The Great Depression

Introduction

This book is going to talk about the Great Depression. It’ll hit hot topics of the Great Depression and what happened through this rough time. This was a time where railroads and textiles barely made a profit. Mining and lumbering were no longer in high demand and coal was threatened by new forms of energy. Agriculture got hit the hardest. Farm income fell from $10 billion to $4 billion. Farmers kept wanting to take out loans and soon enough banks began to fail… Families broke apart and men would leave to find jobs. Unemployment was at an all-time high yet know one knew how to create more jobs.

Banks Begin to Fail

After the Stock Market Crash, a lot of people were wanting to take money out of the banks. Many banks ran out of money just because they even invested in the stock market! Consumer production and investment began to decrease, which would lead into a decline in business production and employment. Another situation that compounded the nation’s economy during the Great Depression was a wave of banking panics or “bank runs,”  this is where large numbers of anxious, hyped people withdrew their deposits in cash, forcing banks to liquidate loans and often leading to bank failure.During a bank run, a large number of depositors will lose confidence in the security of their bank, which makes them all go to withdraw their funds at once. Banks typically hold only a fraction of deposits in cash at any one time, and lend out the rest to borrowers or purchase interest-bearing assets like government securities. Knowing the people needed money and banks, Roosevelt declared a national “bank holiday,” during which all banks would be closed until they were determined to be solvent through federal inspection. It did help the public tremendously.

Rail Riders!

The Great Depression had a hard hit on families especially the men. Men used to working had a bad problem trying to deal with unemployment. Over 300,000 men became hoboes. These were men that traveled across the country on trains. Hoboes would sleep under bridges or in homeless shelters. Riding the rails was extremely dangerous. There were “bulls” hired to keep hoboes off trains, so you couldn’t just go to a rail and climb on. Most hoboes would hide along the tracks outside the yard. They’d run beside the train and as it gained speed they would grab hold and jump into the open boxcars. Sometimes, they would miss. Many lost their legs or even their lives. As the train was reaching its destination, the hoboes had to jump off before a new set of bulls to arrest them or beat them up.

Fireside Chats with Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Great Depression is coming to an end and people are desperate for answers. From March 1933 to June 1944, Franklin Roosevelt addressed the American people in about 30 speeches broadcast through the radio speaking about a variety of topics. Roosevelt needed the popularity so this is why he chose the radio. On Sunday nights he knew families would gather around the radio to see what was going on and he knew he would have everyone’s attention. He would comfort America and talk to them about what he would do to help restore America. He gained very much needed public support while also maintaining and growing his popularity.

The New Deal

 1932 was one of the bleakest years of the Great Depression. With that being said that means at least one-quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. Once President Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted very quickly to try and stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to those who were suffering from this tragedy. President Roosevelt, for the first 100 days focused on, relief, recovery, and reform. With relief he wanted to provide Americans with the basic necessities. With recovery, he wanted to promote growth in every aspect. With reform, he ensured that the Great Depression would never happen again. There were six main new deal programs. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created jobs for men between the ages of 18 and 25. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) paid farmers to plant less and eliminated the crop surpluses. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) stabilized prices of industrial goods and set a minimum wage. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) insured banks deposits up to $2,500. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) created around 8.5 million jobs. The Social Security Act (SSA) provided financial benefits for the elderly and disabled. But of course with all good things, there will be critics and people who oppose the better things for society. Some felt the New Deal went to far and some said it didn’t go far enough. People said the President got too much power and business leaders greatly feared higher taxes would lower the profits.