Changing Life in the USA 1929 – 2000



Changing Life in the USA 1929 – 2000

In this topic we will focus on three key questions:

1) What were the main influences on American life 1929 – 1945?

2) What were the main political developments in the USA after 1945?

3) What were the main social developments in the USA 1945 – 2000?

A brief overview of the topic

This topic investigates from when Herbert Hoover was president, right up to the time of Bill Clinton’s handing over of the Presidency to George W. Bush, covering 70 years of American history. America has changed significantly during this time and it has also changed the world in which we live, affecting the lives of not only Americans but people the world over. It was the century that saw the economy collapse under the Wall Street Crash, the devastation of World War II, America’s obsession with anti-communism and the space race where the USA put a man on the moon. It was a time of Presidents such as JFK and LBJ, Bush and Clinton, a century which saw movies, music, cars and computers enter the lives of everyone and a period where women gained greater freedom than ever before. It was certainly not dull; the 20th century was exciting and exhilarating, now let’s begin!

What were the main influences on American life 1929 – 1945?

As we have already seen, the 1920s was a period of growing prosperity, on the surface it seemed as though everyone could make money, and everyone was trying to. People invested on the stock market and bought shares in companies that seemed to be making more and more money. However, by 1929 confidence in the market was dropping, more people began to sell their shares quicker than ever before and in the October of 1929 the Wall Street Crash occurred!

The impact of the Wall Street Crash

The impact of the crash was quite spectacular, by the end of 1929 there were 2.5 million people unemployed (nearly the population of Wales). Moreover, this figure kept on growing and by 1933 almost 25 million people were without work.

Once the crisis began in 1929, it was not long before factories and businesses began to close all over the country. People stopped spending and this led to less demand for the goods, less demand for goods meant less demand for workers. Unemployment rose.

In the cities many lost their homes and built alternative homes called ‘Hoovervilles’. Many people slept on the streets and some drifted across the land as hobos, catching rides on freight trains in search of work. As per usual in hard times, the poorest suffered most as farms sacked black workers first.

To make matters worse farms in the mid-west were hit by drought and dust-storms, many packed up their belongings & headed west to California for a new life.

What were Hoovervilles?

For the many Americans that lost their homes as a result of becoming unemployed, there were very few options available to them. One thing many people did was move to the edge of the town and construct a home using tin, wood and cardboard. These shacks became known as ‘Hoovervilles’ because President Herbert Hoover was blamed for the desperate situation many found themselves in. it was estimated that at their peak, several hundred thousand people across the USA lived in ‘Hoovervilles’.

Who were the Bonus Marchers?

Bonus Marchers were First World War veterans who had been promised a bonus for serving in the war. Although payable in 1945, many were unemployed and living in poverty and thought the government should give them their bonuses early to help. The government did not give them.

Upset and angry they marched on Washington demanding their bonuses. Over 12,000 veterans marched on Washington and built a Hooverville in the capital. Herbert Hoover again refused to pay the Bonuses, stating it would cost $2.3 million.

The government offered to pay the travel costs for the marchers to get home, but 5,000 hardcore veterans refused and stayed in Washington. Hoover reacted by sending in the army who ended up dispersing the Bonus Marchers but also killing several people. The event left many Americans feeling that Hoover couldn’t care less about them.

How did Hoover try to tackle the Depression?

President Herbert Hoover was elected in 1928, in a time of growing prosperity and economic confidence. A year later the Wall Street Crash brought all this crashing down and the American people looked to their president for help. Initially however, they received very little.

Hoover’s early policies:

➢ Laissez-faire, belief that governments should not interfere with the lives of its people.

➢ Rugged individualism, the belief that people are responsible for their own lives and should sort out their own problems.

➢ He advised business not to cut wages or production, a level business failed to cope with and ended up going bust.

➢ Introduced Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act of 1930 which put a tax on imports, keeping American food prices high and led to countries not trading with the US.

➢ Cut taxes by $130 million (positive)

➢ Obtained money to build roads and dams across the US.

However, Hoovers polices were either unsuccessful or did not go far enough to help the lives of million of Americans. In 1932 he introduced a series of other measures:

How successful were Hoover’s policies?

Ultimately, Hoovers policies failed. He did not pull the US out of the Depression and could not stop unemployment figures from rising. Many Americans thought Hoover was insensitive and uncaring. A popular slogan of the time was ‘In Hoover we trusted; now we are busted’.

Nevertheless, he was not a total failure. He had encouraged state government to start spending more to create jobs and some of his policies were even carried on by the following President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Moreover, during his time in charge some important public works were constructed, like the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam) and San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential Election?

