Ch 17 Section 3

Main Idea: As Franklin Roosevelt entered the White House, thousands of businesses and banks shut down and millions of families struggled to get by.

Want in the Land of Plenty

-The past optimism of the nation was no longer. A growing fear overwhelmed the nation.

Fear

-Loss of confidence was greatly detrimental. Some suffered emotionally because they were unemployed. Bankers were unwilling to lend money and businesses hesitated to be innovative.

Starvation

-Food was so cheap and plentiful that farmers were becoming dirt poor in rural areas. However, in cities people were desperately looking through garbage cans for scraps of food.

The Human Cost of the Depression

-Businesses were forced to cut wages as the economy worsened.

Wage Cuts and Unemployment

-Wages severely dropped that was soon followed by lay offs. Bread lines and soup kitchens were very prevalent and the government struggled to feed the poor citizens of the nation.

Hoovervilles

-When people were evicted from their homes, people who did not have family to move in with were forced into makeshift communities dubbed “Hoovervilles.” Some were forced to sleep on park benches, eat from trash cans, and others banded together in hunger riots. Apple sellers were the only surplus of food available in the Pacific Northwest.

The Bonus Army

-The veterans camped outside the White House to demand payment promised to them. Congress rejected their demands, some left and others refused to leave. They were removed using machine guns, tear gas, tanks, and soon after their camp was burned.

Fear of Revolution

-Americans blamed the industrialists and bankers for the Great Depression. Some people were trying to avoid paying taxes others were accused of corrupt business practices.

Radical Alternatives

-The unrest in society offered hope to both Socialists and Communists, who preached that the Depression marked the end of capitalism, which would soon be replaced by a system that distributed goods more fairly.

Using the Forces of Democracy

-No single leader emerged to galvanize them or act as a unifying force. Most Americans clung to their democratic traditions and expressed their anger at the ballot box.

The Election of 1932

-As the presidential election of 1932 approached, the Democrats sensed victory for the first time since 1916.

The Candidates

-The Democrats chose New York Governor Franklin D Roosevelt as their candidate.

The Campaign

-The Democratic platform of 1932, urged the repeal of Prohibition and made general proposals for reform and recovery. The recovery gloomily renominated  Hoover. Americans favored the overthrow of capitalism.

Banking Panic

The 20th amendment was added to the Constitution, changing the date of the presidential inauguration from March to January

Hoover as President acted as a lame duck or an officer with very little influence

The entire banking system disintergrated

Many banks closed

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