Paper 3
Paper 3 I. Industrial and Economic Growth: After WWI, the US experiences a time of economic growth Most people in the United States saw an improvement in the standard of living in the 1920s Automobile and Construction industry contributed to this growth A. Automobiles This industry drew from other industries as well Before the 19020s automobiles were created individually As a result, the craftsmanship and knowledge that went into making a car was very expensive Henry Ford Develops a way to mass produce cars In 1914, for introduces the idea of interchangeable parts He standardized the parts of the car so that mass production was possible He created the assembly line You could just assemble the car like a puzzle instead of custom fitting each part (like fitting a tire to an axle that you just made) You could higher unskilled worker and pay them less and thus spending less because you get more productivity from them He introduces the idea of the conveyer belt The car goes along to the workers He is able to make a car in 14 hours with the assemble line and the conveyer belt
Because his factory is so much more productive he can still put out a lot of cars and allow his workers to work less hours He is the first to reduce the work week from 6 days to 5 days Increase in the technology and process allows for this By 1925, ford is able to produce a car every 10 seconds He not only standardizes the car parts but the actual car By doing this he can do it for much cheaper Durable cheap car The average worker can now afford cars End of 1920s, Ford now can assemble a car in 93 minutes from the 14 hours he had at the beginning of his company He controls the whole process Example Ford buys the iron plants, rubber plantations, He gets his own shipping company and processing plant He turns the raw material into the parts he needs And then turns these parts into a completed automobile River Rouge Plant The plant where ford would process the materials and make the cars This way ford does not have to depend on other companies Ford is able to sell 15 million model T’s in the 1920 which was over half the cars in the world Problem is that he is so dependent on the model T version that when people want other things he is not as popular Ford has to come up with a new model (the model A)
He has to close down the factory Other companies make factories that can change with the type of car people want there are more options available etc. By the end of the 1920s there is one car per 5 people or one car per family B. Construction Boom in the automobile industry causes a boom in the construction business People can now live farther away from jobs etc. don’t have to depend on public transportation Suburbs develop as a result In 1920s, suburbs were places outside the city where it was mostly just upper middle class and the really wealthy Example is Beverly Hills in the 1920s Because people can live outside cities people now get involved with realestate People start buying up property because it’s a good investment to make money Land doesn’t get any more valuable but the demand for it is what raises the price Property prices keep going up but eventually people realize (mid 1920s) that the prices are too high to pay because the land is not worth it so the land prices start dropping The boom turns into a bust The prices quickly plummet Happens in the Florida land boom and in the late 1920s the same happens with the stock market Age of the skyscraper in NY C. A Businessman's Country Creates a good economy where Businesses are profiting
Americans businesses are making 200300 percent more This leads to a time where businessmen become the heroes of society Ford becomes celebritylike
II. The Organizational Revolution A. Functional Groups Businesses are organizing in efficient and productive ways Society is also organizing in a different way Before society was organized by region In the 1920s more people start identifying themselves primarily in terms of their occupation Professional associations (ex. Bar association) Start identifying with people in their same occupation across the nation Shifting the way that people think of themselves in the world You also see groups being formed based on religion (ex. Southern Baptist union) Community organization (ex. Rotary club) People start thinking of their status based on the organizations that they belong to B. Scientific Management Based on the way that organizations are set up by organizing people benefit economically and socially Frederick Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) C. The "New Middle Class"
Leads to growth of the New Middle Class Old middle class were people who owned their own businesses or farms Not very wealthy Just small business owners They have independence Not working for someone else New Middle class are workers who work for someone else but don’t necessarily do manual labor rather they work in offices Managers or engineers etc. Not super wealthy But they don’t share the same values as the old middle class because they do work for other people People identify themselves in middle class by what they can buy People who are doing manual labor can be in the middle class because they can afford what the middle class standards are This is where the middle class gets muddled Values for getting along in new middle class Cooperation Fitting in These values are more important than independence OMC people found satisfaction in the work they did NMC people found satisfaction in what they bought with the money they got from the work they did III. Cultural Ambivalence
A. Henry Ford and Greenfield Village More responsible than anyone for bringing in the new middle class People work boring jobs for a good paycheck He realizes by creating this that there is something being lost He did believe in old middle class values So he promotes the traditional values He had a school in his factory for the kids of worker The kids were taught with textbooks written in the 19th century He recreated greenfield villages All old buildings Brought them to an area outside of Detroit Idea was that the workers would live there He expected them to live a 19th century lifestyle after working in a modern factory all day It is a failure Village becomes a museum His attempt at creating this villages shows how conflicted he was about the modernization B. Charles Lindberg and “The spirit of St. Louis” Lindberg is the first to fly across the Atlantic nonstop In the mid 1920s a hotel owner decides to announce a competition He’ll pay 20,000 dollars to the first pilot to fly from America to Europe nonstop Most people thought you needed a big plane and a lot of people
They would all fail Lots of danger Lindberg decide to use a stripped down plane and fly solo “the spirit of St. Louis” is the name of the plane named because he gets financial backing from businessmen in st Louis businessmen wants st Louis to become a center for airline industry Spring 1927 take off from New York People think he’s crazy He makes it to Paris in 30 hours He becomes the most known person in the world The way in which people celebrated Lindberg OMC Really emphasize the fact that he did this alone Singular achievement Individual courage Exceptional person NMC Praises Lindbergh and the other people that were involved Financial backing, people who built the plane etc. Lindberg refers to “We” in the book he wrote He sees this as the achievement of the society
The Rise of Consumer Culture
The Rise of Consumer Culture This is the first time in American history that industries can make more goods than what is needed. People begin to create more demand.
