Politics in the 1930s
“In the 1930s one was aware of two great evils - mass unemployment and threat of war.” A quote by a British economist, James Meade. The quote by this economist, can be connected to the 1930s for many different reasons. Back in the 1930s, the politics were very troublesome for many different kinds of reasons. The quote explained how the 1930s was a time period of mass unemployment, as The Great Depression happened in that time period, which is a devastating time period where America faced mass debt and unemployment. The second part of his quote explained the threat of war, back in the 1930s, there was a lot of prejudice and racism, mostly racism on the black community. And threat of war could mean that if the African Americans ever get tired of the prejudice, they could retaliate and cause a mass war. The politics in the 1930s were very troublesome, such as the economy, government, and the racism.
To start, the economy in the 1930s was very troublesome, because the economy was very poor. A reason why the economy in the 1930s was poor, is because of the biggest economic crisis in the history of America, The Great Depression. The crisis was long lasting, and almost touched every area of American life. An article called, “Economy in The Great Depression,” stated, “During Herbert Hoover's presidency, more than 13 million Americans lost their jobs.” The quote by the article explains how poor the economy was, and the mass unemployment rate. With 13 million Americans without jobs, any job opportunity becomes a huge riot on who gets it first. The cause behind the mass unemployment was the unstable economy. The stock markets decreased, leaving over thousands of banks in debt, having to close down. Banks across the U.S. had people rioting, wanting to get their money that was still in the bank before it closed. Another quote by the article previously stated is, “Of those, 62% found themselves out of work for longer than a year; 44% longer than two years; 24% longer than three years; and 11% longer than four years.” This quote explains the unemployment rate, during the 1930s where the depression happened. With so many people out of work, many were too poor to afford actual houses for shelter, or even food to eat. Many were left to thrive for themselves, people looking for any job opportunities, food to eat, and even shelter. Lastly, the article previously stated said, “In the United States, where the Depression was generally worst, industrial production between 1929 and 1933 fell by nearly 47 percent.” This meant that industrial or, manufacturing companies or production companies lost a lot of money, meaning that they could not produce as much as they were able to, before this crisis happened. Another reason on why this was a problem, was that products could not sell as fast and efficient, due to the production decreasing. Hence, the 1930s remained very troublesome.
Secondly, the government back in the 1930s, were very messy during the time period. An article called, “The 1930s - HISTORY,” on page 1-2 it states, “at the same time the government increased relief spending, it also contributed to the crisis by laying off employees and making cuts to health care, education, and other social programs.” This quote explains how the government responded during the crisis, or The Great Depression. This caused major backlash because, most people who were either old or ill had health care to take care of it. Without the health care, most of the people did not have the health care to provide them with the help they needed. This also caused backlash cause a lot of kids who needed education are now out of school, making their chance of getting into college a lot smaller. This also caused many adults lose their jobs due to the relief spending made by the government. Another reason the government was very troublesome in the 1930s was because, a quote on the same article stated, “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.” The quote explains how the president reacted to the whole crisis during the time period The Great Depression was taking place in. It also explains that, over time, iif the people waited for the crisis to end, everything would be okay, but at the same time people were suffering, and people after the crisis would still affect them mentally. Lastly, the article also stated, “The government offered no insurance or compensation for the unemployed, so when people stopped earning, they stopped spending.” This quote demonstrates what happened during the crisis, and how the government was as well. During The Great Depression, government stopped giving out money to people without jobs, so people who stopped earning their money, were unable to spend their money on needs such as food and water. And hence, the reason why the government in the 1930s was a very messy time period.
To start, the economy in the 1930s was very troublesome, because the economy was very poor. A reason why the economy in the 1930s was poor, is because of the biggest economic crisis in the history of America, The Great Depression. The crisis was long lasting, and almost touched every area of American life. An article called, “Economy in The Great Depression,” stated, “During Herbert Hoover's presidency, more than 13 million Americans lost their jobs.” The quote by the article explains how poor the economy was, and the mass unemployment rate. With 13 million Americans without jobs, any job opportunity becomes a huge riot on who gets it first. The cause behind the mass unemployment was the unstable economy. The stock markets decreased, leaving over thousands of banks in debt, having to close down. Banks across the U.S. had people rioting, wanting to get their money that was still in the bank before it closed. Another quote by the article previously stated is, “Of those, 62% found themselves out of work for longer than a year; 44% longer than two years; 24% longer than three years; and 11% longer than four years.” This quote explains the unemployment rate, during the 1930s where the depression happened. With so many people out of work, many were too poor to afford actual houses for shelter, or even food to eat. Many were left to thrive for themselves, people looking for any job opportunities, food to eat, and even shelter. Lastly, the article previously stated said, “In the United States, where the Depression was generally worst, industrial production between 1929 and 1933 fell by nearly 47 percent.” This meant that industrial or, manufacturing companies or production companies lost a lot of money, meaning that they could not produce as much as they were able to, before this crisis happened. Another reason on why this was a problem, was that products could not sell as fast and efficient, due to the production decreasing. Hence, the 1930s remained very troublesome.
