1. An introduction to the film Cinderella Man

2.  After World War I ended, most industries, including railroads, textiles, steel, mining and lumbering, saw a decline  Farmers were perhaps the worst off of everyone – prices rose and international demand for crops weakened  Many farmers had taken out loans for land and equipment – as prices rose, farmers couldn’t repay their loans and many were foreclosed on

3.  By the end of the 1920s, Americans were buying less because prices were rising and wages weren’t  Americans will be swayed by advertising and will buy things they can’t afford like electric appliances and Model T’s on credit as a part of the new consumer economy  As a result, many Americans became mired in debt  It didn’t take long for the market to become saturated with more goods than people wanted or needed  Companies overproduced consumer goods that they weren’t selling (underconsumption)  During the 1920s, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer

4.  Stocks rose sharply throughout 1928 and 1929, causing people to sink more and more money into the market  In an effort to “get rich quick,” many investors engaged in speculation, the practice of making high risk investments in hopes of making a huge profit  The large increase caused investors to sell their stocks when they fell the slightest bit  This lead to a mass sale and on October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday), the Stock Market crashed  The Great Crash initially only affected the small numberof investors, but it soon spread

5.  1. banks made risky loans to businesses who weren’t able to repay them  2. the banks called in the loans they had made to consumers who were unable to repay them  3. people rushed to withdraw their money from the banks, the banks recalled the loans they had made, and failed when people weren’t able to repay them  4. savings accounts vanished – people lost all the money they had in the banks  5. businesses couldn’t borrow money so they had to cut their production  6. unemployment rose as businesses laid off workers due to the cuts in production – the problem only worsened with time

6.  This lead to the Great Depression which soon spread around the world  By 1932, over 12 million people in the United States were unemployed  The impact was equal among all workers – from Professionals and white collar workers to blue collar workers and farmers

7.  people lost their homes and crowded into small homes and apartments  those at the bottom of the economic ladder were hit the hardest and the homeless population skyrocketed homeless people often built shanty towns out of scrap metal and cardboard – these became known as Hoovervilles to mock the President who many felt wasn’t doing enough to help

8.  1 million became permanently on the move  soup kitchens and bread lines, which offered free or low-cost food, became the only way many people could eat  people grew food in the country, but people in the city begged and fought over the contents of restaurant garbage cans  the Depression hit African Americans and Latinos harder – their unemployment rates were higher, they were the lowest paid, and dealt with increasing racial violence from unemployed whites who felt they were entitled to the jobs  Farmers lost their land as a result of falling prices and the Dust Bowl

9.  many men had difficulty coping with unemployment because they were used to going to work everyday and supporting their families – most spent their days looking for work and some abandoned their families and became hoboes who waundered the country on boxcars, sleeping under bridges  between 1928 and 1932, the suicide rate rose by 30 percent and more than three times as many people were admitted to state mental hospitals  women worked hard to help their families survive – they canned food and sewed clothes while carefully managing the household budget  many women also worked outside the home even though they made less than men and were greatly resented – many felt women, especially married women, had no right to work when so many men were unemployed

10.  children lacked sufficient health care and, coupled with malnutrition, disease became a problem  because of falling tax revenues, schools shortened the school year or closed altogether – many children worked in horrible conditions or traveled the country looking for work  many Americans made sacrifices that followed them for the rest of their lives – they stopped going to the doctor and dentist, young people gave up going to college, people put off getting married and having children  for Americans who survived the Depression, achieving financial security was the primary focus in life and many will retain their thrifty ways

11.  When the Great Depression began, there was no federal system of direct relief – there were no programs to offer cash, food, or shelter to the poor  When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in 1932, he promised a program he called the “New Deal” – relief, recovery, and reform programs to combat the Great Depression  The New Deal included a wide range of programs that put people back to work, provided supplements of money for the poor, stabilized the banks, and made it illegal to interfere with labor unions

12.  Despite FDR’s New Deal, the Depression continued  The beginning of World War II in the early 1940s finally put an end to the Great Depression

13.  James J. Braddock earned his nickname “Cinderella Man” from his seemingly fairytale like rise from a poor local fighter to the heavyweight boxing champion of the world  Braddock was born in 1905  As a child, his family moved to New Jersey from NYC

14.  With the crash of the Stock Market in 1929, Braddock lost everything  Considered “washed up” by the boxing community, he was forced to hang up his gloves and seek public assistance in order to avoid losing his kids

15.  In 1934, due to a last minute cancellation, Braddock had an upset win against Corn Griffin  He went on to defeat John Henry Lewis  With these two wins, Braddock set himself up for a shot for the title against heavyweight champion Max Baer (at right)

16.  Jim Braddock’s wife was Mae (played by Renee Zellweger) in the movie. They had three children: James, Jr. (Jay), Howard, and Rosemarie.

17.  Braddock is played by Russell Crowe in the film. His manager, Joe Gould, was played by Paul Giamatti.

18.  Cinderella Man was released in 2005  It was directed by Ron Howard  The film received three Oscar nominations, including one for Best Supporting Actor for Paul Giamatti