The Great Depression - Case Study Example

Introduction It is a known fact that America won the Second World War but it did not win without several adversities. Prior to the war, the country suffered its greatest crisis in history; a blow to its capitalistic roots. The stock market of the United States crashed in October 1929; this crash heralded what is now known as the Great Depression. This topic is of interest because this event, despite its effects on the country’s economy, it served as the spring board that saw the rise of the Pacific Northwest States. The overnight decline of stock values undermined the confidence of consumers in the whole country and this ultimately led to a decline in the economy of the country (Kennedy 13). The effects of the depression were not limited to America only; this depression also affected other countries that were dependent on the USA. The effects of the depression lasted until the spring of 1933. The states of Washington experienced the depression differently compared to other states. This Pacific Northwest state depended on extractive industries for its sustainability such as forest products. These industries fuelled the economy of the states in the Northwestern part of the continental United States. The most notable effect of the great depression is the Pacific Northwest depression that occurred in 1935. This strike, led by the Northwest Council of Sawmill and Timber Workers’ Union (STWU), crippled the lumber industries in the North-western States. The strike lasted for close to four months paralyzing the states of Northern California, Washington and Oregon State, which were heavily reliant on lumber as previously mentioned. The effects of this strike, among others, echoed throughout the aforementioned states during the years that followed the depression. Several of the demands of the unions were met; however, the repercussions of the strike lasted for several decades (Kennedy 25). These strikes were fuelled by violence and they laid the foundation for radicalized lumber workers who would instigate and instigate other strikes in this sector. Section II The great depression is characterized by: i. POVERTY The stock market crash in October 1929 was the start of the Great Depression. This fall in stocks destroyed the confidence of the consumers and investors thus brought about an acute economic decline, which not only affected the United States, but also other countries for about three and a half years. The recovery was not until 1933 spring. All this caused the failure of businesses, unemployment, poverty and homelessness (Kennedy 42). The latter, was the most pronounced with the springing of Hoovervilles, which served as houses for a good number of U.S citizens. Hoovervilles were mainly made up of cardboard boxes, tents and sheds to house people who were homeless. The name, Hoovervilles, was used to mock President Hoover who was blamed for the depression debacle. ii. STRIKES Due to the increased unemployment, the labor movement became desperate because they were unable to protect jobs or even fight for wage rates. The Great Depression was the time of great organizing drives, successful strikes, increased social idealism and political campaigns that had a great impact on the labor law for the future (Kennedy 51). Some of the notable strikes in the Pacific Northwest were among the workers in the Seattle’s docks and canneries, Yakima Valley fruit orchards and the Timber camps of Western Washington. iii. RADICALISM The economic crisis caused by the Great Depression reawakened radical movements that demanded for assistance from the government especially in issues to do with employment. The 1930s was referred to as the ‘Red Decade’ due to the radical ideologies and organizations that mushroomed including the Communist Party (Kennedy 58). Some radicalism included the Communists and Lefties contending with the Anti-Communists and other Fascist groupings in the politics and labor movement. iv. CIVIL RIGHTS Communities of color and civil rights struggled during this period. The colored communities especially of Washington were the ones who experienced more poverty as compared to the whites during the Great Depression and this presented new avenues for political action in a bid to gain equality and end racial segregation. v. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES There was great development after the Great Depression from faculty unions and students’ politics to new campus parks and the improvement of State Universities. vi. POLITICS The governments were unable to respond to the Great Depression and this caused great political unrest, which even created regimes in other countries. Democratic Party became dominant putting an end to the long epoch of the Republican Party domination. Radicals and New Deal reformers pushed politics to the left. The New Deal was the effect of President Roosevelt’s’ administration and was aimed at remaking the economy and also the relationship of the government and its citizens. vii. CULTURE AND THE ARTS This was an era of great experimentation in the arts as radical new ways of seeing; representing and understanding the world were discovered and sought after (Kennedy 62). Technical changes included the popularization of the radio, which made culture more accessible. For instance, The Seattle Art Museum was also created during the Great Depression. viii. EVERYDAY LIFE The Great Depression greatly affected people’s thoughts and their understanding of things such as leisure, sports, women’s education and family relationships because of the new working conditions and unemployment (Kennedy 68). ix. PUBLIC WORKS The Civilian Conservation Corps and others gave jobs to many young citizens and created a legacy in public works improvements such as rebuilding of Washington State: from Grand Coulee Dam to