Hardship and Suffering During the Depression

1. What were some of Hoover's key convictions about government?        
Hoover believed strongly in the government of the United States, that if there was some type of problem then the government should step in to help. As the reading states, "Like many Americans of the time, Hoover believed that one of government's chief functions was to foster cooperation between competing groups and interests in society.If business and labor were in a conflict, for example, government should step in and help them find a solution that served their mutual interests" Therefore if there was to be some issue with poverty, he believed the government should step in. He did believe that the government's role was to help, but not to control. 
2. What did President Herbert Hoover say and do in response to the Great Depression?       
In response to the great depression, Hoover didn't give "hand outs". As the reading says, "They should take care of the,selves and their families, rather than depend on the government to bail them out. Thus, Hoover opposed any form of federal welfare, or direct relief to the needy" However he did "call together key leaders in the fields of business, banking, and labor. He urged them to work together to find solutions to the nation's economic woes and to act in ways that would not make a bad situation worse" He did things like ask business owners not to cut wages or lay off workers, and laborers to not demand higher prices and go on strike.He also "appealed to Congress to pass a series of measures to reform banking, provide mortgage relief and funnel more federal money into business investment" which was a change considering Hoover's general ideas.
3. Why do you think people blamed Hoover for the nation's difficulties?       
I think people blamed Hoover for the nation's difficulties because he wasn't leading the country when they were in trouble, which is what a president is supposed to do in a time of need. he was only "helping out" and not controlling, but to be frank, the position of president is a controlling position and he shouldn't have become president if he only wanted to help out the country. He also believed that social welfare shouldn't exist because people should be able to know how to make it on their own. Well, that's a super idea Hoover. People needed help so they asked for it, but Hoover was of none.

4. How did Hoover's belief in "rugged individualism" shape his policies during the Great Depression.

Think About:

• what his belief implies about his view of people

• how that translates into the role of government

• Hoover’s policies (How effective were they?)       
Hoover believed (as i already stated) that hand outs are not acceptable, He believed people should "succeed through their own efforts" Although this view did prove that Hoover had faith in the people of his country and did believe they could take care of themselves without assistance. This translates badly into his role in government however. Since Hoover had this belief about the people. he didn't take on a very good leadership role in helping the people, because he didn't think the people actually needed his help. His policies, although inspiring on some level, weren't very effective, people were blaming him left and right for the nation's difficulties.
5. What did the Bonus Army want and how did Hoover respond?      
The bonus army wanted to have the Patman Bill passed again because it was under debate and it would give permission to the government to pay out a bonus to WWI veterans that had not been adequately compensated for their service to the country. In response Hoover said " the Bonus Marchers were 'Communists and persons with criminal records' rather than veterans" he opposed the legislation. Fearing that the group would become violent, he had people gassed, including a baby, two were shot and some injured as well.

6. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt heard about the attack on the Bonus Army, why was he so certain that he would defeat Hoover?

Think About:

• the American public’s impression of Hoover (See your answer to No. 3)

• Hoover’s actions to alleviate the Great Depression (see your answer to No. 4)

• how people judged Hoover after the attack.       
Roosevelt was so certain to defeat Hoover because Hoover was just an awful president. No one liked Hoover, because he wouldn't help them in their time of need, which is what a president is supposed to do. He couldn't man up and be a president when he needed to be, he couldn't lead and he couldn't control the country, only help. What do you think a role in government is for? Hoover also got over 1000 killed that had fought for the country, because they wanted to be paid for their service. Not only was he a bad president, but just a bad person. 

Hardship and Suffering During the Depression

As you read about how people coped with hard times, use the headings below to summarize the Great Depression’s effects on various aspects of American life.

Employment
The Great Depression had a huge effect on employment during the time. The unemployment rate grew greatly, higher then it had ever been during this time, especially for African American's who were already the lowest paid employees and were no suffering from job loss even more so then the white Americans. Most men were accustomed to providing for their families, so when they lost their jobs, they would go out and look for a new one and try to get hired again because they felt they needed to fill their role as a provider for their family. 

Housing
As the reading says "During the Great Depression, as many as 300,000 transients-- or "hoboes" as they were called-- wandered the country hitching rides on railroad box cars and sleeping under bridges" many people were losing their houses because they could no longer pay for them so they were forced to live on the streets during this time. Some even slept in sewer pipes.

