What was the Great Depression like in 1931?

Answer 1

The Stock Market crash, structural weakness of the economy, overproduction, maldistribution of wealth and an international crisis contributed to the Great Depression in the United States. Hoover was interested in world peace and wanted to advocate cooperative individualism. He said "people should depend on charity and take care of each other, we'll all suffer but we'll make it through". He was against federal aid during the great depression. He was unprepared to deal with this crisis and tried to tell people that laughter was the best medicine. He lowered taxes and raised the tariff, as a result, international trade died out at this point. He encouraged volunteerism and businesses to tax cut and invest it in the economy. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation gave the government the ability to loan money to major failing banks and big businesses. This was a very limited measure though. It only bailed out certain people for certain reasons and this angered the people. During FDR's first 100 days he waged war against the economy by attacks the baking crisis. He created a bank holiday which would shut down the banks so people wouldn't withdraw all their $. He also created an emergency banking which would loan money to failing banks from the federal reserve so they don't go totally under. The Glass Steagall Act was another one of his attempts; this was a separation of investment and commercial banking. According to the people, capitalism was save in 8 days." He also created the Agricultural Adjustment Act which paid farmers to keep land fallow. The National Industrial Recovery Act was created to cure over production, boost prices, protect labor, end cut throat competition and created the National Recovery Administration which meant that big businesses should have set standards, codes and wages to eliminate cut throat competition. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was also created as well as the Civilian Conservation Corp. This put young men to work in national parks to work in forests preservation. The Public Works Administration was created to build roads, hospitals, bridges etc. He also created the Tennessee Valley Authority which hired unemployed to build dams to prevent floods. Some of the most recognized populists were Father Coughlin, Upton Sinclair and Charles Townsend. Father Coughlin attacked Wall Street and capitalism. He wanted government ownership of industry and supported fascism. Huey Long , gov of LA, which was the closes thing to fascism that the US has ever seen. He had complete control over every branch in LA. He increased taxes on LA oil companies and takes that $ to build roads, schools, hospitals etc which provided jobs. He also wanted a guaranteed national income an free college. Sinclair ran for gov of CA and experienced the first negative campaign. He wanted to put the poor people to work on the fallow lands in CA. Townsend as the spokesperson for the elderly in CA. He liked the idea of old age pensions and social security which would stimulate the economy but no one liked it because it w s too expensive.The second new deal came about as a result of the populists. It created the Works Progress Administration which put the unemployed to work building post offices, county buildings, 500,000+ miles of road, 600 airports, stadiums, community swimming pools, sewage treatment plants, etc. It also included the Wagner Act which established the workers' rights to collective bargaining. It outlawed firings and blacklistings of union members. It also created the Social Security Act which gave unemployment insurance to disabled and elderly. He wanted the money to come from taxing the people. The Revenue Act of 1935 increased corporate taxes.

Eleanor worked for civil and equal rights but FDR never really touch the issue. Social Security was not extended to African Americans. Southern Democrats revolted if Roosevelt tried to help African Americans and they wouldn't pass his acts/laws if he did, as result his effort for helping them was low. The states were in charge of the CCC, WPA, etc. They didn't generally give those jobs to African Americans. The Federal Housing Act also discriminated against blacks and further segregates America. Federal Employment Practices were discriminatory and projects in the south refused to hire blacks.They were the last hired and the first fired. Although, FDR did appoint Mary McLeod Bethune to his cabinet. He encouraged hope for them.

The new deal was the great debate between Republicans and Democrats. The debate was to either extend the new deal or cut back on it. It shifted politics. Before the 1920's, the Republicans were progressive and they slowly start becoming more conservative. The government expanded as well and it was the first time the government gets involved in the welfare of common people. FDR also increased the power of imperial presidency. The people that lived through the Great Depression said "We didn't go hungry but we lived lean." During the Great Depression, unemployment reached 25% by 1933. 86,000 businesses failed between 1932-3. The national income in 1929 was 87.8 billion in 1933 it was 40.2 billion. Wages declined by 60%, 9 million savings accounts were wiped out, poverty became a way of life. People moved to the cities to find jobs but there were no jobs were left. The homeless built shanty-towns around cities and called them Hoovervilles in spite of Hoover's response to the Depression and people began to blame Hoover for the Depression.. People stood in the breadline from charity handouts. People started eating jackrabbits and called them Hooverhogs.

Answer 2

Sort of...1929 to about 1940.