Реферат: Экономическое развитие США в начале ХХ века и Великая Депрессия

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The Economic Developmentof the <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>USA</st1:country-region></st1:place>in the First Half of the XX Century and the Great Depression.

<span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»; color:#333300">Research paper by

<span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»;color:#333300">TsarevDmitri

<span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»; color:#333300">Grade 10”A”

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<span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»; color:#333300">Scientific adviser (teacher)

<span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»;color:#333300">NadezhdaProkosheva

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<st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»><span Arial Narrow",«sans-serif»;color:#333300">Sevastopol

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The outline

Introduction.                                              p.2

Chapter I: The rise of industry.                            p.3

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The rapid expansion of therailroads

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The growth of big business andgovernment’s control over it      

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People’s struggle for abetter life        

Chapter II: The wave of the immigrationand its influence on the social and economic life in the country.                                  p.6

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The growth of the cities

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The great inventions and anew way of life in cities

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 Trade unions and the era of fight for rights

Chapter III: World war I and itsconsequences for the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.                                                         p.10

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Labor unrest

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Racial unrest (ku-klux Klan,anti – immigration laws)

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The new era (jazz age)

Chapter IV. The Great Depression and The New Deal.:

                                                                          p.13                                                                                                                             

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The beginning of the Great Depressionand its reasons

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F. D. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>and his New Deal

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Government’s efforts toreduce the immigration

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The opposition to the New Deal

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The role of the New Deal in coping the depression

Conclusion.                                                   p.17

Introduction

The modern <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>represents an interesting object of researches for economists of the wholeworld. The country that has managed for a rather short period of time to becomethe world’s economic leader should cause interest. Besides, nowadays <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> showssignificant success in carrying out social programs: in supporting the poorestlayers of the population, in solving the problems of unemployment, racialdiscrimination, criminality, etc. Certainly, a number of problems stillremains, but the general dynamics of development are evident.

The 1920s were called the New Era in American life. This decade was thetime of unprecedented social, economic and political change. It was the timewhen <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>was becoming a modern nation. It was a period of almost uninterruptedprosperity and economic expansion. In 1928 Herbert <st1:City w:st=«on»>Hoover</st1:City>,President of the country, proclaimed,” We in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> are nearer to the finaltriumph over poverty that ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouseis vanishing from among us”. Only fifteen months later, the nation plunged intothe severest and most prolonged economic depression in its history-a depressionthat continued in one form or another for a full decade. The Depression was atraumatic experience for individual Americans, who faced unemployment, the lossof land and other property, and in some cases homelessness and starvation. Butthe country had been able to survive and recover.

There are a lot of problems in the national economy of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Russia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Ukraine</st1:place></st1:country-region> nowadays: the industrialproduction is decreasing, the prices are constantly rising, and the rate ofinflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because many factories andplants are being closed.  This processreminds the period of the Great Depression in the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.  I got interested in this theme for myresearch because I would like to understand the processes taking place in mycountry better.

So, the main aim of this research paper is to understand how <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> beinginfluenced so much by the Depression in the first half of the century was ableto become a super power again in the second half of the XX century. Also I wantto understand why this depression began in the beginning of the XX centurydespite positive social and economic development in the country at that periodof time.

Inmy research I would like to find out:

<span Times New Roman"">   how the life of  <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> changed after the CivilWar  of 1861-1865;

<span Times New Roman"">   how <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, beingsuch a young country has become a super nation;

<span Times New Roman"">    the processes in American life that preceded the Great Depression andhow  they influenced social and economiclife of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>;<span Arial",«sans-serif»; color:#333300;mso-font-kerning:1.0pt">

<span Times New Roman"">    if the Great Depression was an inevitable, or predictable  phenomenon; <span Arial",«sans-serif»; color:#333300;mso-font-kerning:1.0pt">

<span Times New Roman"">    how the <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>managed to cope with the Depression and its consequences. <span Arial",«sans-serif»; color:#333300;mso-font-kerning:1.0pt">

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Chapter 1

The Rise ofBig Business.

 

 

Life in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> changed very much after theCivil war. Americans lost no time in industrializing their nation and inbuilding trade relations with other countries.

As a result of new inventions, economicactivity increased. By the time Americans celebrated their first hundred yearsof independence in 1876, the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>US</st1:place></st1:country-region>was one of the world’s leading industrialized powers. The American economy wasbooming and prosperity was spreading, though half of industrial workers livedin poverty.

The driving force behind the industrialgrowth of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>was the booming railroad industry.As an example I can give the following statistics: in 1865 the nation had about<st1:metricconverter ProductID=«48.000 km» w:st=«on»>48.000 km</st1:metricconverter>of track and by the <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«1900 320.000 km» w:st=«on»>1900 320.000 km</st1:metricconverter> of tracks covered the nation like a giantspider web. It was the biggest railroad in the world.

