Crash of stock market in 1929
Dust Bowl (Farmers in the Great Plains, due to drought & poor farming)
Economic Depression (Bust of the Economy, following the boom of the 1920s)
Expansion of the Federal government's role & responsibilities
Relief, Reform, Recovery (New Deal Programs)
Overproduction of goods.
Over-investment, speculation in stocks & buying on margin inflated their prices.
Tariff barriers DECREASED international trade.
Bank failures caused a ripple effect leading to more bankruptcies, job layoffs, and less consumption of products.
Droughts in the Great Plains destroyed harvests and heavy winds carried topsoil across the region, destroying homes and harvests-forcing farmers out of their land.
Public hostility grew toward Mexican-American immigrants due to lack of jobs and white American farmers in desperate search for a job.
People faced the issues of the Great Depression-people were homeless and hungry.
John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange, & Gene Autry recorded the miseries of the Depression.
Hoover issued the Mexican Repatriation Act in order to deport Mexican-Americans back to Mexico due to competition for jobs.
FDR's attempt to stabilize the economy became known as the New Deal- explained in terms of the 3 R's-Relief, Recover, and Reform.
Congress approved these bills in the First Hundred Days.
Roosevelt developed a Court-packing scheme, which was rejected by Congress.
20th amendment- Gave details on the terms of office for Congress and the President.
21st Amendment- Repealed the eighteenth Amendment.
Relief:
Federal Emergency Relief Act made emergency relief funds available.
Public Works Administration (PWA) created a federal jobs, giving people emergency public jobs.
Works Progress Administration (WPA) created jobs for artists, writers, and musicians.
Recovery:
National Recovery Administration (NRA)- established to stimulate the economy through fair practice codes.
Agricultural Adjustment Acts (AAA) - government bought farm surpluses and stored them in warehouses until prices went up.
Reform:
FDIC provides deposit insurance, guaranteeing the safety of deposits in the nation's banks restoring people's confidence.
Securities Exchange Act 1934 established to restore confidence of the public in the STOCK MARKET.
Social Securities Act -provided a steady income to persons over 65 years of age. Provided benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, and the blind and physically handicapped.