A Journey into Human History

After assuming the presidency, Roosevelt lost no time in taking bold steps to fight back against the poverty and unemployment plaguing the country. He immediately created a bank holiday and used the time to bring before Congress legislation known as the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed federal agencies to examine all banks before they reopened, thus restoring consumer confidence. He then went on, in his historic first hundred days, to sign numerous other significant pieces of legislation that were geared towards creating jobs, shoring up industry and agriculture, and providing relief to individuals through both refinancing options and direct handouts. Not all of his programs were effective, and many generated significant criticism. Overall, however, these programs helped to stabilize the economy, restore confidence, and change the pessimistic mindset that had overrun the country.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/26-2-the-first-new-deal            

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.    

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     

Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history           

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.       

No part of this podcast is made with generative AI         

Voice narration provided by computerized text-to-speech through voicemaker.in       

For those who prefer ad free listening other options of support are available.         

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-journey-into-human-history--5860966/support

Franklin Roosevelt was a wealthy, well-educated, and popular politician whose history of polio made him a more sympathetic figure to the public. He did not share any specifics of his plan to bring the country out of the Great Depression, but his attitude of optimism and possibility contrasted strongly with Hoover’s defeated misery. The 1932 election was never really in question, and Roosevelt won in a landslide. During the four-month interregnum, however, Americans continued to endure President Hoover’s failed policies, which led the winter of 1932–1933 to be the worst of the Depression, with unemployment rising to record levels.       

When Roosevelt took office in March 1933, he infused the country with a sense of optimism. He still did not have a formal plan but rather invited the American people to join him in the spirit of experimentation. Roosevelt did bring certain beliefs to office: the belief in an active government that would take direct action on federal relief, public works, social services, and direct aid to farmers. But as much as his policies, Roosevelt’s own personality and engaging manner helped the country feel that they were going to get back on track.           

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/26-1-the-rise-of-franklin-roosevelt            

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.    

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     

Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history           

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.       

No part of this podcast is made with generative AI         

Voice narration provided by computerized text-to-speech through voicemaker.in       

For those who prefer ad free listening other options of support are available.          

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-journey-into-human-history--5860966/support

In Hoover, Americans got the president they had wanted, at least at first. He was third in a line of free-market Republican presidents, elected to continue the policies that had served the economy so well. But when the stock market crashed in 1929, and the underlying weaknesses in the economy came to the fore, Hoover did not act with clear intentionality and speed. His record as a president will likely always bear the taint of his unwillingness to push through substantial government aid, but, despite that failing, his record is not without minor accomplishments. Hoover’s international policies, particularly in regard to Latin America, served the country well. And while his attitude toward civil rights mirrored his conviction that government intervention was a negative force, he did play a key role changing living conditions for Native Americans. In all, it was his—and the country’s—bad luck that his presidency ultimately required a very different philosophy than the one that had gotten him elected.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/25-4-assessing-the-hoover-years-on-the-eve-of-the-new-deal            

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.    

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     

Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history           

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.       

No part of this podcast is made with generative AI         

Voice narration provided by computerized text-to-speech through voicemaker.in       

For those who prefer ad free listening other options of support are available.          

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-journey-into-human-history--5860966/support

The Great Depression affected huge segments of the American population—sixty million people by one estimate. But certain groups were hit harder than the rest. African Americans faced discrimination in finding employment, as White workers sought even low-wage jobs like housecleaning. Southern Black people moved away from their farms as crop prices failed, migrating en masse to Northern cities, which had little to offer them. Rural Americans were also badly hit. The eight-year drought that began shortly after the stock market crash exacerbated farmers’ and ranchers’ problems. The cultivation of greater amounts of acreage in the preceding decades meant that land was badly overworked, and the drought led to massive and terrible dust storms, creating the region’s nickname, the Dust Bowl. Some farmers tried to remain and buy up more land as neighbors went broke; others simply fled their failed farms and moved away, often to the large-scale migrant farms found in California, to search for a better life that few ever found. Maltreated by Californians who wished to avoid the unwanted competition for jobs that these “Okies” represented, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were left wandering as a result.        There was very little in the way of public assistance to help the poor. While private charities did what they could, the scale of the problem was too large for them to have any lasting effects. People learned to survive as best they could by sending their children out to beg, sharing clothing, and scrounging wood to feed the furnace. Those who could afford it turned to motion pictures for escape. Movies and books during the Great Depression reflected the shift in American cultural norms, away from rugged individualism toward a more community-based lifestyle.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/25-3-the-depths-of-the-great-depression            

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.   

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     

Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history           

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.       

No part of this podcast is made with generative AI         

Voice narration provided by computerized text-to-speech through voicemaker.in       

For those who prefer ad free listening other options of support are available.          

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-journey-into-human-history--5860966/support

President Hoover’s deeply held philosophy of American individualism, which he maintained despite extraordinary economic circumstances, made him particularly unsuited to deal with the crisis of the Great Depression. He greatly resisted government intervention, considering it a path to the downfall of American greatness. His initial response of asking Americans to find their own paths to recovery and seeking voluntary business measures to stimulate the economy could not stem the tide of the Depression. Ultimately, Hoover did create some federal relief programs, such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which sought to boost public confidence in financial institutions by ensuring that they were on solid footing. When this measure did little to help impoverished individuals, he signed the Emergency Relief Act, which allowed the RFC to invest in local public works projects. But even this was too little, too late. The severe limits on the types of projects funded and type of workers used meant that most Americans saw no benefit.          

The American public ultimately responded with anger and protest to Hoover’s apparent inability to create solutions. Protests ranged from factory strikes to farm riots, culminating in the notorious Bonus Army protest in the spring of 1932. Veterans from World War I lobbied to receive their bonuses immediately, rather than waiting until 1945. The government denied them, and in the ensuing chaos, Hoover called in the military to disrupt the protest. The violence of this act was the final blow for Hoover, whose popularity was already at an all-time low.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/25-2-president-hoovers-response            

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.    

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.       

\The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.     

Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history           

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.       

No part of this podcast is made with generative AI         

Voice narration provided by computerized text-to-speech through voicemaker.in       

For those who prefer ad free listening other options of support are available.          

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-journey-into-human-history--5860966/support