Some railroaders were laying tracks inthe West; others were making lines in the East and the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Midwest</st1:place>.The south repaired lines which were wrecked during the Civil War and addedseven times more miles of tracks. As railroad crisscrossed the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>,they created a national market for the country’s raw materials and manufacturedgoods. Railroads carried coal from mines, oil from wells, etc.

Also railroads made life better fordifferent merchants who could now deliver goods across the country, shopping bythe mail again. In 1872 Aaron Montgomery Ward, a young salesman had an idea forgiving farmers a greater selection of goods than they could find in localstores. That year he sent out one – page list of items for sale. By 1874 hissingle sheet had grown to a 72 – page catalog.

Ward soon had a competitor which rushedafter the pioneer into this new field of work — Sears, Roebuck and Company.Their catalog including more 1000 pages of items was called “the Great WishBook”.

Madame C. J. Walker created a nationalmarket for her hair – care products both by sending them through the mail andby hiring young women to sell these products door to door. Starting her companyin the early 1900s with $1.50, she was the first African American women in thenation to become the millionaire.

 Of course, such a big system as the railroadsof the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>needed very strict system of regulation. In the beginning of this system it wasvery difficult to regulate it. People had to risk helping trains to go on railswithout failures or disasters on railroads. John Westinghouse’s air brakes andGeorge M. Pullman’s sleeping cars made rail travels safer and more comfortable.

As the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region> industrialized and broadenedits trade links, a group of men emerged who would dominate the economic futureof the country. These were the industrial giants. They had a sense of vision tosee opportunities for production and marketing where others had not. And theyhad the willingness to take risks. The industrial giants were able to use newinventions and corporate systems to make production costs lower and provideproducts and services to growing numbers of consumers.

When <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> entered the 20thcentury, industrial power became concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewerpeople.

Among them there were such people asAndrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. Piermont Morgan and Henry Ford.

Andrew Carnegiewas an immigrant from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Whenhe was young his family emigrated from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Scotland</st1:country-region>to the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.His young life was very difficult. He tried so many different jobs that it isdifficult to imagine how he could work so hard. He started to work, earningonly $1.20 and then he earned $2.50 per week. It was hardly to imagine thatthis boy would be a millionaire in future. But suddenly his talent of beingbusinessman was recovered with his employer which impressed him greatly –Thomas A. Scott. Than his career began growing rapidly.

Andrew Carnegie pioneered many of thechanges in American business. He followed a simple formula for success: “Adoptevery improvement, have the best machinery, and know the most” about yourbusiness. That formula made Carnegie into what admires called a “captain of theindustry.” Carnegie’s first venture was building iron bridges. In 1865 Carnegieand four partners formed the Keystone Bridge Company.

Carnegie knew that steel was better thaniron for large construction projects because it was stronger and more flexible.However, making iron into steel was expensive. But salvation of this problemcame to him during the visit to the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> to his colleague HenryBessemer. Process that was invented by the Henry Bessemer reduced the cost ofthe making steel. Upon his return Carnegie began to produce steel instead ofiron. A year later, Carnegie and several partners chose <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>Pittsburg</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st=«on»>Pennsylvania</st1:State></st1:place>,as the site for a steel mill that used the Bessemer process.

Carnegie’s main wealth started in theperiod between 1870s and 1890s, in the period when steel production was growingrapidly. Competition for customers was fierce. Carnegie was determined to winonly by selling a better product at a lower cost than other companies. He hiredscientists to improve his steel and the best managers he could find to produceit. He also set out to control every step in the steelmaking process. He didnot want to pay outsiders for work his own company could do at a lower cost. Bythe 1890s Carnegie’s company was mining all the ore it needed from its ownmines. His own ships and railroad transported the ore to his <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>Pittsburgh</st1:City></st1:place> mill.

Carnegie was also gaining control of thesteel industry through consolidation. In the 1870s and 1880s he bought outseveral rival companies. In 1892 he combined them to form giant Carnegie SteelCompany. It produced 25 percent of the nation’s steel.

J. PiermontMorgan was another man to start new era of theAmerican economy. In the late 1880s he was the most powerful investment bankerin the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.Believing that cutthroat competition was wasteful, he bought failing railroadsand consolidated them.

Next Morgan decided to merge hisrailroads with steel companies into a single large corporation. Only AndrewCarnegie stood in his way. Instead of challenging Carnegie, the wily Morganoffered to buy him out. The idea appeared to Carnegie who was now 66 years old.He sent Morgan a scrap of paper with his paper with his price on it: $480million. Morgan agreed on the spot.

In 1901 Morgan formed the United StatesSteel Corporation. The largest corporation in the world at that time, it madethree-fifths of the nation’s steel.

