The Great Depression and The New Deal

THE ROARING 20’s COME TO AN END... During the 1920s, people thought that the boom, or good economic times, would last forever. Many Americans had borrowed money to buy consumer goods and were investing in the stock market. In October 1929, the stock market crashed! The total value of all the stocks in the stock market fell quickly!

THE STOCK MARKET CRASH! Panicked stockholders began selling their stocks for whatever price they could get! Thousands of people and businesses lost money.

HARD TIMES FOR AMERICANS People lost confidence in the American economy. Store owners ordered fewer goods from factories because people were not buying as many consumer goods. Fewer orders caused factory owners to fire workers. Unemployment, the number of people looking for jobs, went up. Many companies were forced to go out of business.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION This period of unemployment and hardship was called the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted through the 1930s. Soup Kitchens

WHAT CAUSED THE WORST RECESSION IN HISTORY? Many people, especially farmers, were in debt. People could no longer buy all the things they were years earlier. Thousands of banks were going out of business. People lost all their savings and banks could no longer loan money.

FARMERS GET HIT HARD The homeless built shanties, or shacks, out of cardboard boxes- shantytowns sprang up all over the U.S. Life was hard on tenant farmers and sharecroppers in the South. Many could not pay the rent and left. To make matters worse, a severe drought set into the Great Plains that made growing crops impossible. Dust storms ruined crops and homes Many families were forced to leave this area that was called the “Dust Bowl”

The Dust Bowl

THE ELECTION OF 1932 Herbert Hoover faced a lot of criticism as president during the Great Depression In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president He believed that the federal gov’t should take action to end the Great Depression He gave people hope that better times lie ahead

The New Deal Immediately after becoming president, Roosevelt started a variety of government programs that became known as the New Deal Programs ranged from giving food and shelter to those in need to getting people back to work The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, worked hard to get people involved in the programs of the New Deal She traveled all over experiencing the hardships of the Great Depression and started programs to help people

BRAINPOP BREAK!

HERE’S THE DEAL WITH THE NEW DEAL’S PROGRAMS CCC- Civilian Conservation Corps; created jobs and conserved the natural environment by planting trees, clearing trails, etc. TVA- Tennessee Valley Authority; built dams on the Tennessee River to create hydroelectricity for rural areas WPA- Works Progress Administration; hired people to build streets, parks, libraries, and schools Example WPA Posters

WHAT’S STILL AROUND TODAY? Most of the organizations created by the New Deal are still around Social Security Act is still in effect which provides money to people over the age of 65 and those who have disabilities and cannot work FDA Regulations in banks Minimum Wage

Did It Help? The economy definitely improved during Roosevelt’s Presidency, but by 1939, millions were still out of work The New Deal succeeded in giving Americans hope Ever since Roosevelt’s presidency, the federal gov’t has played a larger role in the economy

The Silver Lining of the 1930’s There were a lot of troubles throughout the 1930’s, but several famous people helped Americans make it through the hard times. The Silver Lining of the 1930’s

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Mitchell was a famous author who wrote the bestseller Gone with the Wind She won a Pulitzer prize for her book and it swiftly became one of the most popular books of all time— selling 30 million copies!

Duke Ellington Duke Ellington was a Famous Jazz musician of the His career in music spanned more than 50 years!

Jesse Owens Jesse Owens was a famous Olympic track and field Athlete. In the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany he earned 4 gold medals—one for the100 meters race, the 200 meters, the long jump, and the relay.