In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt became president of the USA winning the votes from 42 of the then 48 states. It was a landslide victory that had as much to do with the popularity of Roosevelt as the unpopularity of Hoover.

Here are some of the reasons why:

The ‘Hundred Days’ - Roosevelt’s New Deal?

In his campaign for President, Roosevelt had promised the American people a ‘New Deal’. This New Deal was to become a series of measures and policies that Roosevelt implemented in the first ‘Hundred Days’ or so he was in office, they would try to get America out of the Depression.

The aims of the New Deal were based upon the ‘three Rs’ – Relief, Recovery and Reform.

Immediately Roosevelt set about tackling the problem with the banks. He closed all banks for 10 days (10 Bank Holidays – whoo hoo). Then he announced on the radio to 60 million listeners that only banks with assets (money and shares) could reopen. He assured the American people that their money was much safer in the bank than at home. The people of America listened to him, he was sincere and believable – Roosevelt kept up these radio talks and they became known as his ‘fireside chats’.

The Alphabet Agencies – AAA, it’s easy as NRA, PWA, CCC

Next, Roosevelt set about creating a number of agencies that would focus upon Relief, Recovery and Reform – you can see why they were called the Alphabet Agencies.

The Second New Deal

By the end of 1934 there were still 10 million unemployed Americans. In January 1935, Roosevelt introduced his second New Deal – aiming again to help farmers, workers, poor and the unemployed.

New Deal – conclusion and the onset of war.

Roosevelt’s New Deal was a momentous shift in American politics. That said it was a time unlike any other, which called for drastic measures. The government and the president became more involved in the lives of the people than ever before, Roosevelt was both criticised and admired for this.

However, the Wall Street Crash and subsequent depression had plunged the American economy into downward spiral it couldn’t easily recover from. Firstly, the New Deal was essential in giving Americans hope and then jobs and initiatives to get involved in. New Deal workers built schools, hospitals and roads developing the infrastructure of America. It also helped farmers improve their income, though at the expense of killing livestock and destroying crops. It also gave workers more rights and provided much needed Social Security for the most vulnerable in society.

Nevertheless, the New Deal could only provide short-term solutions to long-term problems; as much as it did for the people of America, it did not solve the economic problems or get the country out of depression. It would take World War II and the lucrative weapons deals, demand for food and the necessity for soldiers before any real signs of economic recovery could be seen.

How did WWII impact the US economy?

On 7th December 1941, the Japanese launched an attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. 2400 Americans were killed in the attack. Within four days the USA was at war with Japan and Nazi Germany. The war was to ravage Europe and Japan but America emerged as a new Super Power, both militarily and economically. So just how did the US benefit?

Big Business

Roosevelt made sure that American companies made weapons and resources for the war effort. For example, car manufacturer General Motors began producing heavy machine guns and other war products. American firms began making lots of money.

Wartime Production

Roosevelt believed that the US should have the biggest and best Armed Forces if it was to win the war. In 1939 the US Air force had just 300 planes; in 1944 alone it had built 96,000. Between 1941 and 1945 American factories produced 250,000 aircraft, 90,000 tanks, 350 naval destroyers, 200 submarines and 5,600 merchant ships. This massive programme of works had a direct impact upon the coal, steel, iron and oil industries – America’s economy was booming once again.

Wartime Workforce

With the onset of war, conscription saw 16 million men enlisted into the US armed services. With so many men off fighting the jobs at home needed to be filled. Moreover, lots more jobs were being created to provide the vital resources for the war effort. Black Americans moved north to work in munitions factories and a further 7 million women began working. In 1939 unemployment stood at 9.5 million, by 1944 the figure was a mere 670,000.

To raise the money to buy all the products the US government sold government bonds to the public, the government guaranteed their money back plus interest – a staggering $129 billion was raised from bonds.

By the end of the war the US was the only country that had become stronger economically. More than half a million new businesses had been set up and even American Agriculture was stronger from selling food to European Allies. The war had placed America at the top of the international table. Only communist Russia could hope to rival the USA.

Affluence

Red Scare

McCarthyism

JFK New Frontier

LBJ Great Society

Nixon Watergate

Reagan, Bush Snr, Clinton

Popular Culture

Youth Culture

Counterculture /Hippy

Role of Women

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Herbert Hoover

1929 - 1933

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What’s more marriage rates fell, suicide rate rose and schools closed. It was estimated that nearly 25% of the population received no income whatsoever!

A ‘Hooverville,

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Herbert Hoover

1929 - 1933

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Other sarcastic terms using Hoover’s name included:

Hoover Blankets – layers of newspapers, Hoover Flags – empty pockets turned inside out, Hoover Wagons – petrol empty cars having to be pulled by horses.