John D.Rockefellerwas a person that started his work in the unknown field of business – oil.

In <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«1855 a» w:st=«on»>1855 a</st1:metricconverter> scientist reportedthat oil was a good lubricant for machinery. Refined oil also made an excellentsource of light and heat.

In 1859 the nation’s first oil well wasdrilled in <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State>,spurring a frantic rush for “black gold.” Soon oil wells were pumping in <st1:State w:st=«on»>Kentucky</st1:State>, <st1:State w:st=«on»>Ohio</st1:State>, <st1:State w:st=«on»>Illinois</st1:State>, <st1:State w:st=«on»>Indiana</st1:State>, and <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>West Virginia</st1:place></st1:State>. By theearly 1900s huge new oil fields had been discovered in <st1:State w:st=«on»>Texas</st1:State>,<st1:State w:st=«on»>California</st1:State>, and <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>.

One of the early visitors to <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State>’s oilfields was John D. Rockefeller. Growing up in <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:City w:st=«on»>Cleveland</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st=«on»>Ohio</st1:State></st1:place>,he had started a business to sell farm produce when he was 20 years old.Instead of fighting in the Civil War, he paid for a substitute and expended hisbusiness. In 1862 Rockefeller established an oil-refinering business in <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Cleveland</st1:place></st1:City>. Eight yearslater he reorganized the business as a corporation, Standard Oil of Ohio. Facedwith intense competition and falling prices, Rockefeller set out to gaincontrol of the oil-refinering industry. He made deals with railroads to giverebates to Standard Oil .He could then lower his prices and force rivalrefineries out of business. In a depression that began in 1873, he bought thebankrupt companies.

Henry Fordwas another person who beganto restore American economy. One of the greatest business successes of the1920s – the “Automobile Boom” is closely connected with the name of Henry Ford.Automobile had been produced since 1890s but only the wealthy could affordthem.

By the 1920s, however, automobilefactories were using a less expensive production method. Developed by HenryFord in 1913, the assembly line (conveyor belt) is a system which is used in different kinds of production allover the world even now. This system made the production of automobiles muchcheaper and faster, so almost every American had an opportunity to buy a modelof Ford’s production. The popularity of automobiles helped fuel the economicboom. Industries essential to auto manufacturing, such as steel, glass, rubber,oil refining, and road construction, experienced rapid growth and createdthousands of new jobs. Gas stations and tourist courts (motels) – unknown inhorse-and-buggy days – lined the roadsides. So, Henry Ford made his contribution into economic development andchanging of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

Chapter 2

The wave of immigration

1. The role ofthe immigrants and their life in the cities.

One of the characteristic features ofthe immediate post-Civil War years was the tidal wave of immigration washingacross the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.Between 1860 and 1900   the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>received more than 13 million immigrants. Those were people from all corners ofthe world who hoped to find a better life in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They were landlesspeasants from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Italy</st1:country-region>,unemployed craftsmen from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Germany</st1:country-region>,starving farmers from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Ireland</st1:country-region>…Besides,Americans themselves also moved to the West after <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> had obtained new landsthere and the transcontinental railroad had been built. Americans flocked tothe cities from farms and small towns in huge numbers seeking better jobs andbetters lives. The growth of cities was phenomenal.

Theimmigrants that were arriving from overseas were, for the most part, thelandless, the unskilled, the poor.  Partof their problem was that without money and job skills most of them weretrapped in the great eastern sea cities that simply couldn’t handle them.

So, most of the people who came to the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>United States</st1:country-region> didn’t have happy and                                                                               rich life in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.They lived in small poor houses, and they joined the army of the workless andpoor people. Many immigrants worked at small dirty factories and wereendangered by many different diseases. They were not protected enough, so thisproblem needed to be solved fast.

Many families were able to survive in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> onlybecause their children could earn some money.

 Despite this, millions of immigrants helpedbuild <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.Some of them became rather rich and wealthy. But most of them still were poor,and lived in poor conditions.

2. The greatnew inventions change life of American citizens.

The great technical advances in Americanindustry owed much to American inventors. After the American Revolution therewere no machines to make people’s life easier. There were no cars, telephones,or electric lights. The new inventions that were made in the 19thcentury helped to transform <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>from an agricultural country to a highly developed industrial nation.

AlexanderGraham Bell wasan immigrant from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>.Alexander Bell was a teacher of the deaf children. He taught them how tospeak.  But we know him as  the inventor of the telephone. He was thefirst person to get a patent for this invention. In 1876 he made the firsttelephone… In a few years there were telephones completely in every house ofAmerican cities and people who were far apart could communicate with eachother.

Thomas Alva Edisonwas the greatest inventor in the world’s history. Hemade more than 3000 different inventions: the “ballot machine”, quadruples, he upgraded the <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Bell</st1:place></st1:City>’s telephone, he made the phonograph, andmany other inventions. One of the most useful inventions was the electric bulbthat made houses and streets of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> full with light.