Secondly, the government back in the 1930s, were very messy during the time period. An article called, “The 1930s - HISTORY,” on page 1-2 it states, “at the same time the government increased relief spending, it also contributed to the crisis by laying off employees and making cuts to health care, education, and other social programs.” This quote explains how the government responded during the crisis, or The Great Depression. This caused major backlash because, most people who were either old or ill had health care to take care of it. Without the health care, most of the people did not have the health care to provide them with the help they needed. This also caused backlash cause a lot of kids who needed education are now out of school, making their chance of getting into college a lot smaller. This also caused many adults lose their jobs due to the relief spending made by the government. Another reason the government was very troublesome in the 1930s was because, a quote on the same article stated, “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.” The quote explains how the president reacted to the whole crisis during the time period The Great Depression was taking place in. It also explains that, over time, iif the people waited for the crisis to end, everything would be okay, but at the same time people were suffering, and people after the crisis would still affect them mentally. Lastly, the article also stated, “The government offered no insurance or compensation for the unemployed, so when people stopped earning, they stopped spending.” This quote demonstrates what happened during the crisis, and how the government was as well. During The Great Depression, government stopped giving out money to people without jobs, so people who stopped earning their money, were unable to spend their money on needs such as food and water. And hence, the reason why the government in the 1930s was a very messy time period.
Lastly, during the 1930s, racism was a key element that contributed to the politics in the 1930s. An article named, “Race in the 1930s,” on page 1, it states, “the increased presence of Black Americans in Northern cities (where many had migrated during WWII and especially during the Depression) resulted in increased tension between the races there as well.” The quote explains how the racism on black Americans increased. It also explained how black Americans reached the Northern cities, migrating, only to have things get worse. On the same article, it also stated, “Many New Deal programs gave black Americans opportunities they had often lacked in the past, while also helping to bring their daily struggles to light for Northerners.” This quote demonstrated that there were people out there during the 1930s who weren’t prejudice, racist, or white supremacists, and the people were willing to give black Americans a chance at succeeding at life. It also explained how black people barely had any privileges just for being a different race. Last quote in the same article stated, “Projects chronicling the lives of former slaves were also begun under the auspices of these programs.” This quote explains how the projects that were recording former slaves began under the productions of programs to help slaves. And this concludes the reason why racism was so troubling in the 1930s.
To end off, there were many reasons on why the politics in the 1930s were so troublesome. First of all, the economy during the time were detrimental to the people, people around the world had no jobs due to the Stock Market Crash, and families had to adapt to their new lifestyle. To add on, the government in the 1930s did basically nothing to help the people who were suffering, such as President Hoover who said they just had to wait for it to end. And lastly, there was a lot of racism back in the 1930s, especially on the black community. They had to endure the worst things, such as slavery, torture, etc. In conclusion, the 1930s had major events such as the Stock Market Crash or The Great Depression, but everyone knew what they were dealing with, and kept fighting until they finally got out of The Great Depression.
To end off, there were many reasons on why the politics in the 1930s were so troublesome. First of all, the economy during the time were detrimental to the people, people around the world had no jobs due to the Stock Market Crash, and families had to adapt to their new lifestyle. To add on, the government in the 1930s did basically nothing to help the people who were suffering, such as President Hoover who said they just had to wait for it to end. And lastly, there was a lot of racism back in the 1930s, especially on the black community. They had to endure the worst things, such as slavery, torture, etc. In conclusion, the 1930s had major events such as the Stock Market Crash or The Great Depression, but everyone knew what they were dealing with, and kept fighting until they finally got out of The Great Depression.
A newspaper explaining the panics when the Stock Markets started crashing (hence started The Great Depression).