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Chapter 18
Great Depression
and
World War II
Question
1. Explain how crop prices helped to
bring about the Great Depression.
2. Explain how the time after WWI
helped to bring about the Great
Depression.
Great Depression and New Deal
Many in South Carolina were already
poor and weren’t hurt much from the
economic crash
•The stock market crash didn’t cause
the Great Depression, it simply showed
the nation the financial problems that
had developed.
•SC had been in depression many years
before the crash. Crop prices had gone
up during World War I, which caused
spending to increase. However…
•When the crop prices dropped many
people were left with items they had
purchased, but could not afford to pay
the installments.
•The conditions in SC continued to get
worse; more banks failed and some
textile mills closed their doors.
Question
3. Explain how the stock market crash
helped to bring about the Great
Depression.
Great Depression and New Deal
The Stock Market did not affect
the common people, but everyone
felt the economic crisis.
•Farmers lost their land to
foreclosure and a railroad went
bankrupt.
–A quarter of the people in SC were
unemployed
–people had no money to spend in
their local stores.
Marriage and birth rates dropped
dramatically as people postponed
starting families because they
could not afford them.
Question
4. In the desperate times of the Great
Depression, who did the people
look to for help?
Great Depression and New Deal
Jobless men getting food at a government
bread line.
Young men wandered from
town to town or rode the rails
searching for work or a
handout.
Charitable organizations, such
as churches and community
groups, could not keep up with
the need for food, clothing and
shelter.
People looked to their
government for help.
Question
5. What were President Roosevelt’s
famous words about the Great
Depression?
Great Depression and New Deal
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
oElected President of the United
States in November 1932
oElected on the promise that he
would bring a New Deal to the
American people.
oBy the time he was inaugurated
in March of 1933 conditions were
even worse.
•Roosevelt told the people
that they had “nothing to
fear but fear itself.”
Franklin D Roosevelt
Question
6. What did FDR do during his first
“Hundred Days” as President?
7. This program became known as…
Great Depression and New Deal
The US supported
Roosevelt’s New Deal
Program
Roosevelt used the radio
to talk to the people in
fireside chats.
During his first ‘Hundred
Days’ in office he started
an aggressive program to
bring nationwide relief,
recovery and reform
Which became known
as the New Deal
Question
8. The six programs (Alphabet
Agencies) of the New Deal?
– What do the abbreviations stand for?
– What did the agency do?
Great Depression and New Deal
CCC
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Put unemployed young men to
work in the nations’ parks
They lived in army camps and sent
most of their pay home to help their
struggling families and pump money
into the economy.
Specific New Deal programs had a
significant and long-term impact on
the people of South Carolina.
CCC workers in SC
The Civilian Conservation Corps
The CCC employed over
50,000 South Carolinians in
reforestation and soil
conservation projects, and in
building state parks
At Hunting Island, Paris
Mountain, Poinsett and Myrtle
Beach State Park
Workers at
Myrtle Beach &
Kings Mountain
State Parks
However the CCC reflected the
prejudices of the times and
was racially segregated.
PWA and WPA
The Public Works Administration (PWA)
&
The Works Progress Administration (WPA)
engaged in building projects that not only
put people to work but also provided
lasting improvements for the community.
School in Georgia built by PWA
•PWA built schools, libraries and
courthouses as well as U.S. Navy
aircraft carriers.
•WPA built highways, airports, bridges
and playgrounds as well as hospitals
and schools.
Bridge on Blue
Ridge Parkway
by WPA
WPA
Artists and writers were also
employed by the WPA.
They produced murals and plays
Recorded interviews with
former slaves that preserved the
historical record of SC African
Americans.
African Americans did not
receive their fair share of New
Deal assistance and continued
to be discriminated against in
hiring by these programs.
Poster and art from WPA
Social Security Act (SSA)
Although the New Deal created
jobs which relieved people’s
despair and economic hardship, it
did not result in economic
recovery.
In order to prevent future
depressions, the Social Security
Act (SSA) was created.
Provided financial protection
for the elderly, the orphaned,
the disabled, and the
unemployed.
Social Security
was supported
by some and
protested by
others
Social Security Act
Men signed up
for SS cards,
which helped to
support the
elderly in the US
Before the Social Security Act, SC
didn’t provide money to help the
elderly.
The cost of this program was
shared by workers and their
employers.
The Social Security’s basic social
welfare legislation created
criticism. However…
The poverty rate for the elderly
declined significantly as a result of
Social Security.
Rural Electrification Act (REA)
The Rural Electrification Act (REA)
Brought power to many of the farms
and rural regions of South Carolina.
By creating power cooperatives
citizens were able to get government
loans and work together to provide
electricity to less populated areas
where commercial power companies
were unwilling to string power lines.
 By 1940, 25% of farms had electricity.
Some farmers were able to install
milking machines and water pumps that
made farming more profitable.
Santee Cooper electricity project
The Santee Cooper electricity project
The largest New Deal project in SC
Built hydroelectric dams on the Santee
and the Cooper Rivers, creating Lake
Marion and Lake Moultrie
Produced power that would light the
region
Not only were jobs created to build the
dams, but also in industries made possible
by the power the project provided.
Bringing electricity to the rural parts of SC
improved living conditions for many.
Santee Dam
Question
9. Despite the efforts of the New
Deal, when did the Great
Depression actually end?
Great Depression and New Deal
Although the New Deal had a
lasting impact on the US and
on South Carolina, it did not
end the Great Depression.
The depression ended only
when the US became
involved in helping the Allies
fight Hitler’s Germany in
World War II.
Question
10. How was World War II able to end
the Great Depression?
World War II & Economy
The Great Depression ended
when World War II began.
The significant economic
growth provided by new
war jobs ended the Great
Depression
South Carolinians enjoyed
full employment
Many South Carolinians
(white & African American,
men & women) joined the
armed forces.
11. What happened to farms when
people left to find jobs in
industries?
World War II & Economy
Marine Corps Recruit Depot at
Parris Island
The expansion of military bases
to meet training needs at Fort
Jackson, Parris Island, the naval
base at Charleston and the new
air base at Columbia stimulated
the local economy. However,
The number of people leaving
the farms for jobs in mills &
industries reduced the work
force and left farms short
handed.
Question
12. What led to an increase in
consumer spending after WW II?
Post-WW II South Carolina
Once the war ended, the United
States’ economic prosperity
continued.
The demand for goods
unavailable in wartime, and the
ability to pay for them with their
wartime savings, led to increased
consumer spending.
Returning veterans used the GI
Bill benefits to get an education
or start new businesses, boosting
the South Carolina economy in
the process.