Jan Matzeligerwas an African American who simplified the process of makingshoes. He invented a special machine that could make shoes of many differentsizes easily. Today most of the factories work using the same technology.

In this respect, specialattention should be paid to Henry Ford.He was not only a great businessman, but he was also an inventor. For manyyears people in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>America</st1:country-region> hadto ride horses but in 1896 Ford made one of the first cars in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

He started a factory, the “Ford Motor Company” that madecars. He wanted his cars to be cheap and available for every American. .He useda conveyor belt in his factory. Thank to it, the cars were put togetherquickly, in less than two hours,  andwere not expensive.  With the help of theconveyor line, it was also much easier and quicker to make different products.Conveyor lines are still used in many factories of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> and other countries of theworld.

All these inventions changedAmerican way of life greatly. People began to live better with the help of different machines. The inventionslike the electric bulb, the traffic light (made by Garrett Morgan in 1923), the telephone, the car and the conveyorbelt changed the way Americans lived…

3.  Immigrants arerestrained in rights.

The beginning of the XXcentury was marked with the beginning of the company of social minorities fortheir rights. Immigrants, workers, women and children were those people whofelt bad in the beginning of the XX century As it has been mentioned in one ofthe previous chapters, the living conditions of immigrants were very poor. Theyoften knew English badly, they lived in small crowded houses, and many of themhad to work at factories, being endangered by different diseases. Sometimesimmigrants had to make their children work at factories to feed their families.Taking into consideration these problems, Government accepted a program aboutbuilding many free schools where children of immigrants could study and somenight schools where their parents joined. After few years the child labor wasprohibited in the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Then the law was approved, whichtold that if an immigrant had been living in the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>United States</st1:country-region> for five years already he could be a citizen ofthe <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>and exercise the right to vote. After changing their life many immigrantshelped <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>greatly. Some of them became teachers or doctors, workers or diplomats. Theirlife  was becoming better from year toyear, though they still had a lot of problems.

Immigrants played animportant role in the history of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They made theircontribution into building railroads, making new inventions, that helped <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>America</st1:country-region></st1:place>to become a more developed industrialized country, they took a active part inthe working movement for a better life and civil rights.

4.<span Times New Roman"">    

Women fight for their rights.

Four women were founding waysto make life of the simple Americans better.

Jane Addams helped people ina neighborhood of immigrants in <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>.In 1889 she bought a large old house called Hull House. She bought Hull Housewith her own and with money of some other people. Hull House helped people fromthe neighborhood in many ways. Hull House workers took care of small childrenwhile their parents were at work. Immigrants learned to speak English at HullHouse. Addams helped them to become American citizens. Addams started clubs atsummer camp for children. She started the first playground in <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>. She also worked to get new laws thatwould help the immigrants.

Janie Porter Barrett becamethe colleague of the Jane Addams. She was one who has followed the lead of JaneAddams. In 1890 she started the Locust Street Social Settlement House in <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Virginia</st1:place></st1:State>. At this houseBarrett helped African American women learn better ways to care for their homesand children.

Lillian Wald was one morewoman that wanted other people to be happy. She was a nurse. Her parents wereJewish immigrant. In 1895 Wald started the Henry Street Settlement House. Thishouse had a kindergarten, clubs, English classes, and a library. Lillian Waldalso helped sick people. So she started a visiting nurse program in the <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>New York City</st1:place></st1:City>. Also shestarted school nurse program.

Alice Hamilton was a doctorwho lived first worked at Hull House. She took care of sick children here. Sheunderstood that workers were working at terrible conditions. She understoodthat workers that worked at paint factories became poisoned because of leadthat is in the paint. After the poisoned workers became weak. She showed howto work not to have such poisoning. Alice Hamilton worked also worked to get mew laws for factory workers.

Jane Addams, Janie PorterBarrett, Lillian Wald, Alice Hamilton, and other women proved that women couldmake important changes in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

But soon, after World War I,women began to protest against their discrimination. They helped the country,working as doctors, workers at factories, but they still had no right to vote.They couldn’t vote for their country’s leaders. Many years before that timeSusan B. Anthony and later Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted women to have such aright. They traveled through all over <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> and told men and women thatthe Constitution needed such an amendment. Anthony and Stanton worked togetherfor many years. Elisabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902 and Susan B. Anthony diedin 1906. When they died the Constitution still didn’t allow women to vote.

Other women were working foran amendment to the Constitution. And in 1920 their efforts were a success.Congress accepted the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution which hasguaranteed the right of voting to the American women. Nowadays women work notonly in Congress, they accept such jobs that used to be considered men’s ones.Now rights of women are written in the Constitution. Now there are many womenwho are successful n different spheres of economy of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

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Unions help the workingpeople.

