engine of souls | forum 3

1.      Compare and contrast Hoover's and Roosevelt's approaches to the Depression.

 

Man, I wish I knew how to make a Venn Diagram on a computer. J

 

Hoover and Roosevelt both had different and yet somewhat similar approaches to the depression.

Hoover at first believed the U.S should not intervene with the lives of Americans because it lowers their self-reliance. He was criticized for this Laissez-faire viewpoint in Paul Krugman’s book The Conscience of a Liberal. Hoover did past some acts like the ‘Federal Home Loan Bank Act’ which made it more affordable to buy a house. He also passed the ‘Revenue Act of 1932’ which placed high taxes on the wealthy.  They also passed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff which actually made the economic slump worse by causing countries to enforce tariffs on one another.  Franklin D. Roosevelt called Hoover’s use of federal money as “reckless and extravagant”.

Then Franklin D. Roosevelt comes into power and acts like that Energizer bunny. In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address4 he stated “Restoration calls, however not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.”He passes a staggering amount of bills in his first 100 days alone.  He forced all the banks in the U.S to take a holiday the day after he was elected.  He created many groups such as the FDIC and the CCC to help the common man during the tough economy.  The FDIC insures bank deposits and the CCC2 gave works around the U.S jobs.  He also passed the AAA which stopped farmers from over-producing food. He also passed the Social Security Act3 which is still in place today. He also passed the TVA1 which gave people work building dams along the river.

Hoover was a more Laissez-faire president even though he did pass some laws about business. However, Franklin D. Roosevelt clearly passed many more laws and created many more groups to aid in ending the depression.  

 

Those little numbers are links to documents that support my claims. To see them you have to be logged in to your My History Lab account. =)

6. Give three or four examples of the “other side” of the 1930s.

The sulky, dark mood is often associated with the Great Depression. Yet, there is a brighter "other side" of the decade as well. The "car culture" that was created during the twenties continued to thrive throughout the decade. Despite the decline in automobile production, the number of cars registed increased from 24 million in 1933 to over 36 million by 1940. Even though many Americans were unable to afford brand-new cars, vehicles were essential for many such as the "Okies", whom escaped from the Southwest and the Dust Bowl by traveling by car. Cars were also essential for the 4 million Americans who traveled every year. Four out of five Americans continued to travel by car.

While the Great Depression is considered an "age of hardships"; the decade is also considered an "age of leisure" as well. Whilst the number of those in attendance lowered during the thirties, some middle-class Americans continued to attend sport events. They also found other forms of cheaper entertainment such as playing pinball machines, miniature golf, softball, and board games like Monopoly.

The decade was also characterized culturally. Famous American literature such as John Steinback's The Grapes of Wrath, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, and Margaret Miller's Gone With the Wind was read by thousands of Americans and provided both cheap entertainment and enlightenment. The decade was also defined as the "golden age for films". Despite economic hardships, Americans continued to attend movie theatres to escape from the harsh reality of the Great Depression. The number of attendees ranged from 60 million to 90 million people per week. Numerous of films were produced, ranging from monster films to cowboys, from to Gone With the Wind to Modern Times. Numerous of film stars were popularized during the time, such as Marlene Dietrich and the ever-so-popular child star, Shirely Temple.

-- Edited by Charlene on Saturday 6th of March 2010 11:03:11 PM

Cara wrote:

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I'll do number four in a sec...

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 One hour later. . .

lol jk :)

4. Explain the significance of the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) and its impact on organized labor.

The Wagner Act was a landmark piece of legislation, passed under FDR's New Deal.  This act stated that the U.S. government would protect and promote "collective bargaining," which would require employers to negotiate with employee-chosen representatives, as well as, "“the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self‐organization, and designation of representatives of their choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection,” essentially, the worker's ability and right to organize into a union. Additionally, this act stated it would protect worker's right to strike. The National Labor Relations Act or NLRA was the government organization created to implement and enforce the Wagner Act. In conclusion, this act was significant because, for the first time, unionization of workers and worker's rights in general were protected under the law.

(Matt, obviously I meant a plutonian second, which is wayyyy longer than one on Earth. Duh.)

5. Describe the New Deal's programs for minority groups.
New Deal’s programs for minority groups were Ickes and Hopkins tried to give black federal opportunities totaled to over 150,000. Some New Deal agencies helped destitute Mexicans such as the CCC and the WPA but to be employed you had to qualify for state relief, and that eliminated most migrants. The government wasn’t trying to aid Mexicans but trying to ship them back to Mexico. Asians suffered during the Depression and most lived in ethnic enclaves, lost their jobs, and were treated as foreigners. Native Americans also experienced alienation, disease, and despair during the Depression, and their plight were compounded by years of exploitation. The New Deal didn’t really help any minority groups, the government really just wanted to ship them out of the US.

I did all of them...

