VOCABULARY
StockExchange
GreatDepression
DustBowl
NewDeal
unemployment
hydroelectricity
PEOPLE
HerbertHoover
F ran kliDe
n la n o
Roosevelt
Eleanor
Roosevelt
HowdidtheGrcat
Deptessionoffect
the United Stotes?
BUITDBACKGROUND
"5o, first of all,let me assertltelll my fim belief
that theonlythingwehaveto fearisfearitselfnameless,unreasoning, unj ustified terror which
paralyzes
needed
efforts,.,."
triedto calm
President
FranklinRoosevelt
Americans'
fearsaboutthe economyin 1933.
Millionsof peoplewerewithoutjobsor hoPe.
in the
HiswordshelDedto restoreconfidence
Americansystem.
READING
STRATEGY
likethis
Make
a chart
(ause
0net0snow
Inone
andeffect.
(olumn,
writean
event.
lntheother
(olumn,
writean
that
effect theevent
,. ,.F,:'li
D
&
&
s
. The GoodTime5End
. A NewPresident
. New Programsat Work
YouAreHere
1929
- 1938
THE GOODTIMESEND
In the 1920smanypeoplebought
stocks.Howeve!prospedtyvanished
overnightwith the crashof the NewYork
StockExchangein 1929.A stock
exchangeis a specialmarketwhere
sharesof stockare bought and sold.
Stockpdcesbeganto drop in September
afrai
, dofl os i ng
of 1929N. 4 a ni)n ve srors
money,tried to sellthet stocks.This
causedstockpricesto fall faster.Investors
. oon
panicle dtve
. r l o n ew antedto s el l S
manystockswereworthless.
Also at this time, the governmentwas
and farmsin prosupportingbusinesses
ducinga lot of goodsand crops.By the
Iate 1920sthe producersmadetoo much
to sell.Manybusinesses
and farmsfailed.
Thousandsof peoplelost theirjobs and
savings.Banksfailed.This led to a time of
widespreadeconomichardshipsin the
1930scalledthe GreatDepression.
TheDustBowl
Yearsof droughtin the 1930smade
the GreatDepressionevenworsefor
farmers.Many farmersin the Great
Plainswatchedtheir cropsdie.Up to
150,000squaremiles of the GreatPlains
wereturned into dust.This areawas
calledthe "Dust Bowl."High windsthat
blewaclossthe regionkickedup thedr)
dift. The dust stormsblottedout the sun
and buriedfarmhousesup to the window-
(left)gather
Worried
investors
infront
0ftheNewYork
sto* Exchange
in 1929.
sills.A womannamedMary Owsley
recalled,"youhad to cleanhousefrom
was covered
attic to ground.Ever).thing
in sand."
Thousandsof farmerslost thet tarms.
Morethan half the populationof the Dust
Bowlleft the region.Manywent to Califomia wheretheyhopedto find work, but
jobswerescarcein California.
ro(
-w
Why did the GreatDepressioncausehardtimes?
NEW MEXI
Whi(hsixstateswerepan ofthe
DustBowl?
A NEW PRESIDENT
By 1932morethan 5,000bankshad
failed,and 32,000companiesand stores
had closed.Morc than 12million Americans-one of everyfour adults-could not
find work.Manyfamilieslost their homes,
and somecommunitieshad to close
schoolsbecauseno one couldpayta-r(es.
PresidentHerbert Hoover, like many
Americans,believedthat the economy
would soonrecover.However,the hard
timesgot harder.ManyAmericans
wantedthe governmentto do more
Therefore,they votedfor a leaderwho
promisedto end the economiccrisis.
FranklinDelanoRoosevelt
Franklin Delano Rooseveltwas a
He was
cousinofTheodoreRoosevelt.
bom in 1BB2and had enteredpoliticsasa
youngman.In 1921a diseasecalledpolio
took awaythe useofhis legs.Overthe
next few years,he workedhard to recover.