Farming
As the reading says "Between 1929 and 1932, about 400,000 farms were lost through foreclosure" There was however an advantage to farming, families could raise their own food and everyone could pretty much eat, but with debt and raising prices during the time, many farmers soon lost their land and could no longer provide for themselves and their families. 


Race relations
The Great Depression hit everyone hard, but the hardest hit were the African Americans. These employees already had the lowest pay and then they started struggling with unemployment as well. According to the reading, the unemployment rate of the African Americans was over 50 percent but the overall unemployment rate was somewhere around 25 percent. In addition to this they had to deal with racial violence and were constantly competing with white Americans for jobs. 

Family life
Although the Great Depression was a struggle placed on families, families were a very positive thing to have during this time. People believed in strong unity of their families during hardship, and instead of being sad, they would spend time together entertaining themselves with board games and listening to the radio even though times were tough. It was important for them to stay strong together. 


Physical health
obviously the physical health of most people decreased during the Great depression. People were starving because they couldn't afford a decent amount of food, for one thing. Another being that people were facing foreclosure and were forced to live on the streets, and this is not a good condition for living and optimum health. to add on to that, some people would sleep in sewer pipes and wrap themselves in newspapers, which is unsanitary. lastly, people often had to give up going to the doctor's or the dentist because they couldn't afford to. 

Emotional health
To start, a lot of people were demoralized to the point where they didn't want to try and survive any longer. During this time the suicide rate rose more then 30 percent and three times as many people were being admitted into mental hospitals compared to the norm. Also, young adults would have to give up their dreams of going to college which is crushing as well as people putting off getting married and having children because they couldn't afford to.  

Explain or define each of the following:

 Dust bowl
The region hit hardest by the Great Depression including parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. 

Shantytown
Little towns consisting of shacks 

Direct Relief

Cash payments or food provided by the government to the poor (did not exist during the great depression)

Causes of the Great Depression

1. What industrial weakness signaled a declining economy in the 1920s?    
The industrial weakness that signaled a declining economy in the 1920's was the superficial prosperity. As the reading states "The superficial prosperity of the late 1920's shrouded weaknesses that would signal the onset of the great depression"
2. What did the experience of farmers and consumers at this time suggest about the health of the economy?    
The experience of farmers and consumers at this time suggests that everyone during the time was going into greater and greater debt. Considering at one time, the farmers were doing well in their business, but after the war demand fell and they lowered their prices. This only forced them into more debt because with lower prices they were farming more products and in order to farm more products you need equipment and you have to take out loans to get equipment. Demand for crops still weren't good. As the reading says "Many lost their farms when banks foreclosed and seized the property as payment for the debt" This suggests that the economy was digging itself a deeper hole and everything was just going badly during this time.
3. How did speculation and margin buying cause stock prices to rise?    
Speculation and margin buying caused stock prices to rise because people were using the little money they had to invest it in stocks and margin buying encouraged this because someone could pay "a small percentage of a stock's price as a down payment and borrowing the rest" made people want to invest what they had on the off chance of gaining a profit from it. This was not discouraged and the unruly buying and selling made the stock prices rise.
4. What happened to ordinary workers during the Great Depression?    
During the great depression, ordinary workers were losing there jobs, millions and millions of people were being laid off. As the reading says "unemployment leaped from 3 percent" up to 25 percent during The Great Depression.
5. How did the Great Depression affect the world economy?    
The Great Depression affected the world economy because in Europe and Germany, they were paying off their debts from the war, Germany paying for damages they had caused and Europe "trying to recover from the ravages of World War I" This made trading and importing European goods difficult as well as selling American products and manufacturing goods abroad.
Define: 
a. Price-Supports: The government would buy surplus crops and sell them on the world market for guaranteed prices.  
b. Credit:  An arrangement in which costumers agreed to buy products now and pay later for their purchases.
c. Dow Jones Industrial Average: The most widely used barometer of the stock market's health                     d. Speculation:   buying stocks and bonds on the chance of a quick profit
e. Buying on Margin:    paying a small percentage of a stock's price as a down payment and borrowing the rest
f. Black Tuesday:    October 29, when the bottom of the market and the nation's confidence fell out
g. Hawley-Smoot Tariff: An act that established the highest protective tariff in united states's history