1. Consumer Culture and Advertising:
disaccumulation a process where there is an excess of good being produced shifts from an economy based on production to an economy based on consumption it is not about how much a company can produce, but about how much consumers want
marginal differentiation one way to increase demand is through advertising consumers begin to want certain brands as a result, stores begin selling multiple brands stores begin to grow
Walter Dill Scott, The Psychology of Advertising (1903) Talks about how you can use advertisements to create desire/demand for a product Taught how to convince people that their lives would be better with this product These ads target women more than men
The Rise of Consumer Culture Ex. Women using Laundromats to be a good wife Fear is used as a major idea in advertisements Ex. Woman crying over how she was all alone at a party for not using soap
2. Modernity and the Therapeutic Ethic:
Sigmund Freud The reasons why women have various mental problems is because they are repressed Society does not allow women to express themselves They are expected to be a certain way, look a certain way, etc. Women need to be more expressive They need to be more expressive sexually. Women begin to go to college Younger girls are reading Freud’s beliefs There is a shift from the protestant work ethic. How satisfying is your job? It is replaced over time by the modern Therapeutic Ethic Much more focused on expressing yourself Especially using consumption to express yourself
The Rise of Consumer Culture You get satisfaction from what you can buy. All of these things become much more important in determining your status and your level of happiness.
Flappers Young, educated women who wanted to rebel against the traditional Victorian values Rebelled against the norm Wear dresses that just hung, sleeveless, with a lot of fringe, short in length (around the knee or higher), did not really extenuate the figure Cut their hair short Going out unchaperoned Smoking cigarettes Drinking Listening to jazz music F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) The best known novel to come out of this period to really describe this whole kind phenomenon of the Therapeutic Ethic Radios By the 1920’s, most Americans are able to afford to own a radio Information is traveled throughout the country faster than newspaper
The Revolt Against Modernity Not everyone is agreeing with these changes There are three movements against modernity not wanting things to change, and also wanting to turn back the clock. 1. Nativism want to keep America a white/AngloSaxon country seen in three different forms antiradical opposed to people with radical ideas, ex. Socialists opposed immigrants, who are bringing these ideas of other governments into the country antiSemitism opposed to what they see as unprotestant not only against Jews, but against antiCatholicism keep the US a Protestant nation but not letting these ideas become too pervasive many people believed that good Catholics would always do what the pope told them to do….aka not good Americans who obey the president white supremacy Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race (1921) If we don’t do anything, the white race will succumb to the darker races Whites have always forwarded civilization, while the darks made us go backwards Also divided white people into three groups: Mediterraneans – Italian, lowest
The Revolt Against Modernity Alpines – French, German Norids – superior white people, blonde hair, blue eyes, Scandinavia, northern countries
National Origins Act (1924) Limits the number of people that come into the US This is based on their country of origin Because the way the law was written, it gives more preference to those coming from northern countries Set up an immigration policy to increase the number of norids and decrease everyone else
In the 1920’s, the Ku Klux Klan is revived Nation wide organization Strongest support in the Midwest – Indiana What is different about them now is that they are no longer targeted at just African Americans, but their bigger targets are radicals, recent immigrants, Catholics, Jews, anyone not considered part of the superior white race
2. Prohibition while on the surface, it seems that this is not what the Klan should be interested in many connect drinking with immigrants also something connected with Catholicism, not Protestantism 18th Amendment (1919)
The Revolt Against Modernity once it is passed, all it says it that the amendment prohibits the creation, selling, or transporting of intoxicating beverages you can still drink it most think this will just ban hard liquor not beer or wine
Volstead Act (1919) Defines an intoxicating beverage as anything with more than .5% alcohol, which includes beer, wine, and hard liquor Starting in 1920, all alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the US This leads to widespread lawlessness. Most people think that prohibition does not apply to them. People make their own moonshine, buy alcoholic in speak easies. This alcohol is much more dangerous than anything they would drink before There is an increase in alcohol poisoning. This amendment is repealed primarily due to the Great Depression.
3. CounterEvolution people who want to have a biblical story of creation be the only idea taught in public schools no teaching of the scientific theory of evolution
The Revolt Against Modernity Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) Scopes is arrested for violating Tennessee’s law against the teaching of evolution This attracts huge headlines. Clarence Darrow Lawyer hired in the case to represent Scopes Argues that evolution and science is what we should teach our children Able to convince the majority of American people that evolution should be taught William Jennings Bryan Populist candidate Brought in to argue the case for the state of Tennessee Argues that we should follow the Bible Says the Bible has to be taken word for word This case is blown up publicly on the idea of whether evolution is true or not. This debate is a siding of new ideas versus old ideas.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression I. Herbert Hoover and Associationism Hoover is elected president in 1928 Believed that government should encourage business Three Republican Presidents – Harding, Coolidge, & Hoover Government did very little in terms of regulating government Letting business do what it wants for the most part Laws against monopolies and other ways to increase profit is not enforced The Commerce Department is considered the second most important department Hoover built this department into an important part of government Associationism A theory about the way that society works Believes that people are going to associate with others that will benefit them and society as a whole You will be better off if you help out your community Hoover believed that this worked because this idea was used in getting things together for WWI This idea has some weaknesses Depends on people organizing for the benefit of the group, not just themselves Businesses were expected to limit themselves for long term stability instead of trying to profit the most People were expected to help out for the less fortunate since they have religious beliefs Most people believed that poor people were poor because there is something wrong with them. By helping them, it would hurt society as a whole. People are not seeing these flaws.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression No one notices that businesses are not sharing prosperity. Agriculture is basically in a depression. Minorities are not sharing prosperity. There are still a lot of barriers of African Americans. They are not making a lot of money. Prosperity is beginning to show weaknesses. Cars are being overproduced. Sales are going down. Housing is becoming too plentiful. Housing prices go down. All of this gets masked on the fact that a lot of people are making money from the stock market. People were not noticing the decreasing in sales. By the end of the 1920’s, the stock prices continue to rise. What is driving the stock prices up is the demand for the stock. People are beginning to notice that these stock prices are inflated. As a result, people stop buying the stock. People who recently bought the stock want to sell it in hopes of not losing money. Once the price starts dropping, people begin panicking and want to sell.
