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The West Between
the Wars 1919-1939
Chapter 19
A.
The League of Nations could
not solve many of the new conflicts.
The United States did not
become a member of the
League of Nations, because
Americans did not want to be
involved in European affairs.
B.
The League of Nations could
not use military force and had to rely
only on economic sanctions (denying
trade or financial aid) to stop
aggression.
C.
The Germans complained about
having to pay back (reparations)
the $33 Billion that was required
by the Treaty of Versailles
Financial Crisis In Germany
Inflation
Because they did not
increase taxes, the
German government
simply printed money to
pay for wartime
expenses. This
drastically lowered the
value of the peoples’
money.
D. The huge inflation meant that
the German people suffered terribly.
The Dawes Plan loaned Germany
$200 million and reduced the
reparation requirements.
G.
In 1928, 63 nations signed the
Kellogg-Briand pact, in which
they pledged to renounce
war
as an instrument of
national
policy.
While Germany had been forced
to reduce its military, no other
nation was willing to take that
step.
European nations still did not
trust each other.
The Great Depression
A. Europe began the Great
Depression in 1929.
During a depression there is
very low economic activity and
high unemployment.
The Depression Turns Global
• U.S. bankers demanded repayment of their
overseas loans.
• American investors withdrew their money
from Europe and raised tariffs.
• European nations responded by raising tariffs
(taxes on imported goods).
• Germany and Austria were the hardest hit.
B.
The Great Depression had two
main causes:
1. Farmers expenses rose higher
than the prices they received for
their product. Farmers could not
payback their loans, so they lost
their farms.
2. The second cause was the
collapse of the U.S. stock market
in 1929.
In August 1929, many investors were
worried that the economic boom might
end so they began selling off their
stocks. The rash of selling caused the
stock prices to fall.
The Stock
Market Crash
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On Tuesday October 29th, also known as
Black Tuesday, their was a stampede of
selling in the stock market. This
stampede of selling stocks caused
stocks to be worthless.
stock market
12
During the Great Depression, families suffered.
Marriage and birth rates dropped. Hungry parents
searched for food to feed their families. Families
doubled up, taking in aunts, uncles, and cousins.
People felt they were a failure because they could
not find work.
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4. The Nation in Hard Times
During the 1930’s, states from Texas to the
Dakotas suffered a severe drought. High winds
carried away the soil away. As a result, this
area became known as the dust bowl. Dust
storms buried houses and farms. Years of over
grazing cattle on the land caused the disaster.
dust bowl
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Poor farmers lost their farms to the dust
storms. They became migrant workers,
people who moved from one region to
another in search of work.
Poor
farm
families
migrant workers
in the 1930’s
Migrant workers today
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C.
The United States was terribly
affected by the Great Depression.
In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt
was elected President.
By 1933, 15 million people
were out of work.
24.9% unemployment
10% 2009
D.
Roosevelt instituted a policy
called the New Deal.
Under the New Deal, the
government created jobs by
funding programs of public
works.
Roosevelt also pushed through
the Social Security Act, which
created a system of old-age
pensions and
unemployment insurance.
E.
While the New Deal may have
prevented a social revolution in
the U.S., it did not solve the
problems of
unemployment.
It was not until World War II
that American workers
regained full employment.
In his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, John
Steinbeck told of the heartbreaking story of the
Okies trying to find new homes in California.
Grant Wood painted an Iowa farmer and his
daughter who look determined enough to
survive any hardship.
Grant Wood
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
American Gothic
(1930)
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