About this Book Financial Disaster The Great Depression began when the never-ending party of the Roaring Twenties came to a sudden halt On October 29, 1929, which became known as "Black Tuesday," the stock market crashed, starting a downward economic slide Banks failed, countless businesses were wiped out, and hardworking people found themselves without jobs, homes, and even food At the height of the Great Depression, a quarter of the American population was out of work In The Great Depression in United States History, author David K Fremon brings to life the trials and triumphs of the 1930s Highlighted are examples of the many ways that Americans kept a positive outlook while facing an uncertain future New programs such as the New Deal got Americans working again and gave hope to the nation From the Dust Bowl to the onset of World War II, the author explains how Franklin D Roosevelt was able to lead the country back from disaster " accurate and well written " —The Book Report " a concise, infomative, and readable account " —Catholic Library Association ABOUT THE AUTHOR David K Fremon has written many magazine and newspaper articles, as well as books on historical topics Several of his books show past injustices and attempts to correct those injustices CONTENTS Cover About this Book Title Page Chapter 1: “Wall Street Lays an Egg” Watching Their Fate The Crash Chapter 2: “The Business of America is Business” The Roaring Twenties The Stock Market Crumbling Blocks The Great Engineer 1929 Stock Tumble Black Thursday Chapter 3: “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Soup Lines, Bread Lines, and Apple Sellers Hooverville “In Hoover We Trusted” Bonus March Lame Ducks Chapter 4: FDR MAP: 1932 Presidential Election Young FDR Sunrise at Campobello The Happy Warrior “All You Have to Do Is Stay Alive” Chapter 5: “Try Something” The First Hundred Days Alphabet Soup NRA Dear Mr (or Mrs.) Roosevelt Only Maine and Vermont Chapter 6: Dust Bowl Storms and Foreclosures “I’ve Been Doin’ Some Hard Travellin’” Woody Guthrie The Grapes of Wrath Chapter 7: “Share Our Wealth” An EPIC Campaign The Priest, the Doctor, and the Kingfish Labor Pains Flint, Michigan Memorial Day Massacre Chapter 8: The Second New Deal Court Packing The Roosevelt Recession Chapter 9: “Mairzy Doats and Doazy Doats” Meet Me at the Fair Sports and Games Over the Rainbow Radio’s Golden Age Chapter 10: “The Great Arsenal of Democracy” “A Neutral Nation” “Better a 3rd Termer” “Air Raid This Is No Drill” Timeline Chapter Notes Further Reading Index Note to Our Readers Copyright More Books from Enslow Chapter “WALL STREET LAYS AN EGG” Image Credit: Library of Congress/Photo by Mark Benedict Barry Unemployed men sit on a park bench in despair near the height of the Great Depression in 1934 Early rising New York residents witnessed an eerie morning spectacle on October 28, 1929 The sky was dark with thousands of blackbirds descending on the heart of the city The birds landed at the Wall Street financial district, spent half an hour eating every bit of available food, then flew away as suddenly and unexpectedly as they had arrived Nearly a hundred of the birds, too starved or weary to make the flight, were left behind and died The birds might have been an omen of dire events to come One day later, Wall Street would be the setting for another bizarre event—a tragedy that would touch people throughout the United States and the world Watching Their Fate Thousands of men and women thronged the streets of downtown New York on the morning of Tuesday, October 29, 1929 The city’s police chief sent out extra detectives and uniformed officers to handle the large gathering They were not crowding at the doors of a sports arena or an entertainment hall Instead, they tried to enter the New York Stock Exchange building These were grim, curious, downhearted, and sometimes angry spectators They came to see if the stock market would collapse Many waited from more than curiosity They had invested money in stocks that were bought and sold at the stock exchange If the stocks sold at higher prices, they made money But if stock prices fell, they lost Some already had seen their investments disappear the week before on “Black Thursday,” October 24 Others waited to see if they would go home bankrupt The anxiety was repeated in big cities and small towns Investors, their hearts rapidly beating in fear, jammed into local stockbrokers’ offices and crowded around the ticker machine This electronic messenger gave the investors news of their economic fate Very few got the results they wished for; more received the message they feared The Crash As always, the trading began promptly at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time From the opening gong, the market was a disaster More than million shares changed hands in the first thirty minutes Nearly all transactions were sales; no one was buying any stock On Black Thursday, some of New York’s leading financiers had bought up stock in the afternoon They had stemmed a selling spree that began earlier that day By doing so, they had kept the market from total ruin Today, however, no one made such a move Trying to stop this selling spree, someone remarked, would be like “trying to stem the falls of