II. The Collapse of American Capitalism
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression A. The Crash (Oct. 1929) The value of the stocks in the month of October loses close to 40% of its value. October 29, 1929, 16.5 million shares were sold. On average, 3 million shares were sold. The stock market crash is a symptom that leads to the great depression. The stock market crash did not cause the great depression. Weaknesses that caused the great depression Stock market crash Workers are not prospering as much as businesses are Prices are rising faster than wages. The gap between the wealthy and the poor becomes wider and wider In 1929, the top .1% of Americans’ income added together is equal to 47% of the poorest families. 75% increase in income went to the top 1% of Americans A lot of the prosperity in the 1920s is being fueled by credit. People start buying things such as household appliances, cars, etc. on credit. They do not necessarily have the money to buy them. Government policy makes this income inequality worse. The vast majority of taxes tend to be sales taxes as opposed to income taxes. Poor people pay a greater proportion to their income compared to the wealthy. Businesses start laying off people. People have less to spend. Therefore, businesses lay off more people. By 1932, the low point in the depression, the physical output of American industry is producing at the same level as it was at 1913.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression In 1930, unemployment is at 4 million. By 1932, it is at 14 million, roughly 25%.
B. Hoover's Response believed that the government should do something, but he did not believe in passing out freebies people should get things such as soup kitchens but from private charities he believed that his main role was as a cheerleader meanwhile, things are getting worse people begin to refer to anything negative as hoover bums that use newspapers as blankets called hoover blankets he very quickly becomes the enemy Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) C. The Bonus March a protest by WWI veterans the US government promised them a bonus in 1945 veterans want the money early since most are unemployed by the spring of 1932, 30,000 veterans are in Washington D.C. hoover was afraid that this army would try to take over the government Anacostia Flats
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression A hoover Ville set up outside of Washington D.C. that the veterans lived in Hoover ordered the Washington D.C. police to chase them out of the city to Anacostia Flats This makes Hoover look like he doesn’t care. This seals his fate as a one term president
Douglas MacArthur, Patton, and Eisenhower Three generals in charge of driving out the WWI veterans Has the troops burn down Anacostia flats
III. The Election of 1932 A. The Brains Trust and the New Deal Brains Trust: people FDR goes to for advice They come up with various policies and reforms that collectively become known as the New Deal He wants to redistribute wealth to the Americans Wins the election very easily B. The Inauguration winter of 19321933 is the worst part of the depression 25% unemployed largest number of bank failures “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is all a problem of our own making in a sense. We can fix this.
FDR and New Deal Relief
FDR and New Deal Relief I. Relief and the First Hundred Days
A. Banking Banking Holiday: every bank in the country has to close its doors He wants time where people stop withdrawing their money from the banks.
Emergency Banking Act This bill get introduced to Congress in the morning on the first day of the special session. By 9:00 that late, FDR has signed it into law. Also referred to as the Glass Eagle Act A part of the emergency banking act Creates a fund for banks to draw from in order to reopen It is being made with stipulations. In order to get this money, the banks have to do certain things. Separation of commercial banking and securities exchanging Makes banks abide by certain rules and regulations in order to ensure the money of the people is safe
Fireside Chats Talks to the American people through the radio First one talks about the banking bill
FDR and New Deal Relief Tell the American people to deposit their money back into banks Banks reopen the Monday after For the first time since the stock market crashed, more money is put into banks than has been withdrawn
Security Exchange Commission Investigate if a company is giving out false information saying that it is worth more money than it truly is Ensure that the investors have better information and make better decisions.
Banks are able to stabilize and become successful again.
B. Agriculture Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) To create a shortage of farm products by paying farmers not to grow The money for this subsidy comes from a tax that taxes people for subsidizing? goods such as rice.
C. Unemployment Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
FDR and New Deal Relief Gives out relief money to states Each state develops its own state emergency relief administration and does what it wants with the money Initial appropriation is $500 million
National Industrial Recovery Act/National Recovery Center piece of the government’s program to deal with unemployment Seen as a way to reform business and industry so that it will proceed in a more stable manner Make it more equitable and fair for workers The goal is to create all of these various codes of conduct for industries. If everyone knows what the regulations are, you wont have monopolies. It will create trader stability. Modeled after the war industries board The whole idea of the government managing the economy Administration (NRA) section 7a of NIRA says that workers have the rights to form unions and to bargain collectively companies cannot fire people or not hire people for joining a union National Labor Board Job is to mediate disputes between management and labor
FDR and New Deal Relief Works out better for workers than management Good thing for workers Just like the war labor board
NIRA also brings about Maximum working hours and Minimum wage
All of this will take 6 months to a year to employ more people.
Public Works Administration (PWA) The government hiring directly people to work on public works projects Such as building roads, bridges, dams Initial works is $3.3 billion Responsible for the causeway that connects key west to mainland Florida, Hoover dam, bridges in cities all across the country, 70% of all educational buildings Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) A program designed to take young men 1825 and put them on work in conservation programs Building the Appalachian Trail, working on conservation projects, fighting forest fires Employs people and also takes young men out of their families Their families will not have to support them Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
FDR and New Deal Relief Most ambitious project during the Great Depression To build dams to control flooding all along the Tennessee river More development can happen in this area All of these dams generate electricity This fuels industries in the area Also leads to model cities being built A lot of people get displaced living along the river. So, the government sets of model towns. The whole plan is to raise up the standard of living through this program In doing this, it was very successful Almost too successful. They sell the electricity to people at much cheaper prices. Private electrical companies have to lower their prices in order to compete with the electricity from the government All of these are designed for immediate relief. FDR does all of this in 100 days
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform The greatest challenge that Roosevelt felt was from the left who felt like he was not doing enough to help. New ideas were brought about. Three people in particular helped Roosevelt: I. Reaction: A. Huey Long unveiled a plan for national economic recovery Every Man a King (1933) Book he wrote Share Our Wealth Plan Plan to redistribute wealth in the US Take from the rich, give to the poor Does this through taxation Took everyone’s wealth that made over $1 million in a year Everyone would be guaranteed an income of at least $5,000 a year Everyone would then be guaranteed a certain standard of living Movement falls apart when Huey Long is assassinated in 1935.
