What Were Some of the Characteristics of the Two Presidents of the Era?

Essay Question 2

• What were some of the characteristics of the two presidents of the era?

The presidents that were in the administration during the great depression were Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover. President Herbert Hoover did not do much to alleviate the crisis: Patience and self-reliance, he argued, were all Americans needed to get them through this “passing incident in our national lives.” But in 1932, Americans elected a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who pledged to use the power of the federal government to make Americans’ lives better. he was extremely effective while in office. one of the most powerful leaders in U.S.

• What were the indicators of the economic slowdown?

Investment spending, capacity utilization, household income, business profits, and inflation fall, while bankruptcies and the unemployment rate rise- (over production of goods, durable goods that would last for years without needing replacement, people buying on credit became popular and allowed them to spend money they didn’t have, unemployment rises, drought or Dust Bowl in the Great Plains takes place preventing the growth of foods therefore resulting in an agricultural slowdown.

• What were the 3 phases of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Plan?

Relief, Recover, and Reform. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal plan consisted of three phases also known as Relief - Immediate action taken to halt the economies deterioration. Recovery - "Pump - Priming" Temporary programs to restart the flow of consumer demand. Reform - Permanent programs to avoid another depression and insure citizens against economic disasters.

• What were some of the major administrations created in the New Deal  and what was the purpose of each?

 TVA- Tennessee Valley Authority to build dams; WPA- the workers progress administration to build highways and buildings; PWA- public works, also put people to work; social security of 1938 established to protect the old; in 1938-40, fighting of trusts and monopolies took place

Paul Conkin, “the new deal accomplished little, it solved few problems and it created new ones”

• Who and how did artists express the Dust Bowl in the 1930s?

Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie (musicians)- “This Land is Your Land” experienced the fury of Black Sunday—a severe dust storm that swept across the Midwestern states