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| | == Stock Market Crash == | | == Stock Market Crash == |
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| − | Herbert Hoover "Repub. Pres. 1928-32: wanted bus. cooperation, opposed union & trust busting, critical of Europe, cut taxes" | + | Herbert Hoover won the presidency in 1928 as a Republican more liberal than Coolidge and Harding. Hoover liked big business and sought its cooperation. He opposed trust-busting and unions. Hoover did cut taxes and was critical of Europe. |
| − | " sought voluntary wage and price controls to end Depression, opposed new federal programs"
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| − | Stock market crash "Oct. 1929, but rallied afterwards; tariffs are considered a greater cause of Depression than stock market crash"
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| − | Hawley-Smoot Tariff "1930: increased tariffs, setting off worldwide round of tariff increases in 1931, worsening Depression"
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| − | Causes of Depression "tariffs, gold standard, concentration of wealth, unregulation speculation on markets"
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| − | Reconstruction Finance Corp "1932: created a federal agency to lend money to banks, later lent money to businesses also"
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| − | Bonus March "1932: poor WWI soldiers march on DC for bonus, riots broke out"
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| | + | But misfortune greeted him. In 1929, the stock market suddenly crashed. The era of prosperity was over. The Great Depression had begun. Historians blame this partly on speculators driving up the stock market, but actually no one really knows what the cause of the Depression was. Unemployment increased until it exceeded 20% in 1933, meaning that one out of every five families was out of work and likely without money also. |
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| − | Then, in 1929, the stock market suddenly crashed. The era of prosperity was over. The Great Depression had begun. Historians blame this partly on speculators driving up the stock market, but actually no one really knows what the cause of the Depression was. Unemployment increased until it exceeded 20% in 1933, meaning that one out of every five families was out of work and likely without money also.
| + | Many historians blame tariffs as a greater cause of the Great Depression than the stock market crash was. In 1930, Congress passed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff which increased tariffs, setting off a worldwide round of tariff increases in 1931, which worsened the worldwide Depression. Historians also blame the Great Depression on the gold standard, a concentration of wealth among the relatively few, and unregulated speculation in the financial markets. There is probably political bias in claiming that these were the causes of the Great Depression. |
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| − | The Great Depression caused voters to switch to the Democratic Party, which took control of the Presidency (through FDR) and Congress in 1932. They ended Prohibition by passing an amendment to repeal it. They began enacting many new laws and programs to try to generate jobs. | + | '''Debate: What do you think caused the Great Depression?''' |
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| | + | Hoover's reaction to the Great Depression was to seek sought voluntary wage and price controls to end Depression. He opposed new federal programs sought by the Democrats. |
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| | + | In 1932, Hoover did create the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which was a federal agency that lend money to banks, and later lent money to businesses also. |
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| | + | Hoover had to face a pathetic march in D.C. by poor soldiers from World War I who demanded a bonus. Called the "Bonus March," this ended in riots and was a political disaster for Hoover. |
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| | + | The Great Depression caused voters to switch to the Democratic Party, which took control of the Presidency (through FDR) and Congress in 1932. After winning control of Congress and the White House, the Democrats ended Prohibition by passing an amendment to repeal it. They began enacting many new laws and programs to try to generate jobs. |
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| | == FDR, the New Deal, and Preparing for War == | | == FDR, the New Deal, and Preparing for War == |