The twentieth-century world, Year 10: the Depression and the New Deal (America 1920–1973 option)

29 October

HintIt came the day after Black Monday.

The whyBy mid-November the Dow had lost almost half its value, and it did not regain its 1929 peak until 1954.

Many banks failed, and ordinary savers lost the money they had deposited

HintThink about where families kept their cash.

The whyHundreds of banks failed in 1929, and many more in the early 1930s.

Hoovervilles

HintMany sprang up on the edges of cities, built from scrap.

The whyThey were named after President Herbert Hoover, whom many Americans blamed for the Depression.

People should help themselves, without government handouts

HintHe feared relief would sap self-reliance.

The whyHoover preferred voluntary effort and local charity, but as the crisis deepened he set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1932 to lend to banks and businesses.

Voters blamed Hoover for the Depression and wanted Roosevelt's promised 'New Deal'

HintThink about who held the White House when the slump struck.

The whyRoosevelt won 472 electoral votes to Hoover's 59.

Relief, recovery and reform

HintHelp for the poor, restarting the economy, and changing the system.

The whyRelief meant immediate help for the jobless and poor; recovery meant reviving the economy; reform meant changing things such as banking to prevent another slump.

Civilian Conservation Corps

HintIts camps were run on semi-military lines.

The whySet up in spring 1933 as part of the New Deal, it eventually put around three million young men to work.

Social Security Act

HintSigned by Roosevelt in the summer.

The whySome jobs, including farm labour and domestic service, were not covered at first, which left out many African Americans and women.

It struck down some New Deal laws as unconstitutional

HintNine judges decided that Congress had gone beyond its powers.

The whyIn May 1935 the Court unanimously struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act. In 1937 Roosevelt proposed adding extra judges to the Court, but the plan failed.

He said it did too little; his 'Share Our Wealth' plan would have redistributed wealth from the rich

HintHe represented Louisiana in the Senate.

The whyCritics came from the right as well: the American Liberty League, whose leading members were business owners, said the New Deal threatened free enterprise.