INQUIZITIVE; Chapter 21
Economic justice was not a mainstream concept before the Great Depression. The predominant economic theory advocated a laissez-faire market philosophy in which markets would fix themselves through unregulated cycles. With the development of industrialization, business cycles became more and more extreme with dire consequences for ordinary people. With the Great Depression, some began to advocate for a change in philosophy. Match the following advocates with the policy for which they advocated.
"Share the Wealth" movement Correct label: Huey Long cooperative ventures Correct label: Upton Sinclair large-scale government spending Correct label: John Maynard Keynes
Southern Democrats held very powerful positions in Congress, and Roosevelt felt it was necessary to placate them to ensure the passage of his New Deal legislation. Identify the statements that describe the political monopoly in the South.
Democratic incumbents were elected election after election, so as a result very few eligible voters bothered to cast ballots in the region. Social Security law excluded agricultural and domestic workers because these were the largest categories of black employment, and southerners wanted to exclude them from the benefits. After blacks lost the right to vote, Republicans had no chance in the South, and as a result Democrats held a political monopoly in the region. Roosevelt agreed to exclude agricultural and domestic workers from Social Security, pleasing southern white Democrats because these jobs were the largest categories of black employment.
In 1942, the National Resources Planning Board found that blacks were enjoying an improved standard of living all across the United States due to higher employment opportunities.
False
The one important area of the economy that Roosevelt's New Deal legislation failed to act on was the housing industry. Roosevelt firmly believed that families and private enterprise had dealt well with housing during the Great Depression, and he was afraid government action would actually cause problems where they did not exist. T or F?
False
Not all voices of protest came from the unions. Identify the political agendas of the following individuals.
He called for the state to utilize disused factories, farms, and homes to create cooperative ventures to provide jobs for the unemployed. Correct label: Upton Sinclair He won wide support for a plan that would issue $200 to older Americans with the requirement they immediately spend it to boost the economy. Correct label: Dr. Francis Townsend He called for a restructuring of the American economy in which wealth would be confiscated and redistributed to provide $5,000 grants and guaranteed jobs with annual salaries. Correct label: Huey Long
What does this map reveal about the election of 1932?
Hoover's strongest support came from states in the Northeast. Roosevelt won the election by a landslide.
Analyze the map below. What does it reveal about the Dust Bowl from 1935 to 1940?
In 1938, almost half of the state of Kansas was impacted by severe wind erosion. Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma were all impacted by the most severe wind erosion during the Dust Bowl.
Under the leadership of Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier, the administration launched the Indian New Deal. Identify the statements that describe the Indian New Deal.
It ended the policy of forced assimilation and allowed Indians unprecedented cultural autonomy. It ended the policy of dividing Indian lands into small plots for individual families and selling the rest.
Analyze the image below. Look at the powerful symbolism in this card issued by the Communist Party. What messages is this card trying to convey to Americans about the Communist Party in 1930s?
It evokes iconic images of emancipation, equating freedom and liberty with the Communist Party. It depicts working Americans united under the American and Communist flags, emphasizing the Americanization of the movement. It prominently features African-Americans, thus demonstrating the Communist Party's commitment to supporting people of all races.
Huey Long was one of the more colorful political figures of the 1930s. Identify the statements that describe Long and his Share the Wealth movement.
Long came from a conservative Louisiana family. Long wanted to confiscate most of the wealth of the richest Americans. Long dominated Louisiana state politics even from Washington, D.C., after his election to the senate. Long used his power to build roads, schools, and hospitals.
During the Depression, there were widespread calls for women to remove themselves from the labor market to make room for unemployed men. Identify the statements that describe women during the Depression.
Many employers refused to hire married women. The profile of women was raised during the era by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who both advised the president. Millions of female domestic servants were excluded from Social Security, excluding them from age-old pensions and unemployment benefits.
Identify the statements that describe Mexican-Americans' experiences during the Depression.
Mexican-American leaders sought greater rights for Mexican-Americans by claiming to be white Americans in order to avoid discrimination similar to African-Americans.
The era of the New Deal as a far-reaching social reform was coming to an end by 1941. Why did southern Democrats turn on Roosevelt?
