that stifled trade; many of his measures to combat the Depression were intended to strengthen foreign economies. * Historians counter criticism: although USA richest country of the world then, wasn't (in the 1920s) a world economic leader. American tariffs are what restricted intl trade - Hawley Smoot tariff in 1930 added to this immensely * In particular, when other countries were seeing their currencies lose value, the USA refused to devalue their dollar to match. This made Am goods even more expensive to foreigners INSUFFICIENT GOV INTERVENTIONS * Too many goods being produced and too few consumers able to afford them * Great inequality of wealth in the USA - 8% of families earned 42% of the national wealth while 60% only earned 23% * Argued that, if the unregulated capitalist economy couldn't maintain a balance between the ability of people to buy goods and the level of earnings, the gov sho |
|
|
Explain why Franklin D Roosevelt won the 1932 election
|
1. Unpopulatiry of Hoover, who was associated with the problems of the depression was more important than Roosevelt's own policies
2. Hoover looked weak and his policies were generally unsuccessful 3. In comparison, Roosevelt had promised Americans a "new deal" and came across as a person who was flexible and willing to experiment. 4. Roosevelt also appealed to many more of the electorate as he was perceived as enthusiastic and a man with a warm personality. 5. Campaign also prospered due to his affiliation with his cousin Theodore, one of the USA's most highly regarded leaders. 6. Hoover, on the other hand, had little in the way of charisma and people generally found him boring. In addition, had poor relations with the media. 7. Can also be argued that Roosevelt campaigned more successfully. He used the radio to great effect empathizing with "ordinary" Americans who were suffering. Alternatively, Hoover was too busy to campaign effectively as he was too busy fighting the Depression |
|
|
What were the aims and objectives of FDR?
|
1. Increase the morale of American society
2. America has been struck by problems throughout their history and these have been overcome 3. Mistakes have been made. Individuals have been greedy. America must readdress social values 4. Galvanise America to believe in the President and in each other 5. The government will put people back to work and face the problems as if it was the emergency of war 6. The country is on its knees but it will bounce back. It is far from dead. 7. USA must rid the country of the evils of the past (Supervision of banks and end of speculation) |
|
|
What was happening between November 1932 and Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933?
|
1. Hoover was still in office and clearly Roosevelt must have been frustrated waiting to take over
2. The Depression was getting worse and Hoover was unable to introduce effective measures to combat it 3. Hoover did seek to involve FDR in a smooth transition and to agree on common policies. However, FDR was non committal to these offers 4. FDR did not want to be associated with HH, whose credibility was shattered 5. FDR did not want to tie himself to shared policies with political opponents 6. However, no president since the Civil War had faced so many problems. FDR's inaugural speech seemed to offer everything that people wanted to hear 7. There was tremendous expectation and excitement about FDR presidency. They saw him as a dynamic, charismatic leader and someone who the people were ready to have faith in. |
|
|
Why did FDR use 'fireside chats' during his term of office?
|
1. To communicate his ideas to the American public during the depression including his aims and objectives for reform
2. A direct form of communication which, with the growth in the number of radios, reached a lot of people who were not literate and which could reach right across the country by the 1930s. 3. Restore confidence in the nation as a whole. Give the poor/unemployed hope through the way he spoke. 4. Wanted to appeal to the public for support for his policies and explain the way he was dealing with the Depression. The first 100 days meant radical measures and he needed to reassure people that he knew what he was doing. 5. Alternative view: helped him when it came to getting re-elected and so he was really doing this out of self interest and to maintain popularity However, most would agree that it was the radical measure of the New Deal that meant FDR had to explain his measures and in such a way that was friendly and reassuring. |
|
|
FENCED PATH
|
FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION
EMERGENCY BANKING ACT NATIONAL RECOVER ADMINISTRATION CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPORTATION ECONOMY ACT DRINK (BEER) ACT PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ADMINISTRATION TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY HOME OWNERS LOAN CORPORATION |
|
|
How important was the New Deal to the economic recovery of the USA in the years 1933 to 1941?
|
Introduction: aim of bringing relief, reform and recovery
1. Accomplished what Hoover before FDR couldn't. In wake of WSC, HH strategy had been to stay calm and use trad economic policies that limited his involvement in people's affairs - he thought businesses would eventually regulate themselves. Did not bring recovery; things got worse. New Deal can be seen as step in right direction as it involved more gov intervention. 2. Gov interven + spending became new economic way to get out of trouble; Roosevelt focused on restoring people's faith in the banking system and putting more money into banks. Alphabet agencies set up to help agriculture, industry and unemployment such as AAA, NRA, CCC, and the TVA (the TVA being regarded as a big success) 3. Still, some agencies were unsuccessful, and others were voted as unconstitutional by Supreme Court. Furthermore, other reasons contributed to economic recovery of US 4. Trade engaged between USA and Far East (+other markets) helped in 1930s. Open Door policy an |
|
|
How far did the First New Deal combat the effects of the Depression? [RELIEF]
|
The Federal Emergency Relief Act gave $5000 million to be divided equally amongst all states in order to assist the unemployed
UNSUCCESSFUL: *effectiveness limited, funds as well; 1935: avg family on relief given $25 - $75 less than minimum needed to survive *Set precedent of Fed Gov to start giving direct funds BUT *many states didn't like giving relief because they thought it was poor's fault they were poor *Because they disagreed with state handouts, work of FERA hampered by problems like being refused office space - this limited their ability to give out a sufficient amount of relief |
|
|
How far did the First New Deal combat the effects of the Depression? [AGRICULTURE LEGISLATION]
|
LT aim: make farming more efficient - ind ending surplus production
Farm Credit Act: loaned money to farmers in danger of eviction or repo AAA: meant to increase farmer's income by paying to produce less. Popular among farmers. Total (^^^^^^^^^): $4.5-6.9bil in 1932-35. This shows it worked effectively towards overproduction On the other hand, even with increase (in income), farmers were earning 20% less than before 1914. Plus, people were outraged that produce was being destroyed while there were people going hungry. TVA aims: control floods, provide jobs, develop welfare+education programmes, provide hydroelectric power for an area whose existing supplies of electricity were limited. - Modernised and improved living standards, making it successful in combating the effects of the Depression |
|
|
How far did the First New Deal combat the effects of the Depression? [BANKING AND FINANCE LEGISLATION]
|
* WSC panic = banks out of money + unable to meet deposits. FDR closed banks for 4 days to draft emergency legislation
- aim: get confidence in US banking system again *Fireside chats - raised confidence. After 4 days, only solvent banks allowed to reopen & >$1bil in currency returned to bank depositors. = increase in confidence and increase in money invested in economy *Removed gold standard to devalue currency + encourage foreigners to buy American goods *Only concentrated on domestic policies -refusal to agree to a general stabilization of currency policy with European countries led to the collapse in LEC -may have led to 60% $-devalue BUT because Depression couldn't be solved by single measure, this didn't affect economic recovery |