Niagara.”1 Instead, big investors dumped blocks of fifty thousand shares These were shares of stock from the nation’s major companies: Chrysler Motors, General Electric, International Telephone and Telegraph, Standard Oil of New Jersey As the market prices of these stocks plummeted, sellers received only a fraction of their buying price in return General Electric, which started the day costing $245 a share, fell to $211 RCA plunged from one hundred dollars to a mere twenty-six dollars Blue Ridge Corporation, which started August at one hundred dollars, plummeted to three dollars a share In one brokerage house, an office boy offered one dollar per share for White Sewing Machine stock, which had sold for forty-eight dollars the day before The desperate brokers sold it to him.2 When the larger investors sold out, others panicked Brokers, trying to avoid bankruptcy for themselves, sold the stock of smaller investors After the brokers took their fees, the small investors often were left with nothing For many, the money placed in the stock market represented their life savings By noon, more than million shares had been traded Shortly afterward, the governing committee of the stock exchange met in the building’s basement As panicked brokers frantically sold their clients’ stocks upstairs, the committee debated what it should The members finally decided to stay open and hope for a miracle That miracle never happened Late-afternoon buying raised the market prices slightly, but the overall totals were devastating Sales outscored purchases by $9 billion In stock exchanges throughout the country, losses amounted to $15 billion Official records noted that 16.4 million shares of stock were sold Yet sales were so frantic that many transactions went unrecorded The real total might have been closer to 20 or 25 million shares Some tried to put a cheerful face on the Wall Street disaster The New York Times headline of the following day read “Rally at Close Cheers Brokers.” Ninety-year-old billionaire John D Rockefeller tried to show his confidence in the market the next day by offering to buy enormous quantities of stock Comedian Eddie Cantor quipped, “Sure, who else had any money left?”3 The show business newspaper Variety had a blunt headline: “WALL ST LAYS AN EGG.”4 For many stock investors, October 29, 1929, was the worst day of their lives One distraught broker ran from the trading floor “screaming like a lunatic.”5 He ran outside the building, where ten thousand observers watched the market failure in stunned silence Those extra police were not needed The crowd on Wall Street behaved more like zombies than revolutionaries In the case of some investors, October 29, 1929, was the last day of their lives Speculators crawled onto ledges of their skyscraper buildings, then leaped to death on the streets below Others swallowed poison or inhaled deadly gas A Kansas City man, after having lost a fortune, told a friend: “Tell the boys I can’t pay them what I owe them.” Then he shot himself.6 October 29, 1929, became known as “Black Tuesday,” or the day of the Crash It marked the unofficial start of an era known as the Great Depression Not everyone was hit immediately by economic woes But few would escape the effects of the nation’s crisis Most Americans had become used to prosperity in the 1920s Soon hunger, poverty, and unemployment would be their constant companions Chapter “THE BUSINESS OF AMERICA IS BUSINESS” Leaders from Germany and the Allied nations gathered at a railroad car in a French forest The mood was serious as they discussed Germany’s surrender On November 11, 1918, they signed a peace agreement The four-year-long war, World War I, the bloodiest war in history, was over In the United States, people were anything but somber Parades and welcome-home celebrations marked the end of the war Americans had entered the conflict in 1917 reluctantly With America’s help, Britain and France had been able to triumph over the Germans Now Americans could get back to business They wanted to stay out of foreign affairs Congress ignored President Woodrow Wilson’s pleas to join the newlyformed League of Nations In 1920, Republican Warren Harding was elected president with the slogan “Back to Normalcy.” Americans desired normalcy They wished to live peacefully, party, and make money The Roaring Twenties America more than prospered during the 1920s The country went through the greatest economic boom the world had ever seen Businesses thrived Many companies passed their good fortune on to their workers They sponsored recreational facilities and athletic teams Some gave workers housing, insurance, and the chance to buy company stock Disposable income grew for most people The average American now could buy more than necessities He or she took advantage of that opportunity Earlier generations encouraged savings In the 1920s, saving money was almost considered unpatriotic Technological advances created new consumer goods Vacuum cleaners, electric fans, toasters, and other luxury items became available to average Americans Millions also bought the latest communications device, the radio Messages from the radio encouraged further consumption Advertising became a major force in the 1920s Through radio, newspapers, and