His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt,encouraged
him to return to politics.widely kno$Tl
by his initials,FDRwaselectedgovernor
of NewYorkin 1928.
hit,
Oneyearafterthe Depression
spokeof newsolutions."The
Roosevelt
country,"he said,'demandsbold, peNistent
like
Statements
lsteadyle>(perimentation."
rJrismadepeoplethinktiat FDRmight
havethe solutionto the nation'sproblems,
In 1932he waselectedPresident.
The new Presidentfaceda difficult
task.The country'sconfidencehad disappearedalongwith the goodtimes.In his
first inauguraladdressFDRpromisedto
fight the Deprcssionwith all the powers
of the federalgovemment.
554
Prinary
Source:
excerptfrcm
Addtess
theFirstInaugural
-by PresidentFranklin Delano
Roosevelt,March 4, 1933
Our greatestprimary taskis to Pui
peopleto work,Thisis no unsoluoi:.t
problemif wefacelt wiselyand cot'-.'
genl$Iy.It can be accomplisheclin
part by direct recruiting by the Ga''
ernmentitself,treatingthe task4s:,,
woukl treat the emergencyof a wa, .
the task can be helpedby dertnirc
elforts to raisethe valuesof agrict' '
tural products. . , it can be helped
bypreuenting...the loss.,.of stito,.
homesandfarms. . . lt canbeh"li
lry the unifuingof reliefactiuities. .
It eanbehelpedby nationalplanii; :
. , , Thereare many waysin which
it can behelped,but it can neuert.
helpedmerclyby talkingabout't. '.,
mustcrct&ndact quickly.
whqt solutionsdoes
PresidentRoosevett
suggestto deql with
the GreatDepression?
re<ruiting:hiring,
employment
t
The New Deal
Rooseveltthoughtthat the government
couldhelp to end the GreatDepression.
He calledhis programthe NewDeal.
He includedmanyo ginalideasto help
farmers,and the unemployed
businesses,
recoverfrom the Depression.
The New Dealbeganby closingthe
nation'sbanks.Eachbankwasinvestigatedduringthis "bankholiday."Those
that wererun properlyreopenedunder
governmentsupervision.Farmsand hltsinessesin dangerof SoingbankuPt
receivedlow interestloans.A systemwas
developedto controlthe waysthat stocks
werebought and sold.Peopleregained
their trust in the economy.
one of the most importantlaws of the
NewDealwasthe SocialSecurityActof
1935.It gavefinancialhelp to retiredor
disabledAmericansand helpedthe jobless.By 1940the governmenthad provided $16billion to help the unemployed.
The New DealalsohelPedPeoPlewho
passedthewagnerAct
hadjobs.Congress
menwait
1930,
hungrY
In(hicago,
line.
kitchen
inasoup
forfood
in 1935.This law recognizedthe dght of
workersto form laborunions.Yearslater
anotherlaw seta minimum wagefor all
Americansand madethe standardwork
week40 hourslong.
@
How did the New Dealtry
to end the DepressiPn?
8 iF,
1. Duringwhichperiodwerethemost
peopleout ofwork?
Abouthowmuchhigherwasunemployment
in 1940thanit hadbeen
in 1928?
AT WORK
NEWPROGRAMS
The New Dealwasdesignedto put
Americansto work. It savedexistingjobs,
and it helpedpeoplewithout jobs.
Throughoutthe 1930s,unemplo)'rnent,
or the numberofworkemwithoutjobs,
remainedhigh.To fight unemplo)'rnent,
FDRcreatedprogramsthal he thoughl
would createjobs.
'Alphabet Soup"
ManyNew Dealpfogramswereidentified by their initials.Somepeoplejokingly
calledthe New Dealprograms"alphabet
soup."The FEM, or FederalEmergency
ReliefAdministration,helpedlocal relief
It put peopleto work on
organizations.
public projects.The\ rPA,orWorks
Progress
Administration,hiredjobless
peopleto build schools,librades,playgrounds,and hospitals.The'|{PAalso
paid artists,teache6,and musiciansto
work on \\DA projects.The CCC,or Civil-
poorneighborh00d
visitsa
Eleanor
R00sevelt
in1934.