Roosevelt encouraged the election of more liberal politicians in the region in 1938. The "Report on the Economic Conditions in the South" revealed that the South lagged behind the rest of the nation in industrialization, health, and education.
What does Roosevelt mean by the difference between the definition of liberty that has existed in the past and his own "broader definition of liberty"?
Roosevelt felt that his New Deal walked a fine line between too much government and too little. Roosevelt equated freedom with economic security and independence, and rejected the liberty of contract, which served the interests of "the privileged few."
The public assistance programs established by Social Security, notably aid to dependent children and to the poor and elderly, were open to all Americans who could demonstrate need. Identify the ways in which blacks were prevented from benefiting from this limited assistance.
States were allowed to apply "moral" standards of eligibility, making discrimination against blacks common practice. States set benefit levels extremely low and set eligibility standards that discriminated against blacks. Because many blacks worked in jobs where they did not pay Social Security taxes, most were eligible only for government handouts that came with a stigma. Blacks represented the majority of domestic servant jobs, which did not pay Social Security taxes; therefore, most were eligible only for government handouts that came with a stigma.
In many instances the New Deal reinforced segregation and disappointed blacks who had voted for broad changes to the nation's race system. Identify the ways in which the New Deal failed African-Americans.
The Civilian Conservation Corps maintained segregation by creating separate camps for blacks and whites. Federal housing policy reinforced existing residential segregation in municipalities in both the North and South. FDR did not succeed in passing antilynching legislation in Congress. In the South, New Deal construction projects refused to hire black workers.
In the mid-1930s, for the first time in American history, the left enjoyed a shaping influence on the nation's politics and culture. Identify the statements that describe the communist movement in America.
The Communist Party sought to ally themselves with socialists and New Dealers during the time of the Popular Front. The Popular Front and its focus on civil liberties brought the Communist Party respectability, helping to create a more pluralistic understanding of Americanism.
FDR made a serious political miscalculation regarding the Supreme Court. Identify the statements that describe the Court fight.
The Court fight started because Roosevelt was worried that a court almost wholly appointed by Republicans would invalidate much of his New Deal. FDR's attempt to pack the court—or add additional justices—raised cries that he was an aspiring dictator. The Court fight resulted in a fundamental shift in court behavior that tended to follow election returns.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) came out of the Hundred Days. Identify the statements that describe the TVA and its mission.
The TVA would provide cheap and easy access to electricity for homes and industry in seven southern states. The TVA was a series of dams designed to control the flooding on the Tennessee River and its tributaries.
The New Deal had many opponents. Identify the statements that describe New Deal opposition.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce accused FDR and the government of trying to "Sovietize" America. Many argued that the New Deal would undermine fiscal responsibility and that its government regulations restricted American freedom.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) was the first union to unionize an entire industry successfully. Identify the statements that describe the UAW.
The UAW's membership swelled to 400,000 by 1937. The UAW used sit-down strike tactics to force concessions from management. The Ford Motor Company was the final holdout against the UAW.
Identify the statements that describe the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The WPA constructed thousands of public buildings and bridges, more than 500,000 miles of roads, and 600 airports. The WPA hired artists and writers for projects including painting murals, writing guidebooks, and authoring histories of the United States. Several of the WPA's Federal Theater Projects were considered very controversial. The WPA created the Federal Theater Project, which put on plays.
The Emergency Banking Act was the first in an unprecedented flurry of legislation passed in the first three months of Roosevelt's administration, a period known as the Hundred Days. Identify the goals of the following legislation passed during the Hundred Days.
This had a $3.3 billion budget and contracted with private construction companies to build roads, schools, hospitals, and other public facilities. Correct label: Public Works Administration This barred commercial banks from becoming involved in the buying and selling of stocks. The law prevented many of the irresponsible practices that had contributed to the stock market crash. Correct label: Glass-Steagall Act The government would work with business leaders to establish codes that set standards for output, prices, and working conditions. This would eliminate cutthroat competition and industry arrangements would be exempt from antitrust laws. Correct label: National Recovery Administration This provided unemployed men with jobs on projects like forest preservation, flood control, and the improvement of national parks and wildlife preserves. Correct label: Civilian Conservation Corps
Identify the missions of the following unions and organizations.