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform B. Dr. Francis Townsend
Townsend Old Age Pension Plan To make payments of $200 a month to senior citizens The idea is if you pay them that money, then they can quit the jobs they have Younger workers were able to get their jobs This plan becomes very attractive to senior citizens Townsend gets a lot of support from the elderly Turns into the Social Security Act
C. Father Charles Coughlin one of the most famous radio personalities of that time during this time, he was getting more fan mail than Roosevelt constantly blames bankers for the Great Depression National Union for Social Justice An attempt to get the government to nationalize the banks So the banking industry would not be run for profit but for the benefit of the nation D. The Supreme Court ends up ruling against 7 of 9 cases where the New Deal is challenged for constitutionality
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform the supreme court agrees it is unconstitutional
Schechter v. United States The supreme court rules that NIRA is unconstitutional Government overstepped its bounds
CourtPacking Plan Plan to expand the supreme court Wants to appoint more justices that will agree with the New Deal Claims that this is an attempt to get more justices to replace those over the age of 70
II. Reform and the Second New Deal: The Second New Deal is a remaking of the first new deal Legislation is not just temporary legislation More about reform, with lasting changes A. Banking Banking Act of 1935 Reinforcement of the Banking Act of 1933 Increases the power of the federal reserve
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform B. Agriculture
AAA of 1938 “soil conservation” – getting people to not grow to make prices go up
C. Industry D. Labor Wagner Act (1935) Gives workers the explicit right to join unions and to bargain collectively National Labor Relations Board Arbitration agency to arbitrate disputes between management and labor Still used today E. Wealth and Income increase in taxes on the wealthy, idea from Huey Long Social Security Act (1935)
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform The government taking Townsend’s pension plan and putting in the New Deal Social Security does not require the recipients to spend the money To pay for this, it comes from a tax on employees and employers The problem is that more people are taking money out of the system than putting into the system
III. Conclusion The government wanted to help everyone have a certain standard of living. Have the ability to have food and shelter This is something that the government had never guaranteed before. This is why everyone thought the New Deal was so radical. Government says that everyone deserves a certain level of income. This is the real change that the government undergoes. People start viewing the government as being responsible for a certain standard of living The New Deal does not end the Great Depression. It does keep it from getting worse and it does improve it a little bit. What does bring it out of the Great Depression is WWII.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal The New Deal does not end the Great Depression The North and the West get more benefits than the South does. For these three groups, the New Deal was good and bad
I. Women: A. Work Women’s work (housework, cleaning, laundry) increases during the Great Depression. Women have to make less money go farther. There is more pressure for women to go outside the home and get jobs. Either to support themselves or their families. The number of women in the workforce starts to increase. 25% of women are working during the Great Depression. The majority of working women are young, single women. For most working women, the kinds of jobs available to them were called women’s work. Ex. Nursing, secretary, domestic workers Employers thought it was perfectly fine to pay women less than men. The idea was that the men had to support their family while the women were only supporting themselves. In 1937, the average working women made $525 a year. The average working man made $1,027 a year. The New Deal reinforced the idea that men should be getting jobs first, then women.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal When receiving help from the government, the jobs and funding were mostly given to the men. Also, preference was families over single people.
B. Social Status Women are working, going to college, breaking away from those older Victorian beliefs. In the 1930’s, there is a much greater focus on motherhood. It was looked at as the ultimate role of women. Fewer people are getting married and fewer people are having children. During the depression, the marriage rate starts dropping along with the birth rate.
C. Politics Women’s participation in politics increases. Senator Hattie Caraway (Arkansas) Elected to the Senate, first women senator Husband was the senator He dies, she filled in his position Decided to run for a term of her own Huey Long runs a huge campaign in Arkansas She gets elected with his approval
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal Frances Perkins, Sec. of Labor First women Cabinet member
Eleanor Roosevelt First lady Very central to her husband’s administration His mobility was limited, had no use of legs after contracting polio Very much responsible for attracting women, African Americans and other minority groups to FDR’s side Government takes on a more mothering or nurturing role in society This is the result of women having the right to vote. Government is becoming much more sympathetic and humane.
II. AfricanAmericans The New Deal was beneficial because it helped everyone, including African Americans. However, they had it worse. The unemployment rate was double for them than whites. The prosperity for the 1920’s did not include African Americans. A. and Hoover African Americans supported the Republican party already
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal Majority of African Americans are not even voting Much of what Hoover did damaged African Americans One of the nominees that he picks to go on the Supreme Court made a career trying to take the vote away from African Americans Also oversaw sending the wives and mothers of soldiers who were killed in WWI going to see the graves of their loved ones. Segregated these women on the ship As a result, African Americans begin to see that the Republican party is not doing them any favors They are still reluctant over whether or not to switch to the Democratic party B. and FDR By the time of reelection, 90% of African Americans are supporting him By the time of the third term, 95% are supporting him By the fourth term, 98% of them are supporting him He actually did very little for the black community Did a lot of symbolic acts Main problem that he faced is that he did care about the black community, but the legislation could not get the support of white southern democrats Black cabinet – people he would go to and see what their problems were There is a need for antilynching legislation Lynching increases – a black person is accused of a crime by a white person. They are attacked by a mob. The laws would hold the federal government responsible for protecting those who lynch others. Every year, it gets defeated in one way or another. In several cases, it gets to the senate.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal But white southern democrats filibuster it. Roosevelt does not come out and support it He knows that if he does, white southern democrats will not support any of his other legislation.