1.) There were many reasons for economic depression. The stock market crash, a maldistribution of wealth, and the Federal reserve burea's ill advised tarriff all contributed to economic depression. In an effort to stop the continuing drop in the economy hoover urged a rise in voluntary action, keeping the gold standard, and asked congress to make morgages more readily available (The Federal Home Loan Bank Act).

2.) The new deal was a number of programs passed to relieve, recover, and reform. It produced a political realignment allowing the democrats to be the majority. In the first hundred days the new deal did what it was expected to do by producing the Farm Security Act, raising farm incomes. Also the establishment of (AAA) Agricutural adjustment Administration from the Agricultural Adjustment act enacted the demands of leaders of farm companies. Other programs included Resettlement Administration (RA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

3.)The Social Security Act and the Works Progress Administration exemplified the move of the second New Deal toward goals of social reform and social justice because they were the first massive attempt to deal with unemployment and its demoralizing effect on millions of Americans.The Works Progress Administration (WPA), employed about 3 million people a year on a variety of SOCIALLY useful projects. the advantage of the WPA was that almost anyone would be qualified for a job. In fact, women made up 13% of the WPA, which was a great feat since many employers would not hire women.

By far, the most reform came through social security. Since the progressive period, social workers and reformers had argued for a national system of health insurance, old-age pensions, and unemployment insurance. By the 1930s, the United States remained the only major industrial country without such programs. In 1935 the Social Security Act answered their prayers. The most important provision of the act was old-age and survivor insurance to be paid for by a tax of 1 percent on both employers and employees. The benefits initially ranged from $10 to $85 a month. The act also established a cooperative federal–state system of unemployment compensation. Other provisions authorized federal grants to the states to help care for the disabled and the blind. Finally, the Social Security Act provided some aid to dependent children.This provision would eventually expand to become the largest federal welfare program.

4.) The Wagner Act created a system to arbitrate disputes between unions and employers. It stopped employers from interfering with union activities and it also gave workers the right to join unions and bargain collectively.


5.) Many new deal programs aided minority groups. Half a million African Americans joined unions through the CIO during the 1930s, and many blacks were aided by various New Deal agencies. Also Roosevelt apointed a number of blacks to government positions.Some New Deal agencies also helped destitute Mexicans. A few worked for the CCC and the WPA. Aside african americams native americans were also alienated in this period. But, Franklin Roosevelt brought a new spirit to Indian policy by appointing John Collier as commissioner of Indian affairs. Collier was primarily responsible for the passage of the IndianReorganization Act of 1934, which sought to restore the political independence of the tribes and to end the allotment policy of the Dawes Act.

6.) Some examples of the "other side" is modern design and a streamlined future, the Electric home, the age of leisure (sports, entertainment), literature, and cinema.


Practice in historical thinking

1.)Hoover acted aggressively to stem the economic collapse. More than any president before him, he used the power of the federal government and the office of the president to deal with an economic crisis. Nobody called it a depression for the first year at least, for the economic problems seemed very much like earlier cyclic recessions. Hoover called conferences of businessmen and labor leaders. He met with mayors and governors and encouraged them to speed up public works projects. He created agencies and boards, such as the National Credit Corporation and the Emergency Committee for Employment, to obtain voluntary action to solve the problem. Hoover even supported a tax cut, which Congress enacted in December 1929, but it did little to stimulate spending.

Roosevelt, however, was cautious and a conservative. He shaped the first New Deal. He did not promote socialism or suggest nationalizing the banks. He was even careful in authorizing public works projects to stimulate the economy. The New Deal was based on the assumption that it was possible to create a just society by superimposing a welfare state on the capitalist system, leaving the profit motive undisturbed. While the progressives believed in voluntary action and only reluctantly concluded that the federal government needed to intervene to promote a just society, the New Dealers, from the beginning, believed in an active role for the government. Roosevelt was confident he could achieve his goals through cooperation with the business community. Later he would move more toward reform, but at first his primary concern was simply relief and recovery.


2.) The New Deal was almost an extention of progressive ideals. For example the effect of both the new deal and the progressives were the expansion of the federal government, espiecially the exucutive branch. also the rights for people and workers were highly stressed with progressive reformers and the new deal. Social security provided welfare for the people and the AAA enact the demands of farming leaders in a similar way that progressive formed unions. Also the WPA employed many workers for city projects as did the progressives with city beutification.

3.) The New Deal promoted social justice and social reform and provided for those at the bottom of American society. roosevelt passed many acts to help those at the bottom of the food chain. Social Security in peticular help the most americans with welfare and with insurance. Also the WPA employed many unskilled families to do socially acceptable projects, mostly city beuatification. This helped those without jobs and provided for a cleaner city. Even some Blacks found help with the CIO. Also with the passing of the wagner act unions were allowed to act and employers were not alowed to interfere, making people be able to join unions without consequence.