The theme of American Democracy and Its Discontents 1919-present represents within it many defining moments and events that changed or supported the change of The United States of America. Through my studies of this time period I found many events that I believe specifically changed how we live our lives to this day. In reviewing these events, the four events that stood out to me as the most significant were the Stock Market Crash which led to the Great Depression, the Equal Rights Amendment, World War II, specifically the attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the U.S. dropping of an atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, and Rowe vs. Wade, the legalization of abortion. One of the most critical lows in Post World War I America was when …show more content…
steel fell from $262 to $22, and General Motors from $73 to $8.” (Foner pg. 633). In fact, U.S. steels economic collapse continued. Within three years, U.S. steel went from 225,000 full-time workers to 0 workers. With banks failing and millions of Americans losing everything they had including their life savings, homes and jobs Americans were desperate for a solution. Americans were leaving the cities they once migrated to for jobs to return to more rural areas in the attempt to grow food and support their families. 33 million U.S. citizens now populated American farmlands in 1935. “Hundreds of thousands of people took to the road in search of work. Hungry men and women lined the streets of major cities. In Detroit, 4,000 children stood in bread lines each day seeking food.” (Foner pg.633). This was indicative of daily life in all the major cities in America. President Hoovers’ reluctance to provide financial aid to individuals came under great criticism. “In 1931, Hoover quoted former President Grover Cleveland from four decades earlier: “The government should not support the people….Federal aid… weakens the sturdiness of our national character.”” In 1930 President Hoover signed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. This tariff increased taxes on all goods imported from other countries and in turn our international trade decreased due to other countries increasing the taxes on imported goods from America. With the failure of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, our government created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Their purpose was to loan money to businesses and homeowners facing foreclosure. This also included funds for public works construction to create jobs. This was supported by President Hoover since it still respected his belief of not handing out free aid to individuals. This was the beginning of Americas’
Schweikart has written over twenty books in his career including popular titles such as, “A Patriot’s History of the United States” and “48 Liberal Lies About American History.” This book analyzes seeming insignificant events and looks at the short and long-term effects on the United States of America. In this book, seven events are looked through in detail and their effects on American Government are explained.
In only these four years, the suicide rate in America had tripled. In FDR’s inaugural address he reassured the country, “This country asks for action and action now.” FDR made his points clear as he explained what was happening as a result of Hoover’s presidency and what he was going to change. Since Americans were left nearly “leaderless” during the previous four years, FDR was very clear about his approach to fix America (Doc E). During Roosevelt’s next one hundred days he proclaimed a “100 Days of Action” in which he built the foundation of what would eventually become The New Deal.
He first went with voluntary cooperated by persuading owners of healthy banks to loan money to the suffering banks. However, that did not work, so he modified his policy by supporting a government agency called the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), government loans to big businesses such as banks and railroad companies. This act/program made the bank failures to decline. Hoover knew he had to do more when the presidential election came up. So he then went more towards the government help by signing the bill that authorized the RFC to loan money to states who needed more resources for the needy and financial help of public work
Hoover’s run of ‘laissev-faire’ influenced the country politically for a good decade, through the introduction of the New Deal. Without the failure of Rugged individualism and the dire consequences of the Wall street crash, the
The longest and most dreadful downturn in economic history tossed millions of the hardworking people of America into poverty, for more than a decade neither the federal government or the free market were able to restore themselves from prosperity. Due to the Great Depression, an impetus was provided for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, this deal would forever change the relationship between the government and the American people. The New Deal was considered to be one of the most remarkable times of political reform in American history. In hindsight, it began to become easier to view the New Deal as the essential response to the Depression. However, the New Deal at the time was only one of the countless possible responses to an American capitalist system that had professedly lost its way.
June 17, 1930 Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. July 21, 1930 Hoover combined federal services into one, called the Veterans Administration. October 21, 1930
Throughout history America has had hundreds of transformative events that have changed the course of history through political, economic, and sociocultural effects. The most significant events aren’t the ones everyone remembers for being exciting but rather the ones that have impacted society and individuals the most. Many of these events that have shaped America most profoundly include wars, presidents, supreme court decisions, but they also include such events such as natural disasters, fires, and even scientific findings. Each event has not only impacted the time period it was set in but also may even still be impacting our lives today. By studying and analyzing America’s history one can learn the struggles and triumphs of a young nation that became the superpower it is today.
The wealth during the 1920s left Americans unprepared for the economic depression they would face in the 1930s. The Great Depression occurred because of overproduction by farmers and factories, consumption of goods decreased, uneven distribution of wealth, and overexpansion of credit. Hoover was president when the depression first began, and he maintained the government’s laissez-faire attitude in the economy. However, after the election of FDR in 1932, his many alphabet soup programs in his first one hundred days in office addressed the nation’s need for change.
I do agree with President Hoover decision to increase the federal involvement in general expenditure. His choice, not to involve, the federal government in controlling businesses, manipulating, and forcing fixed prices. President Hoover was decently in love with the value of the capitalism system and contrives all steps close to socialism. His endeavor to financially assist financial institutions was an inspired pick. However, his refusal to boost the public assistance in augmenting the budget was wrong.
The people who were lucky enough to keep the job they had were paid much less than they were before. More and more people were becoming homeless, and some were struggling to support their family. President Franklin D. Roosevelt put reform and relief measures into place,
Because of the nature of the depression, the people’s personal responsibility were little to blame. As Roosevelt put it, when private facilities cannot provide jobs for the public, it is the government’s role to provide relief. This marked a three term cycle between aiding the working class, and emerging social programs, that inherently strengthened the powers of the federal government. Altogether, this changed the people's interaction with government from being fairly limited before the twentieth century, to federal government control over monetary policies and workforce standards, which enacted long lasting changes in the upcoming form of government (Biles 3).
Roosevelt was the president after Hoover, he served from 1933 to 1945. He thought it was best to have the government take care of the people in this crisis with social programs. “ Instinctively we recognized a deeper need-the need to find through government the instrument of our united purpose.” Hoover's idea did not work he thought more people would try to help out however they did not.
1. What problems did the United States face in the Vietnam War? As the United States struggled against communism in Vietnam, it would face many problems. In the late 1950’s President Eisenhower and later President Kennedy sent military supplies and advisers to South Vietnam. Despite the American aid the Vietcong grew stronger with support from North Vietnam.
How far was the New Deal a turning point in US history? The New Deal was made in response to a set of policies by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) to combat issues caused by the global financial meltdown of 1929, initiated by the Wall Street Crash. This decade long historic financial downturn has been identified as the Great Depression (1929-1939). The New Deal focused on what people refer to as the ‘three R’s’:
and it was a quarrelsome time for race relations. During that period an economic slump, called the Great Depression, had affected many people’s lives as it was the most severe depression ever experienced by an industrialized country. Also factors like the Jim Crow laws and the 2nd Ku Klux Klan resulted in white people discriminating against blacks people. The Great Depresion is an important era in the United States’ history.