magazines, companies reached customers in record numbers They persuaded customers of the importance of the latest goods A housewife did not just desire a refrigerator or a washing machine—she needed it Advertising affected the economy in another way Companies who advertised wisely saw rapid growth in their business Those who did not often went bankrupt As a result, fewer, yet much larger companies controlled the American economy By 1929, two hundred corporations controlled nearly half of American industry Few Americans bought these items with available cash Instead, they used the credit system Stores FURTHER READING A Century of Tribune Editorials Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1947 Allen, Frederick Lewis Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America New York: Harper and Row, 1988 Allsop, Kenneth Hard Travellin’: The Story of the Migrant Worker Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1967 Boardman, Barrington Flappers, Bootleggers, “Typhoid Mary,” and the Bomb: An Anecdotal History of the United States from 1923–1945 New York: Harper and Row, 1989 Boller, Jr., Paul F., Presidential Campaigns New York: Oxford University Press, 1984 Csida, Joseph, and June Bunday Csida American Entertainment: A Unique History of Popular Show Business New York: Billboard Publications, 1979 Day, Donald Will Rogers: A Biography New York: David McKay and Company, 1962 Finkelstein, Norman H Sounds in the Air: The Golden Age of Radio New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fireside Chats New York: Penguin Books, 1995 Hard Times: 1930–1940 New York: Time-Life Books, 1969 Kindleberger, Charles P The World in Depression: 1929–1939 Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986 Klein, Joe Woody Guthrie: A Life New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1980 Klingaman, William K 1929: The Year of the Great Crash New York: Harper and Row, 1989 Leuchtenberg, William E., ed The New Deal: A Documentary History New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1968 Lomax, Alan, compiler Hard-Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People New York: Oak Publications, 1967 McElvaine, Robert S., ed Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1983 McElvaine, Robert S The Great Depression: America, 1929–1941 New York: Times Books, 1984 Meltzer, Milton Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?: The Great Depression 1929–1933 New York: New American Library, 1969 Mulvey, Dan, ed We Had Everything but Money Greendale, WI.: Country Books, 1982 Official Guide Book of the Fair Chicago: A Century of Progress, 1934 Patterson, James T America in the Twentieth Century New York: Harcourt Brace Johanovich, 1976 Phillips, Cabell From the Crash to the Blitz: 1929–1939 London: Macmillan, 1969 Robinson, Lloyd The Hopefuls: Ten Presidential Campaigns Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1966 Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath New York: Penguin Books U.S.A., 1976 Stone, Irving They Also Ran New York: New American Library, 1966 Terkel, Studs Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression New York: Pantheon Books, 1986 The Roaring Twenties: 1920–1930 New York: Time-Life Books, 1969 Vermilye, Jeremy The Films of the Thirties Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press, 1982 Wallechinsky, David and Irving Wallace The People’s Almanac Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975 Wallechinsky, David and Irving Wallace The People’s Almanac #2 New York: Bantam Books, 1978 INDEX A Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), 42, 70 American Federation of Labor (AFL), 65, 67 B Benny, Jack, 77 “Black Thursday” (October 24, 1929), 6, 19–20 “Black Tuesday” (October 29, 1929), 5–8, 21, 26 Bonus Marchers, 29–31 C Century of Progress (Chicago world’s fair), 74 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), 42 Civil Works Administration (CWA), 43, 44 Committee (Congress) of Industrial Organizations (CIO), 67–69 Coolidge, Calvin, 15, 18, 27, 35, 51 Coughlin, Charles, 64, 66 court packing, 70–72 D Dewey, Thomas, 82 Didrikson, Mildred “Babe”, 75 Dow Jones industrial average, 16, 18, 26, 29 E elections, presidential 1920, 1928, 15–17, 34 1932, 37–39, 61 1936, 51–52, 65, 71 1940, 82–83 End Poverty in California (EPIC), 61–63 F Farley, James, 52, 83 Farm Holiday Association, 54–55 Farm Security Administration (FSA), 43, 46 Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC), 41 Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), 43–44, 57 Federal Reserve Board, 17, 26 Flint, Michigan, sit-down strike, 68 G Garner, John Nance, 37, 39, 83 Gone with the Wind, 76–77 Grapes of Wrath, The, 59–60 Guthrie, Woodrow “Woody,” 57–59 H Harding, Warren G., 9, 27, 35 Hitler, Adolf, 75, 79–81, 84 Hoover, Herbert, 14–18, 20, 26–32, 37, 39, 84 “Hooverville”, 25–26, 30, 58 L Landon, Alfred M., 51–52, 84 Lewis, John L., 66–68, 81 Literary Digest poll, 52 Long, Huey P., 64–66 M MacArthur, Douglas, 30 Mellon, Andrew, 27, 37 Memorial Day Massacre, 68–69 N National Labor Relations Board, 49 National Recovery Administration, 48–49, 56 New Deal, 37, 43, 47, 61, 63, 66, 70–73 programs, 43–49, 66 O Owens, Jesse, 75 P Pearl Harbor, Japanese bombing of, 85 Prohibition, repeal