Economic Problems - What was the state of the coalfield 1919-39?
Economic Problems What was the state of the coalfield 1919-39? Between 1920 and 1926, the miner's pay was cut down. This was because the coal industry went crashing down. There was a lack of demand as well as investment. There were also very hard conditions for coal mining in south Wales. The miner's pay became so low that the workers decided to go on a general strike. The miners refused to work until they were paid what they felt they deserved. When the workers went on strike, they aimed it at the government. The government had control over how much money the workers should be paid. The workers felt that the government should look after their workers. A general strike is when everyone in the workers union goes on a strike. If you were part of the union, you would have to go on strike in protest against the low rate of pay you received. The workers wanted to control the work place, but the owners of the coal mines would lock the inside of the work place that the workers could not control the work place. This then led to unemployment. At the end of 1925 unemployment was 14.4%. This kept rising over a few years. In 1926, there was a slump in output and exports of coal in south Wales. This is when the workers went on strike. In 1925, there was 44,630 tons of coal in output and a year later, in 1926, there were only 20,273. The output of coal went down 23,357 in just a year.
Was the New Deal a success? Source based work.
George Bragg - 4.5 Mr. Beavington 25th August 4th year History Coursework: Assignment B/Objective 3 - Was the New Deal a success? Question 1 - Source A tells us why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election because Roosevelt shows many speech giving techniques to persuade the listener. His speech is a patriotic war appeal to America and he uses alliteration to represent the depression, 'Destruction, Delay, Deceit and Despair.' Those four things are the so-called 'war' that he is fighting against and it is this sentence that would have been the headlines the following morning. He talks about 'us' and 'we,' including the listener with him so he is acting as one of the people, not like a dictator who is planning to do things against their will. He uses very personal words such as 'I pledge you, I pledge you,' to try and appeal to the public in a personal way. The speech stresses that Roosevelt is not simply trying to win votes but his aims are for the benefit of the public. When outbreaks of poliomyelitis spread across America in 1921, Roosevelt contracted Polio at the age of 39. He slowly became wheelchair bound but still managed to become the leader of the democrat party and won the sympathy vote from thousands of undecided people. He won respect and managed to overcome the difficulties of Polio, and it was a sign of strength; that if he overcame Polio that he
Did Roosevelt's character, upbringing and background make it easy for him to understand the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans?
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Rachel Armstrong September/October 2003 Did Roosevelt's character, upbringing and background make it easy for him to understand the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans? Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in 1882 into a very wealthy family of Dutch and English ancestry. He spent his childhood in Hyde Park, New York leading a comfortable and spoilt life. He was an only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt. He led a sheltered life as a young boy as a governess educated him privately. He spent his formal education at Groton School, Massachusetts, where he was popular and good at sports. After graduation from school, he went to Harvard University, mixing only with the upper class and in 1904 he gained a law degree, so from this we can understand that he had a good upbringing and was a smart man. In Harvard how ever, he was much more interested by his hobbies, pastimes and social life, and his education tended to take a back seat, but however he got his law degree. He was born into an incredibly wealthy family, and tended to only socialise with those "rich" enough. The family owned a house at Hyde Park, and frequently had extravagant parties. He was brought up into a life of luxury free from hardships, so he would have found it hard for him to understand the suffering and pains of those less fortunate than him. It did not help that he
What was the most significant aspect of Roosevelt's Presidency and the New Deal?
What was the most significant aspect of Roosevelt's Presidency and the New Deal? In this essay I shall first of all weigh up all the different aspect's of Roosevelt's Presidency and the New Deal and finally come about a conclusion as to what was the most significant aspect. However I am going to begin by looking at how his government was different to that of his predecessors, then I shall look at the immediate affects of hi government, then what other changes influenced his government and finally what long term affects his government had. In this section I shall look at the difference between Roosevelt's style of governing as opposed to the Republic government that came before him. I shall first look at Roosevelt's most radical aspect of his politics, his ideas. From 1920 to 1932 the Republican government had many different ideas for how the country should be run compared to Roosevelt's economic ideas. The government of 1920-1932, the Republican's believed in leaving the country to run itself with the least amount of interference. This method of politics is called "Laissez-Faire," this expression is French and translates roughly to "let it be". The governments of the 1920's were all Republican's so they all governed the country basically the same. The Republican's thought that big company's and natural resources would just create wealth for the country and that the
Roosevelt And The New Deal
Roosevelt And The New Deal . USA in 1932 was in a state of depression and despair. After the Wall Street Crash in 1929, millions of jobs were lost and millions were left homeless and starving. Under the rule of President Hoover, the country's condition continued to decline and people had lost all hope of a prosperous future. Ghettos were created and were given the name 'Hoovervilles', to mock the President. Hoover believed in rugged-individualism, and he had a "laissez faire" attitude, which meant that the people had to help themselves to almost everything. There was no government organisation in place to help the poor and unemployed. Instead, Hoover thought that the problem would soon sort itself out without intervention. This however was not the case. People had lost faith in Hoover and needed something else to motivate and help them to find a new future. This came about in the 1932 election, when Franklin Roosevelt was running for President against Hoover. Roosevelt offered a new hope to the people. His policies were the opposite to those of Hoover, and people saw this an opportunity to get out of the depression. Roosevelt believed in helping the poor and unemployed, and giving them a chance. This made people see that the only way out was to vote for Roosevelt. People also were motivated and stimulated by Roosevelt's speeches. He said "This is more than a political
THE USA, 1919 - 1941 ASSIGNMENT 2: ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 2 & 3
THE USA, 1919 - 1941 ASSIGNMENT 2: ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE 2 & 3 WAS THE NEW DEAL A SUCCESS? Q1. Study Source A. Use source A and your own knowledge of the period to explain why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election. The people of America had many reasons for choosing Roosevelt in the 1932 election. Firstly America was in a really bad state. They were in depression and the other candidate Herbert Hoover had done nothing for the first three years. He thought that if he helped people they would become lazy. He called this 'rugged individualism'. Roosevelt offered the people a new option. He said "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a New Deal for the American people." The New Deal promised to help the people and that is exactly what the people wanted. Another reason why Roosevelt was elected was because of his experience as governor of New York. When the depression started most states didn't do anything with the money Hoover gave them but Roosevelt used the money successfully to help the people of New York. He also made his views known about the depression. "I am waging a war against Destruction, Delay, Deceit and Despair." This quote showed that he was going to help them. Also Roosevelt had very good election skills. He was cheerful, optimistic and a good communicator. He showed himself to voters all over the country and appeared very friendly
The great depression.