Marion Anderson Black opera section Walter White, NAACP
III. NativeAmericans A. Reorganization People begin the see that the Native American culture, as a result of the Dawes Act, is disappearing. John Collier Worked on behalf of various tribes to try to regain tribal lands. By giving land to individual, you are destroying a culture based on the idea of community. Indian Reorganization Act (1934) Reconstitutes the reservation system Having reservations give the native American tribes back their sense of communal ownership Should also fund schools on these reservations Supports native American cultures A lot of the funding gets stripped, the school funding disappears When done, the act just redistributes the communal reservations many native Americans were opposed to this act it put them back into the 19th century
Because his factory is so much more productive he can still put out a lot of cars and allow his workers to work less hours He is the first to reduce the work week from 6 days to 5 days Increase in the technology and process allows for this By 1925, ford is able to produce a car every 10 seconds He not only standardizes the car parts but the actual car By doing this he can do it for much cheaper Durable cheap car The average worker can now afford cars End of 1920s, Ford now can assemble a car in 93 minutes from the 14 hours he had at the beginning of his company He controls the whole process Example Ford buys the iron plants, rubber plantations, He gets his own shipping company and processing plant He turns the raw material into the parts he needs And then turns these parts into a completed automobile River Rouge Plant The plant where ford would process the materials and make the cars This way ford does not have to depend on other companies Ford is able to sell 15 million model T’s in the 1920 which was over half the cars in the world Problem is that he is so dependent on the model T version that when people want other things he is not as popular Ford has to come up with a new model (the model A)
He has to close down the factory Other companies make factories that can change with the type of car people want there are more options available etc. By the end of the 1920s there is one car per 5 people or one car per family B. Construction Boom in the automobile industry causes a boom in the construction business People can now live farther away from jobs etc. don’t have to depend on public transportation Suburbs develop as a result In 1920s, suburbs were places outside the city where it was mostly just upper middle class and the really wealthy Example is Beverly Hills in the 1920s Because people can live outside cities people now get involved with realestate People start buying up property because it’s a good investment to make money Land doesn’t get any more valuable but the demand for it is what raises the price Property prices keep going up but eventually people realize (mid 1920s) that the prices are too high to pay because the land is not worth it so the land prices start dropping The boom turns into a bust The prices quickly plummet Happens in the Florida land boom and in the late 1920s the same happens with the stock market Age of the skyscraper in NY C. A Businessman's Country Creates a good economy where Businesses are profiting
Americans businesses are making 200300 percent more This leads to a time where businessmen become the heroes of society Ford becomes celebritylike
II. The Organizational Revolution A. Functional Groups Businesses are organizing in efficient and productive ways Society is also organizing in a different way Before society was organized by region In the 1920s more people start identifying themselves primarily in terms of their occupation Professional associations (ex. Bar association) Start identifying with people in their same occupation across the nation Shifting the way that people think of themselves in the world You also see groups being formed based on religion (ex. Southern Baptist union) Community organization (ex. Rotary club) People start thinking of their status based on the organizations that they belong to B. Scientific Management Based on the way that organizations are set up by organizing people benefit economically and socially Frederick Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) C. The "New Middle Class"
Leads to growth of the New Middle Class Old middle class were people who owned their own businesses or farms Not very wealthy Just small business owners They have independence Not working for someone else New Middle class are workers who work for someone else but don’t necessarily do manual labor rather they work in offices Managers or engineers etc. Not super wealthy But they don’t share the same values as the old middle class because they do work for other people People identify themselves in middle class by what they can buy People who are doing manual labor can be in the middle class because they can afford what the middle class standards are This is where the middle class gets muddled Values for getting along in new middle class Cooperation Fitting in These values are more important than independence OMC people found satisfaction in the work they did NMC people found satisfaction in what they bought with the money they got from the work they did III. Cultural Ambivalence
A. Henry Ford and Greenfield Village More responsible than anyone for bringing in the new middle class People work boring jobs for a good paycheck He realizes by creating this that there is something being lost He did believe in old middle class values So he promotes the traditional values He had a school in his factory for the kids of worker The kids were taught with textbooks written in the 19th century He recreated greenfield villages All old buildings Brought them to an area outside of Detroit Idea was that the workers would live there He expected them to live a 19th century lifestyle after working in a modern factory all day It is a failure Village becomes a museum His attempt at creating this villages shows how conflicted he was about the modernization B. Charles Lindberg and “The spirit of St. Louis” Lindberg is the first to fly across the Atlantic nonstop In the mid 1920s a hotel owner decides to announce a competition He’ll pay 20,000 dollars to the first pilot to fly from America to Europe nonstop Most people thought you needed a big plane and a lot of people
They would all fail Lots of danger Lindberg decide to use a stripped down plane and fly solo “the spirit of St. Louis” is the name of the plane named because he gets financial backing from businessmen in st Louis businessmen wants st Louis to become a center for airline industry Spring 1927 take off from New York People think he’s crazy He makes it to Paris in 30 hours He becomes the most known person in the world The way in which people celebrated Lindberg OMC Really emphasize the fact that he did this alone Singular achievement Individual courage Exceptional person NMC Praises Lindbergh and the other people that were involved Financial backing, people who built the plane etc. Lindberg refers to “We” in the book he wrote He sees this as the achievement of the society
The Rise of Consumer Culture
The Rise of Consumer Culture This is the first time in American history that industries can make more goods than what is needed. People begin to create more demand.
1. Consumer Culture and Advertising:
disaccumulation a process where there is an excess of good being produced shifts from an economy based on production to an economy based on consumption it is not about how much a company can produce, but about how much consumers want
marginal differentiation one way to increase demand is through advertising consumers begin to want certain brands as a result, stores begin selling multiple brands stores begin to grow
Walter Dill Scott, The Psychology of Advertising (1903) Talks about how you can use advertisements to create desire/demand for a product Taught how to convince people that their lives would be better with this product These ads target women more than men
The Rise of Consumer Culture Ex. Women using Laundromats to be a good wife Fear is used as a major idea in advertisements Ex. Woman crying over how she was all alone at a party for not using soap
2. Modernity and the Therapeutic Ethic:
Sigmund Freud The reasons why women have various mental problems is because they are repressed Society does not allow women to express themselves They are expected to be a certain way, look a certain way, etc. Women need to be more expressive They need to be more expressive sexually. Women begin to go to college Younger girls are reading Freud’s beliefs There is a shift from the protestant work ethic. How satisfying is your job? It is replaced over time by the modern Therapeutic Ethic Much more focused on expressing yourself Especially using consumption to express yourself
The Rise of Consumer Culture You get satisfaction from what you can buy. All of these things become much more important in determining your status and your level of happiness.