of, 43 Public Works Administration (PWA), 43, 44 R radio, 10, 36, 39, 41, 64, 65, 77–78 encouraged consumption, 10–11 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), 28 Resettlement Administration (RA), 73 Roosevelt, Eleanor, 34–35, 50 Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 16, 31–32, 33–37, 39, 40–44, 47–52, 61, 63–66, 70–73, 81–85 Roosevelt, Theodore, 34, 51 Ruth, George “Babe,” 12, 75 S “Second New Deal,” 73 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 43, 47 Sinclair, Upton, 61–64 Smith, Al, 16, 36–37 Smoot-Hawley tariff bill, 27–28 Social Security, 47, 51, 65 Steinbeck, John, 45, 59–60 stock market, 6–7, 11–12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21–22, 29, 41, 47, 72 Stryker, Roy, 46–47 T Taft, Robert, 81–82 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), 42 Townsend, Francis, 64–66 W Welles, Orson, 46, 78 Willkie, Wendell, 82, 84 Wilson, Woodrow, 9, 15, 34–35 Works Progress Administration (WPA), 43–46 Federal Artists Project, 45 Theater Project, 46 Writers’ Project, 45–46 Note To Our Readers About This Electronic Book: This electronic book was initially published as a printed book We have made many changes in the formatting of this electronic edition, but in certain instances, we have left references from the printed book so that this version is more helpful to you Chapter Notes and Internet Addresses: We have done our best to make sure all Internet Addresses in this electronic book were active and appropriate when this edition was created However, the author and the publisher have no control over and assume no liability for the material available on those Internet sites or on other Web sites they may link to The Chapter Notes are meant as a historical reference source of the original research for this book The references may not be active or appropriate at this time, therefore we have deactivated the internet links referenced in the Chapter Notes Index: All page numbers in the index refer to pages in the printed edition of this book We have intentionally left these page references While electronic books have a search capability, we feel that leaving in the original index allows the reader to not only see what was initially referenced, but also how often a term has been referenced Any comments, problems, or suggestions can be sent by e-mail to comments@enslow.com or to the following address: http://www.enslow.com All rights reserved No part of this text may be reproduced, downloaded, uploaded, transmitted, deconstructed, reverse engineered, or placed into any current or future information storage and retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Enslow Publishers, Inc Dedicated to all reference librarians, who make a writer’s life so much easier Copyright © 1997, 2014 by David K Fremon All rights reserved Originally published as The Great Depression in American History in 1997 No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fremon, David K [Great Depression in American history] The Great Depression in United States history / David K Fremon pages cm Originally published: The Great Depression in American history Springfield, NJ, USA : Enslow Publishers, c1997 Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-0-7660-6087-6 Depressions—1929—United States—Juvenile literature United States— Economic conditions—1918–1945—Juvenile literature New Deal, 1933–1939—Juvenile literature Roosevelt, Franklin D (Franklin Delano), 1882–1945—Juvenile literature I Title HC106.3.F69 2014 330.973’0917—dc23 2013050392 Future Editions: Paperback ISBN: 978-0-7660-6088-3 EPUB ISBN: 978-0-7660-6089-0 Single-User PDF ISBN: 978-0-7660-6090-6 Multi-User PDF ISBN: 978-0-7660-6091-3 This is the EPUB version 1.0 Cover Illustration: Library of Congress/U.S Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Cover Caption: Title: Migrant agricultural worker’s family Seven children without food Mother aged thirty-two Father is a native Californian Nipomo, California, 1936 Dorothea Lange, photographer More Books from Enslow Come to enslow.com for more information! Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-5448-6 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6097-5 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6087-6 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6102-6 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6068-5 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6092-0 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6058-6 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6063-0 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6107-1 Trade Edition ISBN: 978-0-7660-6073-9 ... bureaucrats in the administration, not the first family Only Maine and Vermont Democrats swept the nation in the 1934 elections The New York Times called it ? ?the most overwhelming victory in the history. .. Street Lays an Egg” Watching Their Fate The Crash Chapter 2: ? ?The Business of America is Business” The Roaring Twenties The Stock Market Crumbling Blocks The Great Engineer 1929 Stock Tumble Black... Depression, a quarter of the American population was out of work In The Great Depression in United States History, author David K Fremon brings to life the trials and triumphs of the 1930s Highlighted