Puerto
Rico,
insanJuan,
ian Conser,/ation
Corps,hiredyoungme
to maintainmany olthe nation'sforests.
The PWA,or PublicWorksAssociation
built damson the ColumbiaRiver
AnotherNew Dealprogramwasthe TennesseeValleyAuthodty (TVA).ThelYA
b u iltb r id g e sr .o a d sa, n dd a m ra lo n gdr e
River.Thesedamshelpedirri
Tennessee
gatethe soil and preventedflooding.
They also produced hydroelectricity
lor peoplein rural areas.Hydroelectricif.
is electricityproducedby the forceof
running water.
An Active First Lady
FirstLadyEleanorRooseveltplayed
a keyrole in helpingFDRmeetthe chalShewa. |]lefir'
lengeof the Depression.
wile to be so active.Shetra\.
President's
eledconstandy,inspectingsoupkitchen:
and visitingthe joblessand reportingon
what shehad seenand heard.FDRcallec
his wife an extraset of "eyesand ears."
stronglysupported
EleanorRoosevelt
equaldghts of all citizens,especiallyfor
AfricanAmericansandwomen.Sheonce
said,"Juslicecannotbe for onesidealone.
but mustbe for both."
criticismof the New D€al
The New Dealdid not end the Great
Depression,and many peoplecriticized
economicdecisions.They
Roosevelt's
worried aboutthe increasedinvolvemeni
of governmentin businessdecisions.
S o m eb u r in e r s ele
s ltt h a ts u c hd e c is io n :
did not allowthe ftee enterprisesystem
to fix the harm that resultedfrom the
crashof the stockmarket.
*ffi-p
ffic+
))o
programs
wrrutu"wDeal
towork?
PutneoPle
IT TOGETHER
PUTTING
The GreatDeprcssionwasthe worst
economiccrisisin our nation'shistory
New Dealcor d not
FranklinRoosevelt's
end the GreatDeprcssion,but it gave
work and hopeto millions of Americans.
Securiry,
New D6atideas.suchasSociaJ
remainin effecttoday.
The New Dealincreasedthe role that
governmentplayedin people'slives.TVA
projectscontinuetodayto providelowcostelect ciry Bankaccountscontinue
to be protectedby the FederalDeposit
Insurancecorporation.Someleaden
argueaboutwhetheror not theseprogramsarestill useful{ley alsoaryuethat
In1939thisfamilyof0klahoma
the federalgovernmenthasliecometoo
farmwo*erstooktotheroad
the
tofindwork.
big and talesactionsthatarerea.lly
--i--\
of the statesorpdqtt
responsibilities
individuals.
for eachvocabulary
1. Writeonesentence
term.
GreatDepression Sto<kExchange
hydroelectri<ity unemployment
NewDeal
$m$ffii$'
t
helpfulto
2. HowwereNewDealprograms
concerns
What
were
some
economy?
the
aboutthe NewDealprograms?
do to
3. Whatdid someNewDealproqrams
rffid peoole
help
durinqthe Depression?
ffi$
-w'
4. Whvdidthestockmarketcrashof'1929
economy?
causea problemforthe American
5. Whatweresomecausesandeffe<tsof
NewDeal?
Roosevelt's
Franklin
of unemthe percentage
Research
ployedpeoplein the Unitedstates
makea line
and2000.Then
between'1980
graphliketheoneon page555.
&.
likedto accom,"*rO"O", r."oorters
on hertravels.
panyEleanorRoosevelt
Write a newspaper
articleabouta trip
might
havetakento a Dust
the FirstLady
theconditions
Describe
Bowlcommunity.
ofthe people
you5eeandthe reactions
to the FirstLady'svisit.
t)I