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US Army burn down the Bonus Marchers ‘Hooverville’ in Washington.

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Herbert Hoover

1929 - 1933

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|Measure |Description |

|Reconstruction Finance Corporation (February 1932) |$2 billion given to banks, insurance companies and railroads to stimulate growth and jobs. |

|The Emergency Relief Act (ERA) (July 1932) |$300 million given to state governments for the unemployed (blacks did not benefit in south) |

|Home Loan Bank Act (July 1932) |Aimed to stimulate house building and home ownership. |

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Herbert Hoover

1929 - 1933

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FDR 1933 - 1945

Hoover’s unpopularity

← Blamed for the Depression

← Harsh treatment of Bonus Marchers.

← Promised nothing new

← Banks continued to fail

← His relief agencies were doing little to help

Roosevelt’s appeal

✓ He had overcome polio to become successful

✓ Created a mood of optimism

✓ Simple message - ‘A New Deal’ for American people

✓ New Deal meant new jobs and relief money

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FDR 1933 - 1945

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Democratic Election poster, 1932

| |Assist in removal of poverty |

|RELIEF |Provide food for starving |

| |Step in to prevent people from losing homes and farms |

|RECOVERY |Ensure that the economy was boosted so that people could be given jobs |

| |Ensure that there were welfare provisions in the future to help the unemployed, old, sick, disabled and the destitute |

|REFORM | |

Source A: From, The Roosevelt I knew, by Francis Perkins (1946)

When he broadcast I realized how clearly his mind focused on the people listening at the other end. As he talked his head would nod his hands would move in simple, natural, comfortable gestures. His face would smile and light up as though he was actually sitting in the front porch or the kitchen with them. People felt this and it bound them to him with affection.

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FDR 1933 - 1945

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|Agency |Purpose |Action |

|Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) |To help farmers increase their profits. |Actually paid farmers to produce less, destroy crops |

| | |and slaughter animals. |

|Civilian Conversation Corps (CCC) |Created jobs for 18 – 25 yr olds on conversation |Gave men food, shelter and clothing and paid them $1 a|

| |projects, like tree planting. |day. |

|Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) |Gave government money to individual states to help |Government gave $1 for every $3 spent by states: $500 |

| |unemployed and homeless. |million given in total. |

|National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) | | |

|National Recovery Administration (NRA) | | |

|Public Works Administration (PWA) |Encouraged employers to improve working conditions. |Create codes of practice, minimum wages, hours & |

| |Put skilled employers on major construction projects. |conditions. |

| | |Slum clearance, house building, new schools and |

| | |hospitals. |

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Source B: FDR speaking about employers’ fair wages, in one of his Fireside Chats, June 1933.

If all employers pay their workers the same reasonable wages, for the same hours, then higher wages will hurt no employer. Such action is better for the employer than unemployment and low wages, because it makes more buyers for his product. That is the simple idea which is at the very heart of the NIRA.

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FDR 1933 - 1945

|Agency |Purpose |Action |

|Works Progress Administration (WPA) |To fund building projects and create jobs. |Created jobs to build schools, airports, hospitals |

| | |etc. |

|National Labour relations Act (The Wagner Act) |Protect workers rights and allow them to join Trade |Trade Unions helped workers to get better pay and |

| |Unions. |conditions. |

|Social Security Act |Set up a national system of social security. |Provided benefits for unemployed, pensions for |

| | |elderly and gave money for work related injuries. |

|Fair Labour Standards Act |To regulate hours of work and levels of pay. |Set minimum wages and maximum hours of work, stopped |

| | |child labour (except on farms). |

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Successes, failings and criticisms of the New Deal

|Success |Failing |Criticism |

|Restored confidence in President and government |Gave too much power to Federal Government. |Republicans opposed New Deal |

|Stabilised the banks and improved infrastructure |Alphabet Agencies only provided short-term jobs. |They said it interfered with personal freedom |

|Reduced unemployment from 25 million to 14 million |Black Americans missed out on New Deal in South |Louisiana governor Huey Long wanted the rich to ‘share |

| | |their wealth’ |

|Social Security gave most vulnerable some form of income |Provided only short-term solutions – did not solve |Priest Father Charles Coughlin said it did not help the |

| |economic problems |needy |

|Workers protected by Trade Unions |Women did not get much work from New Deal |Even some Democrats were against the New Deal |

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FDR 1933 - 1945

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CCC workers planting trees.

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Source C: Newspaper cartoon, ‘The Spirit of the New Deal’, 1933.

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Source D: Photograph taken in 1935, showing Civilian Conservation Corps workers (CCC) building a canal.

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FDR 1933 - 1945

FDR 1933 - 1945

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