Essay on America and the Great Depression - 1882 Words

America and the Great Depression 1. Compare the ideas behind the protest movements of Huey Long and Upton Sinclair. The Era of the Great Depression was one of both desperation and hope. Americans were desperate for a change, desperate for anything to come along that may improve their situation, yet hopeful that the light at the end of the tunnel was near. For many of those living in poverty during the 1930s, the â€Å"radical† leftist movements seen throughout the country appeared to be alternatives to the sometimes ineffective programs of FDR’s New Deal. Two such programs, Huey Long’s â€Å"Share Our Wealth† plan and Upton Sinclair’s End Poverty in California (EPIC) were fairly popular, mainly for their appealing alternatives to the†¦show more content†¦Long’s program became quite popular nationally, at one point the Share Our Wealth Society claimed to have nearly 4.7 million members. Such support only fueled Long’s fire, aspirations for the 1936 presidency. The threat Long presented to the Democrat’s reign in congress was le gitimate. At one time, President Roosevelt named Long â€Å"one of the two most dangerous men in America†. (Biles 123) Though his assassination in 1935 removed the threat of his possible candidacy, the strong support and influence of his followers caused the Roosevelt administration to move slightly more to the left. Upton Sinclair, a former socialist and founder of the EPIC plan, registered with the Democratic party in 1933 so he could run as a major party candidate in the 1934 California election for governor. (Polenberg 120) Though he lost the election, EPIC supporters succeeded in gaining 30 seats in California legislature, which ultimately pushed the state governor to endorse New Deal programs. (Biles 120) Sinclair, well known for a number of books he wrote (which often attacked the â€Å"evils of a capitalistic society†), based his EPIC plan on the idea of creating â€Å"an economy based on use rather than on profit.† (Polenberg 120) EPIC called for the seizure of idle land in California and its transformation into a network of cooperatives to be run and managed by those without jobs. These â€Å"colonies† would be given land to cultivate, as well as factories and production plants to workShow MoreRelatedThe Great Depression Of America920 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Depression A major event in American history that has shaped society today is the great depression that began in 1929 and ended in 1939. The official day the stock market crashed was a a day known as â€Å"black Tuesday†. At the time, the American government was not prepared nor did they have policies in place that made them well prepared for such an event to take place. This unfortunate event threw Americans into a an economic crisis unlike any event experienced before in history and leftRead MoreThe Great Depression Of America1727 Words   |  7 PagesThe Great Depression in America is often believed to have ended when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour and the US entered WWII in December 1941. However, while an exact end date is a matter of debate, it’s obvious the end of the Great Depression correlates somewhat with the beginning of the war, leading many to believe WWII must have ended the Great Depression and triggered the economic recovery of the United States. Many histo rians believe that the government and military spending restimulatedRead MoreThe Great Depression Of America980 Words   |  4 PagesAmerica has been around for many years and during those years people of America have experienced horrible times and fantastic times. There were the world wars, and there were the roaring twenties when America was the fastest growing. After the roaring twenties the American economy took a turn for the worse. After such a prosperous decade, when America went into the depression people were not ready for such a drastic change. Many people didn’t understand how it occurred, but now we have a better understandingRead MoreAmerica in the Great Depression1370 Words   |  5 Pagesdecade, from 1929 to 1940, America’s economy failed to operate at a level that allowed most Americans to attain economic success. A worldwide depression struck countries with market economies at the end of the 1920s. Although the Great Depression was relatively mild in some countries, it was severe in others, especially in the United States. The Great Depression left the American economy in ruins with problems that would take decades to fix. Government involvement increased in an effort to reconstructRead MoreThe Great Depression Of America3487 Words   |  14 Pages The Great Depression If one asks most Americans their opinion about when our nations’ economy crashed the most severely, they would most likely say the period between October 1929, until 1930 when the United States went through the great depression. The great depression was a time where people lost nearly everything, from houses and farms, to families and children. People were starving and left out in the cold. The worst part about this was that once people lost their belongings, they were goneRead MoreThe Great Depression of America514 Words   |  2 Pagesmill in Gary several other factories and companies started to travel to Gary for products because it became a business that lasted for decades. There was great memories in the 1920s with the great depression that had eventually changed in the 1930s. There were a crash of the stock market that was drawn in 1929 with the Great Depression of America. The American had no choice but to share unemployment and poverty. Then there was a decrease in the agriculture market which had a distress effect on theRead MoreThe Great Depression Changed America845 Words   |  4 PagesEssay The Great Depression changed our whole society but not in a bad way. The drop of the stock market gave buyers two choices; work harder to earn their money back or give up. After families lost most of their money they gave up and couldn’t provide for themselves. The Great Depression has majorly affected our current world. The Great Depression had shown how big companies affected America, how much the Executive branches power had grown and how the bank could not always be trusted. The Great DepressionRead MoreThe Great Depression Trademarks America1544 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Depression trademarks America at its all-time historical down point. In FDR’s Folly, Powell spotlights the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, astronomical levels of unemployment, as well as the New Deal program developed to combat the Great Depression. Powell, who was born and educated in London, earned a master’s degree in history and he clearly demonstrates his views to the reader. In his words, FDR’s presidency did not aid the economic state but drove it further back as well asRead MoreThe Great Depression And Its Effects On America2001 Words   |  9 PagesThe Great Depression was an incredibly dull time in the historical backdrop of the United States, impacting all the financial assets of the American lifestyle. The Great Depression shattered the financial status of the United States. President Roosevelt has been known for sparing the U.S out of the financial turmoil it found itself in from the Great Depression. The causative components of t he Great Depression are still up for debate by many students of history and economics. For some individualsRead More The Great Depression in America Essay2388 Words   |  10 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Great Depression was a huge economic downfall in North America and involved many other industrialized countries of the world. The Depression began in 1929 and lasted for about ten years. Millions of people lost their jobs along with many businesses going bankrupt. The common misconception of the Great Depression is people think that the stock market crash was the main cause for it. There were many causes for the Depression; unequal distribution of money during the