Canadians Suffer Desperate times settle over Canada during the Great Depression 'I landed in Canada. Social unrest and new political visions emerge during the. As the Great Depression ended the prosperity of the 1920s. Great Depression: American Social Policy. American Social Policy in the Great Depression and World War IIby Jerry D. Marx, Ph. D., University of New Hampshire The Economic Context —The Second Industrial Revolution. America in the 1. Savings during the decade quadrupled. A “housing boom” enabled millions of Americans to own their own home. By 1. 92. 4, about eleven million families were homeowners. Automobiles, electricity, radio, and mass advertising became increasingly influential in the lives of average Americans. Automobiles, once a luxury for rich Americans, now gave industrial workers and farmers much greater mobility. Electricity put an end to much of the backbreaking work in the American home. Electric refrigerators, irons, stoves, and washing machines eventually became “widespread. On the farm, electric tools such as electric saws, pumps, and grinders made farmers more productive. By 1. 92. 2, radios were common sources of news and entertainment for American families. Go to social media navigation. FDR's Fireside Chat on the Purposes and Foundations of the Recovery Program,” from the National. A third group of clinics served as a control by offering usual care for depression.. The PIC program was also. This article explores depression in social. The Great Depression no doubt crystallized these concerns. The Social Security Program in the United States. New York: Meredith Publishing. Edmonton as part of a cross-Canada royal. Government Response to the Great Depression. The Commission also introduced a land settlement program to. Canada’s social security net made. Politics during Canada’s Great Depression. The Depression caused. Program eligibility was limited to one member. By the beginning of the Great Depression, social work in the United States had experienced much growth and. The Great Depression and the New Deal. Social Impact of the Great Depression. While the Social Security program is very complex and deals with more than 6. With improvements in transportation and communication came increases in the mass advertising industry. In addition to all of this, corporations increasingly offered workers fringe benefits and stock- sharing opportunities. The Great Depression. The overall prosperity of the United States in the 1. These were the same populations that had always been at risk in American history: children, older Americans, minorities, female- headed families, people with disabilities, and workers with unstable or low- paying jobs. Patterson, author of America’s Struggle Against Poverty: 1. Over a third of these small farmers were African Americans. This is what Patterson refers to as the “old poverty.”5 The “new poverty” began with the famous stock market crash of 1. Great Depression. This is. In the absence of any government relief programs, free food was distributed to large numbers of the unemployed with private funds. Circa February 1. America. These were hard- working people who fully shared the values and ideals of the American dream, people who had enjoyed the strong economy of the 1. The sudden and severe downturn of the American economy left many of these people in shock and denial. Between 1. 92. 9 and 1. United States jumped from 3. This represented 1. Unemployment in some cities was as high as 8. During this period, consumer spending declined 1. Eighty percent of production capacity in the automobile industry came to a halt. By 1. 93. 2, many politicians, businessmen, and journalists started to contemplate the possibility of massive revolution in the United States. In fact, thousands of the most desperate unemployed workers began raiding food stores. Reminiscent of the food riots during the breakdown of the feudal system in Europe, this looting became widespread by 1. Demonstrations by the poor demanding increased relief often resulted in fights with the police. In places like Harlem, the “sit- down strike” became part of the strategy during these relief demonstrations. A Pittsburgh priest named Father James R. Cox attracted 6. 0,0. Cox in Washington to protest in front of President Herbert Hoover. When 5,0. 00 war veterans demonstrated in Washington in the spring of 1. Hoover sent none other than General Douglas Mac. Arthur and Major Dwight Eisenhower to break up the rally. One observer describes the treatment of the veterans: “The police encircled them. There was some brick throwing. A couple of police retaliated by firing. A man was killed and another seriously. In 1. 93. 2, a group of WWI veterans in Portland, Ore., rallied the Bonus Army to Washington to lobby for early payment of their promised bonuses. They set up camp along the Anacostia River that May. But by July, officials lost patience and went into the camp to evict the marchers. A soldier torched a tent, and the Army began torching everything still standing. Then, some staff cars, and four trucks with baby tanks on them, stopped near the camp. They let the ramps down and the baby tanks rolled out into the street. Each had a gas mask and his belt was full of tear gas bombs. At orders, they brought their bayonets at thrust and moved in. The bayonets were used to jab people, to make them move. Flames were coming up, where the soldiers had set fire to the buildings housing protesters to drive these people out.”1. The Political Response—Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal. One observer pointed out to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) upon taking office