Flappers Young, educated women who wanted to rebel against the traditional Victorian values Rebelled against the norm Wear dresses that just hung, sleeveless, with a lot of fringe, short in length (around the knee or higher), did not really extenuate the figure Cut their hair short Going out unchaperoned Smoking cigarettes Drinking Listening to jazz music F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) The best known novel to come out of this period to really describe this whole kind phenomenon of the Therapeutic Ethic Radios By the 1920’s, most Americans are able to afford to own a radio Information is traveled throughout the country faster than newspaper
The Revolt Against Modernity Not everyone is agreeing with these changes There are three movements against modernity not wanting things to change, and also wanting to turn back the clock. 1. Nativism want to keep America a white/AngloSaxon country seen in three different forms antiradical opposed to people with radical ideas, ex. Socialists opposed immigrants, who are bringing these ideas of other governments into the country antiSemitism opposed to what they see as unprotestant not only against Jews, but against antiCatholicism keep the US a Protestant nation but not letting these ideas become too pervasive many people believed that good Catholics would always do what the pope told them to do….aka not good Americans who obey the president white supremacy Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race (1921) If we don’t do anything, the white race will succumb to the darker races Whites have always forwarded civilization, while the darks made us go backwards Also divided white people into three groups: Mediterraneans – Italian, lowest
The Revolt Against Modernity Alpines – French, German Norids – superior white people, blonde hair, blue eyes, Scandinavia, northern countries
National Origins Act (1924) Limits the number of people that come into the US This is based on their country of origin Because the way the law was written, it gives more preference to those coming from northern countries Set up an immigration policy to increase the number of norids and decrease everyone else
In the 1920’s, the Ku Klux Klan is revived Nation wide organization Strongest support in the Midwest – Indiana What is different about them now is that they are no longer targeted at just African Americans, but their bigger targets are radicals, recent immigrants, Catholics, Jews, anyone not considered part of the superior white race
2. Prohibition while on the surface, it seems that this is not what the Klan should be interested in many connect drinking with immigrants also something connected with Catholicism, not Protestantism 18th Amendment (1919)
The Revolt Against Modernity once it is passed, all it says it that the amendment prohibits the creation, selling, or transporting of intoxicating beverages you can still drink it most think this will just ban hard liquor not beer or wine
Volstead Act (1919) Defines an intoxicating beverage as anything with more than .5% alcohol, which includes beer, wine, and hard liquor Starting in 1920, all alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the US This leads to widespread lawlessness. Most people think that prohibition does not apply to them. People make their own moonshine, buy alcoholic in speak easies. This alcohol is much more dangerous than anything they would drink before There is an increase in alcohol poisoning. This amendment is repealed primarily due to the Great Depression.
3. CounterEvolution people who want to have a biblical story of creation be the only idea taught in public schools no teaching of the scientific theory of evolution
The Revolt Against Modernity Scopes Monkey Trial (1925) Scopes is arrested for violating Tennessee’s law against the teaching of evolution This attracts huge headlines. Clarence Darrow Lawyer hired in the case to represent Scopes Argues that evolution and science is what we should teach our children Able to convince the majority of American people that evolution should be taught William Jennings Bryan Populist candidate Brought in to argue the case for the state of Tennessee Argues that we should follow the Bible Says the Bible has to be taken word for word This case is blown up publicly on the idea of whether evolution is true or not. This debate is a siding of new ideas versus old ideas.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression I. Herbert Hoover and Associationism Hoover is elected president in 1928 Believed that government should encourage business Three Republican Presidents – Harding, Coolidge, & Hoover Government did very little in terms of regulating government Letting business do what it wants for the most part Laws against monopolies and other ways to increase profit is not enforced The Commerce Department is considered the second most important department Hoover built this department into an important part of government Associationism A theory about the way that society works Believes that people are going to associate with others that will benefit them and society as a whole You will be better off if you help out your community Hoover believed that this worked because this idea was used in getting things together for WWI This idea has some weaknesses Depends on people organizing for the benefit of the group, not just themselves Businesses were expected to limit themselves for long term stability instead of trying to profit the most People were expected to help out for the less fortunate since they have religious beliefs Most people believed that poor people were poor because there is something wrong with them. By helping them, it would hurt society as a whole. People are not seeing these flaws.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression No one notices that businesses are not sharing prosperity. Agriculture is basically in a depression. Minorities are not sharing prosperity. There are still a lot of barriers of African Americans. They are not making a lot of money. Prosperity is beginning to show weaknesses. Cars are being overproduced. Sales are going down. Housing is becoming too plentiful. Housing prices go down. All of this gets masked on the fact that a lot of people are making money from the stock market. People were not noticing the decreasing in sales. By the end of the 1920’s, the stock prices continue to rise. What is driving the stock prices up is the demand for the stock. People are beginning to notice that these stock prices are inflated. As a result, people stop buying the stock. People who recently bought the stock want to sell it in hopes of not losing money. Once the price starts dropping, people begin panicking and want to sell.
