American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 23: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Main themes of Chapter Twenty-three:

  • The economic and structural weaknesses underlying the apparent prosperity of the 1920s that led to the Great Depression, and how the stock market crash of 1929 touched it off


  • The effects of the economic pressures of the Depression on the American people, especially farmers, minorities, and women


  • The cultural milieu of the Depression Era as reflected in photography, radio, movies, books, and the Popular Front, and how the culture reflected both the escapist and populist tendencies of the time


  • The frustrations of Herbert Hoover's administration in dealing with the Depression, and how his inability to ameliorate hard times swept Franklin Delano Roosevelt into the presidency
A thorough study of Chapter Twenty-three should enable the student to understand the following:
  • The relationship between the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression


  • The early beginnings and economic causes for the onset and durability of the Great Depression


  • The problems of unemployment and underemployment, and the inadequacy of relief


  • The particular problems of farmers in the Dust Bowl


  • The impact of the Depression on minorities, particularly African Americans and Hispanic Americans


  • The impact of the Depression on working women and the American family


  • The reflection of the economic crisis and the desire for escape as portrayed in American culture


  • President Herbert Hoover's policies for fighting the Depression


  • The historical and economic debate over the causes of the Great Depression


  • The Great Depression in the context of the global depression afflicting the rest of the globe

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