By 1900 millions of Americanswere working in factories. Many of them were immigrants. They spoke littleEnglish, some of them used to be criminals, some of them had to make theirelder children work, too to feed their family. They could not earn enough moneyand they were afraid of being fired. Their children had no opportunity to visitschool so in future they could join the army of unemployed.

Factory workers decided tostart helping themselves. They started labor unions that worked for betterconditions and higher salaries for workers. When employers didn’t want toincrease salaries, workers started demonstrations called strikes. Often theseactions brought losses to the bosses of the factories so they had to acceptrequirements of the workers. Labor unions have helped workers to improveworking conditions.

Samuel Gompers was one of themost famous leaders of the unions. He was a Jewish immigrant from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Hestarted working in factories when he was only 13 years old. He became theleader of the one of the labor unions. Sam felt that workers all over <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> shouldhave unions. He began working to get new legislation that would protect civilrights of proletarians. In 1886 he helped to start the American Federation ofLabor (AFL). Many unions joined the AFL. Gompers was deserved president of theAFL. During his work here this organization prospered and became popular.Slowly AFL changed state of affairs: from that time workers were given bigsalaries, the conditions of places their worked in were completely alwaysexcellent. If something was wrong AFL tried to solve every problem which wascaused by the masters of the factories.

There was one more personthat worried about destiny of workers in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Mary Jones was anIrish immigrant who also helped workers to attend unions. She traveled all overthe <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>and called people to enter unions. She was called by workers “Mother Jones”because she was more than seventy years old and very kind to them. She alsotold people about their rights, helped them in a fight with their bosses.Mother Jones lived to be 100 he died in 1930.

By the beginning of the GreatDepression millions of workers were joining unions.

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The politics of theProgressives.

Between 1900 and <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«1920 a» w:st=«on»>1920 a</st1:metricconverter> reform movementdeveloped in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>which sought to remove injustices and hard ships caused by the new industrialsociety. The people involved in this movement came to be called Progressives. Theytook special measures concerning  thehealth of women and children. They wanted the secret ballot, which would makeelections more honest. Higher education and vocational training would helppeople earn more money. Regulation of the railroads would protect the public.The Progressives worked for all these things. The most important Progressiveidea was that government had the responsibility to help the individual citizen.

On the whole it was a radicallynew movement. It differed from the former politics of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>US</st1:country-region> government, because it was less conservativethan previous generations of the governments that substituted each other fromyear to year in <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’soffice. The integrating of <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>to the world’s business began. From that moment the role of simple citizenbecame also rather high.

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The “Jazz Age”

In the 1920s praised moralityof the Americans cracked. It was a dizzying time. The nation was experiencinggreater prosperity than ever before. With prosperity came change. People beganto create new forms of music and literature. New fashions became the rage. Thewriter F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose novels and stories captured the spirit of thedecade, called it the “Jazz Age.” Others called it the “Roaring Twenties.”

The 1920s was also a time ofconflict. Some Americans, alarmed by rapid changes in values and behavior,struggled to hold on to more familiar ideas and ways of life.

 

Chapter 3

World War I and its influenceon the post-war life of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>

 

In the beginning of World WarI, President of the United States Woodrow Wilson tried to follow the policy ofavoiding involvement in some dangerous conflicts in <st1:place w:st=«on»>Europe</st1:place>.He hoped the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>United States</st1:country-region>would not play the role of mediator to help bring peace to <st1:place w:st=«on»>Europe</st1:place>.So, <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>was not going to enter this war, and kept neutrality.

 Only something extraordinary could make the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>interfere this this bloody war. And soon the reason occurred. The passengersteam – ship “<st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:State w:st=«on»>Lusitania</st1:State></st1:place>”was torpedoed by the German submarine on May 7,1915. This tragic event took thelives of 1.198 people, including 128 American citizens.

Americans were outraged, andPresident Wilson lodged a strong protest with the German government. Althoughthe <st1:State w:st=«on»>Lusitania</st1:State> was in fact carrying arms andexplosives to <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>England</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>apologized, offered to pay damages, and promised not to sink passenger vesselsin future.

After the sinking of the <st1:State w:st=«on»>Lusitania</st1:State>, <st1:City w:st=«on»>Wilson</st1:City> realizedthat the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>could not remain neutral much longer. At his urging in 1916 Congress passed aseries of measures designed to prepare the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> to defend itself fromthe Central Powers.

The National Defense Actdoubled the size of the army, and the Naval Appropriations Bill provided moneyto build warships. The Council of National Defense was formed to direct andcontrol the supply of the nation’s industries and natural resources.

To raise a large army onshort notice, Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917. The“draft” required man between ages of 21 and 30(later between 18 and 45) toregister for military. By war’s end 4 million men were in army, half of whomserved overseas.

