history america

why did companies go out of business

factory owners cut production, wages and jobs

how many Americans were unable to pay their mortgage and where did they live?

• 25000

• lived in hoovervilles

throughout 1920s and 1930s, what policy was followed by America?

isolationism

how many Americans were still unemployed throughout the 1930s despite the new deal?

1 in 10

why was there an overproduction of goods?

there are only so many radios, telephones ect that one family needs

SSA was introduced as the first system of what?

social welfare

how many were unemployed in 1932?

13 million

what was a positive/negative thing the TVA did?

• positive - provided work to build dams and power stations in one of the poorest areas in America

• negative - only a small area benefitted

when Huey Long criticised the New Deal, what scheme did he want?

‘share the wealth’ scheme

what did the WPD do

convert peacetime work into war time

what could black officers now do?

lead black soldiers but were still segregated

what could African American women now do?

able to nurse only black soldiers

how many people losing their jobs a day

12000

‘helping hoover’ ( positives )

• 300 million available to help unemployed

• huge road/dam building scheme created jobs

who was FDR and why was he likeable?

• democrat

• governor of nyc

• spent 20 million to help unemployed

• promised 3Rs

• promised new deal

• 15 speeches a day

• successful with disability

what were the 3Rs

relief, recovery, reform

people used escapism to avoid problems by doing what?

• watching films

• music

• comic books

what was the hawley-smoot tariff and what did it cause

( extra taxes on imported goods )

• foreign countries respond with own tariff

• restricted sales

• less demand for goods

• fewer workers needed

positive/negative AAA

• positive - helped farmers as food prices rose

• negative - food destroyed while millions starve

how did people lose life savings

659 banks bankrupt

examples segregation within armed forces

black sailors only allowed to work in kitchens and not allowed to train as officers

what movies were popular

Dracula, wizard of oz

in what books did Steinbeck write about the Great Depression?

• of mice and men

• grapes of wrath

what work did alphabet agencies provide?

temporary and short term

what music remained popular in the 1930s?

jazz

European countries retaliated with their own tariffs, meaning?

american goods more expensive

how many people visited the cinema each week?

100 million

by 1938, employment rose to what number?

10.5 million

1933-1941 what agencies rose the total value of goods sold?

what is this called?

• WPA and PWA

• it was called GNP

positive/negative about CCC

• positive - provided work to 18-25 year olds, 200,000 African Americans employed

• negative- campsites segregated

1944, what did unemployment drop to and how much by?

670,000, 9,5 million drop

what did double v campaign do?

challenge African American rights

banking act

only well run banks reopen

economy act

cut government wages by 15%, saving 1 billion dollars to spend on creating jobs

beer act

end prohibition, can tax alcohol and create jobs

wall street crash, when did it happen

29 million shares sold, causing people to lose 8 billion dollars.

• OCTOBER 1929

what were people travelling around America and looking for work called?

hobos

which term means government created jobs by spending taxes and what did this do?

• priming the pump

• stimulated economy as people had more money to spend

what percentage of the work force was unemployed?

25%

what year was the first comic book published, what was it called

superman, 1938

the rich lost part of their wealth, but what did they still have?

land/property to fall back on

‘hopeless hoover’ ( negatives )

• farmers used pitchforks to chase away government officials trying to evict them

• bonus army ( e.g veterans ) who asked for early war pension were driven away

• extra taxes on imported goods

who was hoover and what did he believe in

• republican, believed in rugged individualism and didnt care about ordinary folk

what is rugged individualism

solve your own problems through working hard

3 reasons why farmers struggled

• 1 in 20 evicted

• unable to pay back loans

• dustbowl ( dust storms ) made it impossible to farm any land

what did the FEPC set up?

helped to prevent discrimination in government jobs against African Americans

negatives of the new frontier ( kennedy )

• new tech grants - less workers

• unemployment only reduced by 1 million

• minimum wage increase only helped those in work

• school funding failed

positives of the new frontier ( kennedy )

• cut taxes

• made $900 available to businesses to create new jobs

• grants to companies for new tech

• minimum wage increase

• training schemes for unemployed

• SSA increased benefits for elderly/unemployed

• mental health research

positives of great society ( johnson )

• introduced job corps - help high school leavers get jobs

• minimum wage increase

• housing act funded low income housing

• model cities act cleared inner city slums

• medicare created to fund healthcare for elderly and low income

• operation headstart gave money to poor schools

negatives of great society ( johnson )

• white family’s in poverty only saw reduction from 18% to 10% of families living in poverty

• criticised for spending too much money on his reforms

• unemployment rise in 1968 and riots in poorer areas broke out

• supported US involvement in the vietnam war which became increasingly popular