II. The Collapse of American Capitalism
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression A. The Crash (Oct. 1929) The value of the stocks in the month of October loses close to 40% of its value. October 29, 1929, 16.5 million shares were sold. On average, 3 million shares were sold. The stock market crash is a symptom that leads to the great depression. The stock market crash did not cause the great depression. Weaknesses that caused the great depression Stock market crash Workers are not prospering as much as businesses are Prices are rising faster than wages. The gap between the wealthy and the poor becomes wider and wider In 1929, the top .1% of Americans’ income added together is equal to 47% of the poorest families. 75% increase in income went to the top 1% of Americans A lot of the prosperity in the 1920s is being fueled by credit. People start buying things such as household appliances, cars, etc. on credit. They do not necessarily have the money to buy them. Government policy makes this income inequality worse. The vast majority of taxes tend to be sales taxes as opposed to income taxes. Poor people pay a greater proportion to their income compared to the wealthy. Businesses start laying off people. People have less to spend. Therefore, businesses lay off more people. By 1932, the low point in the depression, the physical output of American industry is producing at the same level as it was at 1913.
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression In 1930, unemployment is at 4 million. By 1932, it is at 14 million, roughly 25%.
B. Hoover's Response believed that the government should do something, but he did not believe in passing out freebies people should get things such as soup kitchens but from private charities he believed that his main role was as a cheerleader meanwhile, things are getting worse people begin to refer to anything negative as hoover bums that use newspapers as blankets called hoover blankets he very quickly becomes the enemy Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) C. The Bonus March a protest by WWI veterans the US government promised them a bonus in 1945 veterans want the money early since most are unemployed by the spring of 1932, 30,000 veterans are in Washington D.C. hoover was afraid that this army would try to take over the government Anacostia Flats
Hoover, Roosevelt, and the Great Depression A hoover Ville set up outside of Washington D.C. that the veterans lived in Hoover ordered the Washington D.C. police to chase them out of the city to Anacostia Flats This makes Hoover look like he doesn’t care. This seals his fate as a one term president
Douglas MacArthur, Patton, and Eisenhower Three generals in charge of driving out the WWI veterans Has the troops burn down Anacostia flats
III. The Election of 1932 A. The Brains Trust and the New Deal Brains Trust: people FDR goes to for advice They come up with various policies and reforms that collectively become known as the New Deal He wants to redistribute wealth to the Americans Wins the election very easily B. The Inauguration winter of 19321933 is the worst part of the depression 25% unemployed largest number of bank failures “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is all a problem of our own making in a sense. We can fix this.
FDR and New Deal Relief
FDR and New Deal Relief I. Relief and the First Hundred Days
A. Banking Banking Holiday: every bank in the country has to close its doors He wants time where people stop withdrawing their money from the banks.
Emergency Banking Act This bill get introduced to Congress in the morning on the first day of the special session. By 9:00 that late, FDR has signed it into law. Also referred to as the Glass Eagle Act A part of the emergency banking act Creates a fund for banks to draw from in order to reopen It is being made with stipulations. In order to get this money, the banks have to do certain things. Separation of commercial banking and securities exchanging Makes banks abide by certain rules and regulations in order to ensure the money of the people is safe
Fireside Chats Talks to the American people through the radio First one talks about the banking bill
FDR and New Deal Relief Tell the American people to deposit their money back into banks Banks reopen the Monday after For the first time since the stock market crashed, more money is put into banks than has been withdrawn
Security Exchange Commission Investigate if a company is giving out false information saying that it is worth more money than it truly is Ensure that the investors have better information and make better decisions.
Banks are able to stabilize and become successful again.
B. Agriculture Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) To create a shortage of farm products by paying farmers not to grow The money for this subsidy comes from a tax that taxes people for subsidizing? goods such as rice.
C. Unemployment Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
FDR and New Deal Relief Gives out relief money to states Each state develops its own state emergency relief administration and does what it wants with the money Initial appropriation is $500 million
National Industrial Recovery Act/National Recovery Center piece of the government’s program to deal with unemployment Seen as a way to reform business and industry so that it will proceed in a more stable manner Make it more equitable and fair for workers The goal is to create all of these various codes of conduct for industries. If everyone knows what the regulations are, you wont have monopolies. It will create trader stability. Modeled after the war industries board The whole idea of the government managing the economy Administration (NRA) section 7a of NIRA says that workers have the rights to form unions and to bargain collectively companies cannot fire people or not hire people for joining a union National Labor Board Job is to mediate disputes between management and labor
FDR and New Deal Relief Works out better for workers than management Good thing for workers Just like the war labor board
NIRA also brings about Maximum working hours and Minimum wage
All of this will take 6 months to a year to employ more people.
Public Works Administration (PWA) The government hiring directly people to work on public works projects Such as building roads, bridges, dams Initial works is $3.3 billion Responsible for the causeway that connects key west to mainland Florida, Hoover dam, bridges in cities all across the country, 70% of all educational buildings Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) A program designed to take young men 1825 and put them on work in conservation programs Building the Appalachian Trail, working on conservation projects, fighting forest fires Employs people and also takes young men out of their families Their families will not have to support them Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
FDR and New Deal Relief Most ambitious project during the Great Depression To build dams to control flooding all along the Tennessee river More development can happen in this area All of these dams generate electricity This fuels industries in the area Also leads to model cities being built A lot of people get displaced living along the river. So, the government sets of model towns. The whole plan is to raise up the standard of living through this program In doing this, it was very successful Almost too successful. They sell the electricity to people at much cheaper prices. Private electrical companies have to lower their prices in order to compete with the electricity from the government All of these are designed for immediate relief. FDR does all of this in 100 days
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform The greatest challenge that Roosevelt felt was from the left who felt like he was not doing enough to help. New ideas were brought about. Three people in particular helped Roosevelt: I. Reaction: A. Huey Long unveiled a plan for national economic recovery Every Man a King (1933) Book he wrote Share Our Wealth Plan Plan to redistribute wealth in the US Take from the rich, give to the poor Does this through taxation Took everyone’s wealth that made over $1 million in a year Everyone would be guaranteed an income of at least $5,000 a year Everyone would then be guaranteed a certain standard of living Movement falls apart when Huey Long is assassinated in 1935.