 From the verybeginning of the American military action in <st1:place w:st=«on»>Europe</st1:place>it was clear that it was going to be costly. To help finance this unexpectedexpense, in October 1917 Congress passed the War Revenue Act, increasing incometaxes.

The government also raisedmoney by selling liberty bonds. Politicians and movie stars gave speechesurging people to buy bonds. Some 21 million Americans bought bonds – in effect,loaning money to the government. Through these measures, and by increasingtaxes on corporations and on goods such as alcohol and tobacco, the governmentraised $10.8 billion.

The war also placedextraordinary demands on American industry. Almost overnight, factories beganproducing great quantities of tanks, airplanes, guns, and other war materials.The dramatic increase in production would not have been possible without thededication of factory workers. Samuel Gompers and other labor leaders pledgedtheir support, and union members did the rest. During the war, union membershiprose from 2.74 million in 1916 to 4.05 million in 1919.

More than 1 million womenentered the work force, often taking the jobs of men who had joined themilitary. They drove trucks, delivered mail, and made ammunition.

The war also brought manymore African Americans into work force. Northern industries sent agents to theSouth, looking for workers. By 1917, responding to promises of good salariesand fair treatment, as many as half a million black workers had moved north totake factory jobs.

Although most Americans threwthemselves into the war effort, a few held back. Some people firmly believedthat the nation should stay out of <st1:place w:st=«on»>Europe</st1:place>’swars. Others were pacifists. There were about 20.000 pacifists to be drafted.

Afraid that the oppositionwould hurt the war effort, Congress passed the Espionage Act in June 1917. Theact set strict penalties for anyone who interfered with recruiting soldiers ormade statements that might hinder the war effort.

The Sedition Act of May 16,1918, made it illegal to utter disloyal statements about the Constitution, thegovernment, the flag or the armed forces. In 1919 the Supreme Court ruled thatthe government had the right to suspend free speech during wartime.

Labor unrest

During the war, Americanindustry had focused on producing weapons and supplies. With the war over pent– up demands for goods, and for better wages and working hours were unleashed.

However, factories that hadbeen producing war materials could not immediately change to making clothing,shoes, cars, and other goods that a peacetime population demanded. Prices forthese scarce products rose. Meanwhile, returning soldiers, looking for placesto live, drove up the cost of housing. By 1920 prices were twice as high as in1914.

As rents and prices rose,however workers’ wages remained low. During the war American workers had notgone on strike so as not to hurt the war effort. It was now time, theybelieved, to push for higher wages and workdays shorter than 12 hours.

In 1919 union leaders acrossthe nation led workers out on strike. While early strikes succeeded, workersfaced growing opposition as the year wore on.

When shipyard workers in <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Seattle</st1:place></st1:City> walked off theirjobs, other unions in the city showed support by striking, too. <st1:City w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Seattle</st1:place></st1:City>’s mayor turnedthe public against the strikers claiming their leaders they are radical andextremists.

In <st1:State w:st=«on»>Pennsylvania</st1:State>and the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Midwest</st1:place>, striking steelworkers calledfor an end to 12 – hour workdays and 7-day workweeks. Steel mill owners ignoredtheir demands. They also accused the strikers of being linked with radicals.Whether the accusations were true or not, political leaders and newspapersturned against the workers and sided with business leaders.

After four months thestriking steelworkers gave up. This failure dealt a crushing blow to the unionmovement.

Racial unrest

The tense mood of the nationwas seen in racial violence as well. In 1919 white mobs terrorized blackcommunities from <st1:State w:st=«on»>Texas</st1:State> to Washington D.C.Black tenant farmers in <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Arkansas</st1:place></st1:State>were attacked for attempting to form a union. In <st1:City w:st=«on»>Chicago</st1:City>a white mob stoned to death a black swimmer who had strayed into a “white section”of a beach on <st1:place w:st=«on»>Lake Michigan</st1:place>. In the violencewhich followed, 38 people were killed.

Faced with such attacks, andthousands of lynchings since 1890, African Americans launched an anti-lynchingcampaign. In this campaign, the National Association for the Advancement ofColored People called on Congress to make lynching a federal crime.  The Senate, however, refused.

Despite its failure inCongress the National Association continued to bring attention to the issue oflynchings. It won several victories in the 1920s, as when a court struck downan <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>law denying blacks the right to vote.

Chapter 4

The Great Depression

 

1.The beginning of the Great depression and its reasons.

Business began to slow in thefall 1929. The value of stocks drifted down. The decline prompted some peoplepredict that the economic boom was coming to an end.