This union was organized based on the craft of a worker, and not by the industry in which the worker worked. Correct label: American Federation of Labor (AFL) This organization wanted to secure "economic freedom and industrial democracy" for American workers. Correct label: Congress of Industrial Workers (CIO) This organization used the sit-down strike as an effective tactic to halt production and force negotiations. Correct label: United Auto Workers (UAW)
Identify the greatest accomplishments of the PWA.
This was the largest man-made structure in history up to its opening in 1941. It would eventually provide 40 percent of the United States' hydroelectric power. Correct label: Grand Coulee Dam The highway connects Miami with Key West, Florida, through a complex system of bridges and roadworks. Correct label: Overseas Highway This massive civil engineering project includes three separate bridges that connect the boroughs of New York City. It was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986. Correct label: Triborough Bridge
Read and analyze the "Voices of Freedom" document from the chapter derived from a 1934 fireside chat with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the excerpt below, FDR outlines his definition of freedom and attempts to mobilize support for New Deal programs. Click on the excerpts below where Roosevelt defends the government's involvement in the recovery of the American economy.
To those who say that our expenditures for public works and other means for recovery are a waste that we cannot afford, I answer that no country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. The course we have followed fits the American practice of Government, a practice of taking action step by step, of regulating only to meet concrete needs, a practice of courageous recognition of change I believe with Abraham Lincoln, that "the legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all or cannot do so well for themselves in their separate and individual capacities."
FDR consistently linked freedom with economic security and identified entrenched economic inequality as its greatest enemy. T or F?
True
In 1938, Roosevelt put Keynesian economic theory to work by increasing the U.S. budget deficit, requesting billions of dollars for work relief and farm aid in an attempt to sustain the purchasing power of individual Americans and stimulate the economy.
True
In 1939 Roosevelt put Keynesian economic theory to work by requesting billions of dollars for work relief and farm aid in an attempt to sustain the purchasing power of individual Americans and stimulate the economy. T or F?
True
Mechanized agriculture had a damaging effect, intensifying the Dust Bowl.
True
Roosevelt was spurred to initiate the Second New Deal in 1935 because the first had failed to pull the country out of the Depression. While the first New Deal had focused on economic recovery, the Second New Deal would focus on economic security.
True
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was created in 1935 to organize workers by industry rather than by craft, which was the American Federation of Labor's (AFL) traditional policy. T or F?
True
The Wagner Act was based on the premise that unionization and higher wages would aid economic recovery by increasing the purchasing power of Americans.
True
While anti-modernist fundamentalists were seemingly against modern technology, they still used the technology of radio to spread their messages through broadcast stations.
True
Labor unions became more prominent in American life during the period of the New Deal. Identify the statements that describe labor unions during the New Deal and World War II.
Union membership doubled between 1930 and 1940. Unions had become so powerful that U.S. Steel negotiated with its 200,000 workers and the Steel Workers Organization Committee in order to avoid a strike. Unions ultimately helped to raise the standard of living of their workers.
While the concept of American liberty was being redefined by activists and the Supreme Court, the new appreciation for freedom of expression was not universal. Identify the outcomes of the following committees and courts in this process.
established in 1938 to investigate disloyalty Correct label: House Un-American Activities Committee made it a federal crime to "teach, advocate, or encourage" the overthrow of the United States government Correct label: Smith Act
The centerpiece of the Second New Deal legislation was the Social Security Act of 1935. Identify the statements that describe the Social Security Act.
The Social Security Act created a system of unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and aid to the disabled, the elderly poor, and families with dependent children. The ideas put into action in the Social Security Act had been promoted by Progressive reformers.
The Social Security Act of 1935 transformed the relationship between the federal government and American citizens. Identify the statements that describe the Social Security Act.
The Social Security Act was, and still is, funded by taxes collected from employers and employees. The ideas put into action in the Social Security Act had been promoted by Progressive reformers during the early 1900s. The Social Security Act created a system of unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and aid to the disabled, the elderly poor, and families with dependent children.