Seattle’s neighbourhood libraries In addition to the abovementioned effects of the great depression on the Pacific Northwest states, there were also social and cultural effects. The great depression resulted in the rise of vices in the U.S. In addition to this, many businesses perished while others became stronger after this depression. The crime rates, attributed to the unemployed workers, increased during this period. Women turned to prostitution as a means to feed their families. The public who were more concerned with surviving the depression neglected services such as healthcare. Section III: Primary Sources According to the National Archives at Seattle, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal proved to be a game changer for the Pacific North-Western States. The deal aimed at spurring economic recovery in America. The Pacific Northwest states suffered a lot, economically, because of the strikes and other mentioned effects of the great depression (Dewing 58). The New Deal aimed at encouraging Americans to work through Federal activism. The new Federal agencies, implemented by the deal, sought to increase agricultural production, stabilize the work force and integrate the unemployed into the workforce. Programs such as the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps workers in National Parks and others spurred economic growth after the depression. The deal also saw the construction of the Bonneville and the Grand Coulee dams that electrified the rural areas in the area. This electrification initiative strengthened the manufacturing industries in the Pacific Northwest. The New Deal was ingenious to say the least; it mitigated the loss people experienced during the Great Depression (Kennedy 125). It did not return the American economy to its earlier prosperity as this was done in the wake of the Second World War. In conclusion, the New Deal implement by Roosevelt benefited the Pacific Northwest states by making them more profitable and able to contribute to the national economy. Section IV: Secondary Sources California, according to the Regions in transition by Rolland Dewing, became a battlefield for the state’s socialists, activists and others. The activists used violence in their protests and were faced by police who were armed with tear-gas and were tasked with suppressing the activists’ civil liberties. The workers went on endless strikes; furthermore, Mexican and Filipino workers opposed the agribusiness structure in the state. The state quickly resisted the New Deal proposed by Roosevelt due to their Republican ties. The state later adopted the plan, which sparked their economy and led to the building of bridges, power plants and dams. The book, Washington in the Pacific Northwest, illustrates the highs and lows the state of Washington underwent during the great depression. It analyzes the aforementioned effects of the depression and finalizes with the recovery process the state underwent after the implementation of the New Deal by the Roosevelt administration. As with other states, the New Deal built dams along the rivers that serviced the state of Washington. The Grand Coulee Dam is an example of this. Its construction led to the economic boom of its surrounding as people sought to live near the dam (Green et al 92). The construction of these dams employed many people, rendered unemployed by the depression. In addition, the dam provided the state and its surrounding with electricity that would spark the emergence of manufacturing industries in the state. The book, Children of the Great Depression delves into the effect the depression had on individuals and societies all over America. Hebert Hoover, born in Oregon did not cope with the great depression as expected. His successor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, developed programs that improved the economic situation of the state (Freedman 104). As with other Pacific Northwest States, the New Deal sought to increase the structures in the state. The impact of the New Deal in the state of Oregon was on a grassroots level. The creation of the reservoir along the Columbia River is the most notable structure. Section V: Article The great depression was first of its kind and for this reason the people during this time were unprepared. Ben S. Bernanke states their lack of preparation and the full effects of the depression in the Non-Monetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression. The economy under Hebert Hoover stalled and almost grinded to a halt after the depression and Franklin Roosevelt saved the situation. Through emergency measures, he rescued the banking system, aided individual states in their reconstruction and reduced the unemployment rates in the country. Roosevelt increased federal spending which raised the country from this infamous depression (Bernake 41 ). The census of 1940 confirmed that unemployment rates in the Pacific Northwest States declined significantly. The participation of America in the Second World War further spurred the economy of the nation and its individual states. Works Cited Bao, Sandra. Washington, Oregon & The Pacific Northwest. 1st ed. Footscray, Vic., Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2011. Print. Bernake Ben S. Non-Monetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression. p(1-54) 1983 Dewing, Rolland. Regions In Transition. 1st ed. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2006. Print. Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression. New York: Clarion Books, 2005. Print. Green, Michael K, Laurie M Carlson, and Susan Allen Myers. Washington In The Pacific Northwest. 1st ed. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2002. Print. Kennedy, David M. The American People In The Great Depression. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print. Read More