  The greatesteconomic depression in the world’s history started in 1929. The stock market – sourceof the profit for the biggest part of the population of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>crashed on October 29, 1929. It was the worst day in Stock Market history.  People lost most of their monetary savings.Most of the banks crashed too. Most of the stocks became very cheap and everyonewanted to get rid of them, but no one wanted to buy them. Panic in every lifearea started. Unemployment, panic, chaos, together with wrong politics of thegovernment made this depression more serious than it could be.

Herbert Hoover was thePresident of the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> in the beginning of the GreatDepression. His policy was wrong from the very beginning. He thought that thiscrisis is not very serious, and <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>would overcome it easily. It was his main mistake. It was silly tounderestimate this problem. That is why people didn’t elect him as thePresident for the second time. The person that got people’s sympathy wasFranklin Delano Roosevelt. He felt that the country needed serious changes toovercome. Herbert Hoover didn’t share Roosevelt’s viewing of the situation inthe country, so he became a rough opposition to <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>.In his turn <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place> promised the New Deal tohis country that would help to rebuild American business that was in deepknockout after the beginning of the Depression.

 Three problems were main causes of the GreatDepression.

The first problem was thatfarmers grew more crops than could sell them. They sold crops for less moneythan they spent to plant it. So many farmers didn’t earn enough to pay fortheir farms.

The second problem was thatfactories were making too many products. Americans had no money to buy all theproducts that were being made in the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Factory owners sold theirproducts for less and less money. Many factories were forced to close.Thousands of workers lost their jobs. Unemployment hadreacheditsapogee.

      The thirdproblem was that workers were not earning enough money. Prices for everythingbecame lower and lower. Soon almost everyone was losing lots of money.

All these problems causeddifferent consequences: hunger, poverty, unemployment and closing of manyfactories and companies.

2. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place> and his “NEWDEAL”.

Just before <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>entered office on March 4, <st1:metricconverter ProductID=«1933, a» w:st=«on»>1933, a</st1:metricconverter> bank panic swept the country. Thousands of banks failed,people lost their money. They rushed to the banks to get their money out. Itbecame difficult because everyone wanted to do it and completely no one hadtime to do it. Banks crashed before people had to get their money. Thousands ofunsound banks crashed. Millions of dollars disappeared. People were verydissatisfied. Their dissatisfaction influenced the government policy. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place> made a really wise step. He understood that itwas difficult even for sound banks to meet the demands. He decided to close allbanks for a special bank holiday. When it was time for them to open, he allowedopening only  sound banks. This crisiswas very difficult and hard but <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>found the way to overcome the problem. Some banks loaned money from governmentor bank which had better situation and most of them reopened for business. Thisaction and a series of “fireside chats” gave the people new confidence. Thefirst months of <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>’s administrationwere very busy. During a period of about one hundred days Congress passed manynew laws to provide relief and to promote recovery.

1.<span Times New Roman"">    

Gold ceased to circulate asmoney, and paper dollars were issued. People could repay debts more easily withthe new paper money.

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The Securities Act of 1933provided for government supervision of the issuance of new stock. An act passedin 1934 created the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates thesale of the stock.

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A new farm program wascreated by the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). The AAA raised prices forfarm produce to pre – World War I levels. In return for price supports farmershad to agree to reduce production.

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The Tennessee ValleyAuthority (TVA) began constructing dams on the <st1:place w:st=«on»>Tennessee River</st1:place> electrical power. The TVA sponsored many programs forimproving life in a large area of the South.

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The National IndustrialRecovery Act (NIRA) set up the National Recovery Administration (NRA) to aidindustry and labor. The program tried to help get higher prices for industryand higher wages for labor. The American people were encouraged to buy fromstores that displayed the Blue Edge, a sign which indicated participation inNRA programs. The Public Works Administration (PWA), created by the same act asthe NRA, provided jobs by financing the construction of roads and other publicworks.

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The Civilian Conversion Corps(CCC) provided government jobs for unemployed youths. Much of their work wasdevoted to planting trees, protecting, and building parks.

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The federal Emergency ReliefAdministration (FERA) provided direct aid to the unemployed.

In 1935 the New Deal wasconcentrated more on reform than on recovery. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>wanted to deal with the causes of the Great Depression. He wanted Americanwealth to be distributed more equally. This required the passage of several newlaws. The Revenue Act of 1935| provided a national pension system, unemploymentinsurance, and benefits to the wives and families of deceased workers. TheNational Labor Relations Board (NLRB) gave labor unions the opportunity to winbetter wages.

In July 1935 Congress passedLabor Relations Act. Known as the Wagner Act – after senator Robert E. Wagner,who introduced it – it strengthened the power of the labor unions.

The Wagner Act helped workersby outlawing unfair practices. Employers could no longer refuse no bargain withunion representatives or prevent workers from joining unions. The act set upNational Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which gave labor unions the opportunityto win better wages.