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform B. Dr. Francis Townsend
Townsend Old Age Pension Plan To make payments of $200 a month to senior citizens The idea is if you pay them that money, then they can quit the jobs they have Younger workers were able to get their jobs This plan becomes very attractive to senior citizens Townsend gets a lot of support from the elderly Turns into the Social Security Act
C. Father Charles Coughlin one of the most famous radio personalities of that time during this time, he was getting more fan mail than Roosevelt constantly blames bankers for the Great Depression National Union for Social Justice An attempt to get the government to nationalize the banks So the banking industry would not be run for profit but for the benefit of the nation D. The Supreme Court ends up ruling against 7 of 9 cases where the New Deal is challenged for constitutionality
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform the supreme court agrees it is unconstitutional
Schechter v. United States The supreme court rules that NIRA is unconstitutional Government overstepped its bounds
CourtPacking Plan Plan to expand the supreme court Wants to appoint more justices that will agree with the New Deal Claims that this is an attempt to get more justices to replace those over the age of 70
II. Reform and the Second New Deal: The Second New Deal is a remaking of the first new deal Legislation is not just temporary legislation More about reform, with lasting changes A. Banking Banking Act of 1935 Reinforcement of the Banking Act of 1933 Increases the power of the federal reserve
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform B. Agriculture
AAA of 1938 “soil conservation” – getting people to not grow to make prices go up
C. Industry D. Labor Wagner Act (1935) Gives workers the explicit right to join unions and to bargain collectively National Labor Relations Board Arbitration agency to arbitrate disputes between management and labor Still used today E. Wealth and Income increase in taxes on the wealthy, idea from Huey Long Social Security Act (1935)
The New Deal: Reaction and Reform The government taking Townsend’s pension plan and putting in the New Deal Social Security does not require the recipients to spend the money To pay for this, it comes from a tax on employees and employers The problem is that more people are taking money out of the system than putting into the system
III. Conclusion The government wanted to help everyone have a certain standard of living. Have the ability to have food and shelter This is something that the government had never guaranteed before. This is why everyone thought the New Deal was so radical. Government says that everyone deserves a certain level of income. This is the real change that the government undergoes. People start viewing the government as being responsible for a certain standard of living The New Deal does not end the Great Depression. It does keep it from getting worse and it does improve it a little bit. What does bring it out of the Great Depression is WWII.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal The New Deal does not end the Great Depression The North and the West get more benefits than the South does. For these three groups, the New Deal was good and bad
I. Women: A. Work Women’s work (housework, cleaning, laundry) increases during the Great Depression. Women have to make less money go farther. There is more pressure for women to go outside the home and get jobs. Either to support themselves or their families. The number of women in the workforce starts to increase. 25% of women are working during the Great Depression. The majority of working women are young, single women. For most working women, the kinds of jobs available to them were called women’s work. Ex. Nursing, secretary, domestic workers Employers thought it was perfectly fine to pay women less than men. The idea was that the men had to support their family while the women were only supporting themselves. In 1937, the average working women made $525 a year. The average working man made $1,027 a year. The New Deal reinforced the idea that men should be getting jobs first, then women.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal When receiving help from the government, the jobs and funding were mostly given to the men. Also, preference was families over single people.
B. Social Status Women are working, going to college, breaking away from those older Victorian beliefs. In the 1930’s, there is a much greater focus on motherhood. It was looked at as the ultimate role of women. Fewer people are getting married and fewer people are having children. During the depression, the marriage rate starts dropping along with the birth rate.
C. Politics Women’s participation in politics increases. Senator Hattie Caraway (Arkansas) Elected to the Senate, first women senator Husband was the senator He dies, she filled in his position Decided to run for a term of her own Huey Long runs a huge campaign in Arkansas She gets elected with his approval
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal Frances Perkins, Sec. of Labor First women Cabinet member
Eleanor Roosevelt First lady Very central to her husband’s administration His mobility was limited, had no use of legs after contracting polio Very much responsible for attracting women, African Americans and other minority groups to FDR’s side Government takes on a more mothering or nurturing role in society This is the result of women having the right to vote. Government is becoming much more sympathetic and humane.
II. AfricanAmericans The New Deal was beneficial because it helped everyone, including African Americans. However, they had it worse. The unemployment rate was double for them than whites. The prosperity for the 1920’s did not include African Americans. A. and Hoover African Americans supported the Republican party already
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal Majority of African Americans are not even voting Much of what Hoover did damaged African Americans One of the nominees that he picks to go on the Supreme Court made a career trying to take the vote away from African Americans Also oversaw sending the wives and mothers of soldiers who were killed in WWI going to see the graves of their loved ones. Segregated these women on the ship As a result, African Americans begin to see that the Republican party is not doing them any favors They are still reluctant over whether or not to switch to the Democratic party B. and FDR By the time of reelection, 90% of African Americans are supporting him By the time of the third term, 95% are supporting him By the fourth term, 98% of them are supporting him He actually did very little for the black community Did a lot of symbolic acts Main problem that he faced is that he did care about the black community, but the legislation could not get the support of white southern democrats Black cabinet – people he would go to and see what their problems were There is a need for antilynching legislation Lynching increases – a black person is accused of a crime by a white person. They are attacked by a mob. The laws would hold the federal government responsible for protecting those who lynch others. Every year, it gets defeated in one way or another. In several cases, it gets to the senate.
Marginal Minorities and the New Deal But white southern democrats filibuster it. Roosevelt does not come out and support it He knows that if he does, white southern democrats will not support any of his other legislation.
Marion Anderson Black opera section Walter White, NAACP
III. NativeAmericans A. Reorganization People begin the see that the Native American culture, as a result of the Dawes Act, is disappearing. John Collier Worked on behalf of various tribes to try to regain tribal lands. By giving land to individual, you are destroying a culture based on the idea of community. Indian Reorganization Act (1934) Reconstitutes the reservation system Having reservations give the native American tribes back their sense of communal ownership Should also fund schools on these reservations Supports native American cultures A lot of the funding gets stripped, the school funding disappears When done, the act just redistributes the communal reservations many native Americans were opposed to this act it put them back into the 19th century
