Western Democracies Respond to Crisis
Western democracies responded to the Great Depression and the spread of radical ideologies by enacting laws, creating programs, and leading revolts. Nevertheless, their actions proved futile because what ended the Great Depression was an even worse crisis: World War II.
On October 24, 1929, the American stock market crashed. On this day, known forever as Black Tuesday, the American economy plummeted into debt. Furthermore, international trade collapsed as nations raised tariffs against imports in order to "protect workers and investors from the influx of cheap foreign goods." The United States strove to protect its consumers by neglecting free trade. As a result, many manufactures waned their production, dismissed millions of employees, and some even went out of …show more content…
Producers of raw materials, such as Argentine beef, Chilean nitrates, and Indonesian sugar, experienced the worst effects of the Depression. In FDR's inaugural address on March 4, he notes that "farmers [found] no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone." Nevertheless, he offers comfort and direction to the American people. Unlike former President Hoover, who thought the crises was “'a passing incident’... [and] it wasn’t the federal government’s job to … resolve [it]," FDR said, "this Nation asks for action, and action now." Following his speech, the government created a “series of experimental projects and programs, known collectively as the New Deal, that aimed to restore some measure of dignity and prosperity to many Americans.” A four-day bank holiday was issued to prevent withdrawals from unstable banks; congress also passed the Emergency Banking Act, Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, and the National Industrial Recovery Act, along with 12 other major laws. On December 5, Congress ratified the 21st amendment, ending Prohibition.
Western democracies responded to the Great Depression and the spread of radical ideologies by enacting laws, creating programs, and leading revolts. Nevertheless, their actions proved futile because what ended the Great Depression was an even worse crisis: World War II.
On October 24, 1929, the American stock market crashed. On this day, known forever as Black Tuesday, the American economy plummeted into debt. Furthermore, international trade collapsed as nations raised tariffs against imports in order to "protect workers and investors from the influx of cheap foreign goods." The United States strove to protect its consumers by neglecting free trade. As a result, many manufactures waned their production, dismissed millions of employees, and some even went out of …show more content…
Producers of raw materials, such as Argentine beef, Chilean nitrates, and Indonesian sugar, experienced the worst effects of the Depression. In FDR's inaugural address on March 4, he notes that "farmers [found] no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone." Nevertheless, he offers comfort and direction to the American people. Unlike former President Hoover, who thought the crises was “'a passing incident’... [and] it wasn’t the federal government’s job to … resolve [it]," FDR said, "this Nation asks for action, and action now." Following his speech, the government created a “series of experimental projects and programs, known collectively as the New Deal, that aimed to restore some measure of dignity and prosperity to many Americans.” A four-day bank holiday was issued to prevent withdrawals from unstable banks; congress also passed the Emergency Banking Act, Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, and the National Industrial Recovery Act, along with 12 other major laws. On December 5, Congress ratified the 21st amendment, ending Prohibition.