that, given the present crisis, he would be either the worst or greatest president in American history. Roosevelt is said to have responded: “If I fail, I shall be the last one.”1. By the time Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1. United States were in a state of upheaval. Americans who had grown up promoting the ideology of the “deserving and undeserving poor” and the stigma of poor relief were now standing in line for relief. Private nonprofit organizations such as Community Chests, although valiant in their effort, were overwhelmed with requests, unable to meet the needs of their communities. State and local governments, ultimately responsible for their poor throughout American history, now looked for financial assistance. What was needed was an expanded institutional partnership between the federal government and the other sectors of American society in promoting social welfare. In the past, the federal government had been active in other areas such as railroad development and war veteran pensions. However, the American belief, as earlier expressed by President Franklin Pierce to Dorothea Dix, was that the federal government should not be involved in providing poor relief. But now the size of this national crisis required a national solution. The federal government was in the best position to initiate and coordinate national efforts among public, private, and nonprofit sectors of society. As the crisis deepened, progressive leaders and average Americans increasingly demanded that the federal government take greater responsibility in relieving and preventing poverty. One of the more radical policy proposals to address the Great Depression was put forth by Senator Huey Long? Francis Townsend from California. Long (who was later assassinated) proposed a “share the wealth” program where millionaires would be taxed to fund pensions for anyone over 6. The cost of the program, to be funded by an income tax, was projected to be $3. Townsend proposed a special sales tax to pay every American citizen over 6. The total cost of the proposal was estimated to be $2. About 2. 5 million people signed petitions in support of Townsend’s plan! Consequently, the Roosevelt Administration established a two- tier federal system of insurance and relief programs. But to address the social unrest throughout the nation, he took immediate action to create job opportunities. He did so by establishing several federal agencies and programs. One was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration? The relief funds were used to sustain unemployed families during the immediate crisis. The Civilian Works Administration? This federal program created jobs in public works. These public sector jobs included road repair, the digging of drainage ditches and the maintenance of local parks. The Public Works Administration? However, in contrast to the CWA, it focused on complex public works such as dams and airports. Another program started in 1. Civilian Conservation Corps? That is, the Civilian Conservation Corps provided jobs for youth in various parks. Army was used to supervise the youth. Furthermore, Congress passed the Wagner- Peyser Act in 1. This legislation provided federal funding to individual states to develop employment offices. Only 2. 3 states had such services before 1. And finally, though not directly job- related, emergency food programs were set up to prevent starvation. For instance, surplus agricultural goods were distributed to the poor. Also, a relatively small- scale “food stamp” program was established for needy federal workers. Federal reforms during the FDR Administration also included reforms to stabilize the economic sector. These included creation in 1. National Recovery Administration (NRA). This controversial program, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1. More precisely, this federal initiative sought to stabilize the economy by establishing wage and price agreements to curb the slashing of prices and wages during the depression. To further support product prices, production quotas were established to deter the “dumping” of surplus inventories of products on the consumer market. Similarly, the Agricultural Adjustment Agency was created to curtail farm production in order to maintain higher farm prices (and prevent further bankruptcies in the farm sector). Also established in 1. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (signified by the FDIC window sticker at your local bank). A primary responsibility of this entity was to restore public confidence in the banking system. The FDIC worked with participating banks to insure consumer bank deposits against bank insolvency. The federal government also collaborated with banks to address the millions of farms and homes threatened with foreclosure. For example, the federal government directly purchased from banks and refinanced (at a lower interest rate) the mortgages of needy farmers through passage of the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and the Farm Relief Act. Both were enacted in 1. A year later the National Housing Act established the Federal Home Administration (FHA). Through this program the federal government insured home mortgages and home improvement loans, allowing banks to refinance the loans of needy families at lower interest rates. Additional economic reforms included the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1. The goal of the TVA was to facilitate economic development in that region of the country. To this end, dams and generating plants were constructed, providing inexpensive electric power to the region.
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