The Great Depression was arguably the worst economic period this country has faced in its history. People who were well off financially on Monday October 28, 1929 were now broke after Tuesday October 29, 1929, the day the stock market lost $15 billion, and subsequently crashed, setting off the worst 10 year economic period in United States history. People struggled to find food, a place to live, as well as jobs (Watkins, T.H. The Great Depression. Boston: Little Brown and Co, 1993. page 40). With the Depression going on, people needed an outlet. A lot of people wanted to rid themselves of the problems facing their families and the country as a whole, even if it was for a short time. Therefore, some used the entertainment industry as an outlet. Movies, plays and sports were outlets for people facing hard times. Even though some things closed or stopped during the depression, the entertainment industry prevailed (Beaver, Frank. The 1930's. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. page 280). Sports were still the biggest outlet for people. People liked sports for the same reasons they do today, the entertainment value, the competition, and the chance to root on individual players or teams. In baseball and football, a new type of athlete emerged, tough, feisty, and aggressive. Sports provided the basis for the ongoing American myth of individual success and competition during a
Roosevelt, the 1932 election and the New deal. Source based questions.
Question 1 Use source A and your knowledge of the period to explain why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election. FDR encouraged listeners to support him by tell them how serious he considered Americas problems to be, and how dedicated he would be to solving them and giving American people a better way of life. He was dedicated to solving the unemployment, homelessness, Hoovervilles and breadline problems. In Source A he says 'this is more than a political campaign, it is a call to arms...win in this crusade to restore America.' He was good at making powerful speeches, and showed how committed he would be. He talked of how he would use everything in his power to get America back on its feet. After having HH do nothing in the depression, and just watch peoples lives get worse, FDR gave promise and hope, like a fresh new start for America, which it desperately needed. FDR also spoke to Americans as people and recognised all the problems they were having, they saw FDR as a real person, willing to get his hands dirty, instead of like a rigid politician who stays out of the way like republican HH. The words he used to show how serious he thinks the problems were, and how hard he was willing to work to solve them. 'I am waging a war against Destruction, Delay, Deceit and Despair.' These are strong words, and the word 'war' is interpreted by people as a lot of action, a
Policies to end the Depression: Hoover vs. Roosevelt
Policies to end the Depression: Hoover vs. Roosevelt By Carina Uehr "T his campaign is more than a contest between two men. It is more than a contest between two parties. It is a contest between two philosophies of government." - H. Hoover W hen Wall Street crashed in 1929, it spelled the end of a decade of excess. In the 10 years preceding this dramatic event, life (for the middle class upwards at least) had been good. Businesses were booming, and new industries were growing rapidly at a time when consumer confidence was sky-high. When the Stock market crashed on the 24th October 1929, consumer confidence slumped. No-one wanted to spend money anymore, choosing instead to horde it in wait for better times. Even before the Crash, businesses had found that no-one would buy their goods anymore, because everyone who could afford them already had them! Faced with massive losses, bosses cut down production and laid off workers. This massive lay-off of workers caused a huge raise in unemployment which steadily increased until, in 1933, 1 in 4 workers was without a job. Within 5 years, the illusion of wealth and happiness had been cruelly shattered, and was replaced by a general feeling of hopelessness and despair, which named one of the darkest chapters in American history: the great Depression. The two Presidents in power during this time, Herbert Hoover (1919-1933) and
Prohibition - source related study.
History Coursework: Specification: OCR Modern World History GCSE History B 1937 Assignment 2 Center No: 25210 Center Name: John Cleveland College Candidate Number: ****** Question A: Sources A & B are similar in that they are both secondary sources, and they were both written in the 1970's. However they differ in their presentation of information and disagree on causes of prohibition. Source A explains well to the reader why people were in support of a ban on alcohol at that time. The language used is extreme and in support of the decision made - e.g. moral fervour, greatest, no earlier law passed by constitution went against peoples livelihood. It does not mention anything that happened after the introduction of the 'Volstead Act' (1919) apart from the eventual, and perhaps inevitable, failure of prohibition. Source A does not provide evidence for its sensational claims, only offering an interpretation. For example it states that prohibition brought about " the greatest criminal boom... perhaps in all modern history" but does not back up this statement. Whereas Source B is very specific and goes into more detail about the effects of prohibition, giving facts and a quotation from the time. The sources differ in the amount of detail they provide on the reasons for which prohibition was introduced- Source A offers "a number of possible explanations" as to the