What was the overall significance of the New Deal and its legacy?
not a significance of the New Deal Correct label: It drastically decreased unemployment and ended the Depression prior to World War II. significance of the New Deal Correct label: It enhanced the power of the national government. It made the Democratic Party the majority party in the country for the next thirty to forty years. It was the first time that the government intervened to promote the right of labor, by recognizing workers' right to organize unions.
In theater, film, and dance, the Popular Front vision of American society sank deep roots and survived much longer than the political moment from which it sprang. Identify the important cultural contributions to the Popular Front.
"Ballad for Americans" Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) American Document (1938)
The Scottsboro case became an international cause célèbre and highlighted the racism prevalent in the American South. Identify the statements that describe the Scottsboro case.
As a result of the case, the Supreme Court greatly expanded the definition of civil liberties, ensuring that defendants have access to effective representation. The case revolved around nine young black men arrested for the rape of two white women in Alabama in 1931.
he Wagner Act enlisted efforts to break up unions in favor of employers.
False
After the initial Emergency Banking Act was passed on March 9, 1933, what other acts were designed by the Roosevelt administration to shore up the American finance system?
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Glass-Steagall Act
Which of the following acts were designed by the Roosevelt administration to shore up the American finance system beyond the initial Emergency Banking Act?
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Glass-Steagall Act
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was a key piece of legislation of the Second New Deal. Identify the statements that describe the REA.
The goal of the REA was to bring electricity to farms. The REA complimented other soil conservation and farm education programs, improving living standards for farmers. The REA was one of the most successful programs of the Second New Deal.
Celebrating the work and life of everyday people was a central focus of artists during the 1930s, as their contributions were seen as genuine expressions of Americanism. T or F?
True
During the Depression, W. E .B. Du Bois led blacks to fight back against economic oppression by leveraging their collective economic power to boycott white-owned establishments.
True
Unlike the Public Works Administration, the Civil Works Administration directly hired construction workers for government-funded and sponsored projects.
True
The Hundred Days were Roosevelt's and Congress's efforts to provide relief and recovery for the majority of Americans from the lingering effects of the Great Depression by the quickest means possible. Which of the following items were part of the flurry of legislation known as the Hundred Days?
abolishing prohibition the National Recovery Administration (NRA) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
A central element of the Popular Front public culture was its mobilization for civil liberties, especially the right of labor to unionize. Identify the accomplishments of the following individuals and courts.
established the Civil Liberties Unit in the Department of Justice Correct label: Attorney General Frank Murphy insisted that constitutional guarantees of free thought and expression were essential to "nearly every form of freedom" and therefore deserved special protection Correct label: Supreme Court headed a Senate subcommittee that exposed the methods that employers used to combat unionization, including spies, private police forces, and violence Correct label: Robert M. La Follette Jr.
In 1933, John Maynard Keynes, the father of demand-side economics, wrote to FDR that his New Deal approach made him "the trustee for those in every country who seek to mend the evils of our condition by reasoned experiment within the framework of the existing social system." What was Keynes implying about Roosevelt's approach? Complete the following passage.
left, right, unregulated
The ideas of the New Deal extended much longer than the actual time period in which the New Deal operated. In fact, New Deal legacies continue to be felt to this day. According to this video entitled "Significance of the New Deal," which of the following were political legacies brought about by the New Deal?
made the Democratic Party the majority party for the next forty years enhanced the power of the national government created a permanent administrative state
Identify the contributions of the following individuals and groups to the Popular Front.
mobilized popular support for black defendants victimized by a racist criminal justice system Correct label: International Labor Defense American composer whose song "Ballad for Americans" celebrated the religious, racial, and ethnic diversity of American society Correct label: Earl Robinson photographer who captured everyday life of migrants and sharecroppers Correct label: Dorothea Lange dancer whose choreography included multicultural features of America's past Correct label: Martha Graham
Ironically, the anti-modernist fundamentalists seized the modern technology of the radio to spread their messages through radio shows or outright ownership of broadcast stations. T or F?
true
While the American version of the welfare state created by the Social Security Act of 1935 was a radical departure from previous U.S. government policy, it was much more decentralized, covered fewer citizens, and was less well funded than that of its European counterparts. T or F?
true