Probably the hardest battleof the New Deal was fought over the Social Security Act. Many people opposedsuch a plan because of its costs to businesses.

<st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>wanted everyone to beincluded, however. Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor and the first woman everappointed to a President’s cabinet knew that many people were against such asweeping bill. In 1935 she drew up the first Social Security Act. The plan wasa form of insurance. Employers and workers would pay taxes to create funds tocover unemployment benefits, old-age pensions, programs for children or insuredworkers who died. The bill covered only about half the work force. Farm anddomestic workers were left out. Despite these limits, however, it gave millionsof workers a sense of security.

The New Deal succeeded inputting many people back to work It gave recovery to the farmers and tobusinesses. But recovery was slow and painful.

3. Government’s efforts to reduce immigration to the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

Efforts to limit immigrationhad begun early in the decade. In 1921 Congress passed an act limiting thenumber of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe – the Europeans mostanxious to come to the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

In 1924 and 1929 Congressimposed even more restrictions on immigrants. Thus, the nation’s history ofnearly unlimited European immigration came to an end. Meanwhile, most Asianimmigration was still banned.

Anti-immigration laws,however, did not apply to people from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Americas</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Nearly 500.000 peopleimmigrated from <st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Mexico</st1:country-region> inthe 1920s, and 950.000 from <st1:place w:st=«on»><st1:country-region w:st=«on»>Canada</st1:country-region></st1:place>.Most Mexicans migrated to the Southwest, where their labors played a vital rolein the growth of farmlands, railroads, and mines.

As the anti-immigrant moodgripped the nation, an old organization took on new life. Leaders of the KuKlux Klan, which had terrorized black southerners during Reconstruction, saw achance to expand the Klan’s strength beyond its base in South.

In 1920 the Klan hired twosales agents to help achieve its goal. In a public campaign boosting “100percent pure Americanism,” they directed hatred against anyone who was not whiteor Protestant. White – hooded Klansmen and their wives now terrorizedCatholics, Jews, Asians, and immigrants as well as African Americans.

By 1925 the Klan had as manyas 5 million members. They helped elect five <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> senators and fourstate governors – in northern as well as southern states.

However, the Klan’sincreasing violence began to weaken its appeal. When a Klan leader wasconvicted of murder in 1925, membership began to drop. By 1930 the Klan hadonly 50.000 members.

4. Opposition to the NewDeal.

There were some people thatwere unsatisfied with the politics  ofthe new

government. Some of themthought that government was not doing enough. Senator Huey P. Long of <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>Louisiana</st1:place></st1:State> proposed aShare Our wealth plan which would redistribute the country’s wealth. Dr.Francis Townsend of <st1:State w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>California</st1:place></st1:State>wanted the government to give everyone over sixty years of age a pension of twohundred dollars per month. Both men had many supporters. Such demands had agreat deal of influence of the establishment of the Social Security system.

Criticism of the New Dealalso came from those who felt that government was doing too much. The UnitedStates Supreme Court decided that some of the new laws, including the AAA andthe NIRA, were unconstitutional. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>thought otherwise. He tried to increase the number of justices on the SupremeCourt. He asked Congress to pass a law allowing him to do this. He hoped toappoint enough new justices to the Court to swing its decisions in favor of theNew Deal. <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place>’s plan failed. But becauseof vacancies which <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place> filled, andchanging opinions among the justices, the Court soon came to accept the newprograms.

There were many objections tothe New Deal. Many business operators resented government interference. Some ofthem disliked <st1:place w:st=«on»>Roosevelt</st1:place> so much that theywould not speak his name, referring him profanely as “that man” in the WhiteHouse. The huge emergency programs which made work for people to do werecriticized for being wasteful. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), whichspent $11 billion in some four years giving people work, was called by itscritics the “we piddle around” agency.

5. The role of the NewDeal in coping with the Depression.

As a whole, the New Deal wasonly partly successful. By 1938, problems still remained high. Unemploymentremained high. As the number of jobs declined, women, blacks, and otherminorities were most often the last hired and the and the first fired. Theyfound themselves excluded from jobs by employers, unions, and even bygovernment policies. Only the increased demand for goods and workers caused bythe World War II brought full recovery. But the New Deal did accomplishsomething. It held the American people together. Dictators arose in manycountries. However, the <st1:country-region w:st=«on»><st1:place w:st=«on»>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> dealt with the depression withoutgiving up its ideals of government. The New Deal did, however, bring a new eraif not a revolution in American life. Since the 1930s government has had theresponsibility of providing a sound, healthy economy. The government is calledupon to reduce unemployment compensation to those who cannot find work, giveaid to the elderly, support the price of farm produce, help individuals obtainbetter housing, and promote quality education. The role of the governmentchanged under the New Deal from noninvolvement to total involvement. The NewDeal pointed the nation in

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