Midterm Thursday Will Consist Of An Essay Based On The Vi ✓ Solved

Midterm on Thursday will consist of an essay based on the vi

Midterm on Thursday will consist of an essay based on the video-lectures and assigned readings. Assigned readings: Give Me Liberty, Chapters 20, 21, and 22. Write an essay on ONE of the following prompts (the essay should be 5–6 paragraphs and can only use information from the assigned readings and video lectures and slides):

  1. What were the hopes and successes of Reconstruction after the Civil War? What were the major challenges and setbacks? What contributed to the abrupt end and failure of Reconstruction, and what problems remained in the South in the aftermath?

  2. What led to the Industrial Revolution in the United States? How did industrialization change American society and economy during the Gilded Age? In what ways did the new immigration differ from previous patterns of immigration to the U.S.? How did the new immigration affect American society?

  3. What major social and economic changes occurred in the U.S. during and after World War I? What caused the Great Depression, and how did it affect the nation? What did FDR do about the crisis? How did the government's role in the economy and society change as a result of the Great Depression?

Paper For Above Instructions

Social and Economic Transformation During and After World War I and the Onset of the Great Depression

Prompt addressed: major social and economic changes during/after World War I; causes and effects of the Great Depression; FDR’s response; change in government role.

1. Wartime Transformation and Postwar Adjustment

World War I accelerated the United States' transformation from a largely agrarian society to a modern industrial economy by expanding government contracts, mobilizing labor, and increasing federal intervention in economic planning (Foner, 2017). The war brought rapid urbanization, technological diffusion, and heightened consumer culture; these trends persisted into the 1920s even as the nation demobilized (Foner, 2017). Demobilization produced short-term economic dislocation: veterans returned to a tight labor market, strikes and labor unrest rose in 1919, and the wartime price controls lifted, producing inflationary pressures that undercut real wages (Kennedy, 1999). Social tensions—racial competition for jobs in the North, the Red Scare, and a conservative backlash—shaped politics and policy during the immediate postwar decade (Foner, 2017; Kennedy, 1999).

2. Underlying Causes of the Great Depression

The Great Depression emerged from a combination of structural weaknesses and policy failures rather than a single cause. Financial fragility—characterized by speculative stock-market excesses and an overextended banking system—set the stage for collapse when asset prices fell (Romer, 1990). Monetary contraction by the Federal Reserve and a collapsing banking system transformed a sharp downturn into a prolonged depression: as money supply contracted, spending and investment collapsed (Friedman & Schwartz, 1963; Temin, 1989). Internationally, the gold standard and postwar debt and reparations tangled global trade and constrained monetary policy, spreading deflationary pressure across countries (Eichengreen, 1992). Additional causes included uneven distribution of income, excessive corporate concentration, and over-reliance on credit for consumer durables and construction—conditions discussed in the assigned readings as characterizing the 1920s economy (Foner, 2017).

3. Social and Economic Effects on the Nation

The human consequences of the Depression were pervasive: unemployment soared to unprecedented levels, industrial output plunged, and many families lost savings when banks failed (Foner, 2017; Bernstein, 1987). The crisis undermined public confidence in previously dominant market institutions and catalyzed social dislocation—homelessness, migration (notably to the West and cities), and declines in birth rates and living standards (Kennedy, 1999). Political responses at state and local levels were uneven and often inadequate, creating demand for a strong federal response. The Depression also reshaped culture and politics, fostering demands for social insurance and economic security that had not existed at comparable scale in previous decades (Leuchtenburg, 1963).

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Response: The New Deal

FDR’s New Deal (beginning in 1933) represented a decisive shift in federal action: emergency banking relief, monetary measures, public works programs, and regulatory reforms aimed at stabilizing credit, providing relief, and restoring confidence (Leuchtenburg, 1963; Foner, 2017). Early actions—bank holiday and the Emergency Banking Act—stopped immediate financial panic and reopened sound banks (Roosevelt, 1933). Programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Public Works Administration (PWA), and later the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided direct employment and injected purchasing power into the economy (Leuchtenburg, 1963; Kennedy, 1999). The Social Security Act of 1935 established old-age insurance and laid groundwork for welfare-state institutions; banking and securities regulation (Glass-Steagall, SEC) sought to prevent future collapses (Leuchtenburg, 1963).

5. Transformation of Government’s Role and Long-Term Impacts

Perhaps the most enduring impact was the redefinition of the federal government’s role: from a relatively laissez-faire orientation to an active manager of macroeconomic stability and provider of social insurance (Foner, 2017). Keynesian ideas about deficit spending and countercyclical policy influenced New Deal thinking and later policymaking, even if the New Deal blended pragmatic experimentation with Keynesian elements (Keynes, 1936; Romer, 1990). Regulatory frameworks and social-safety institutions created during the 1930s became pillars of twentieth-century governance, altering expectations about governmental responsibility for employment stability and social welfare (Leuchtenburg, 1963; Bernstein, 1987). While recovery was uneven and complete economic revival awaited wartime mobilization in the 1940s, the New Deal reshaped American political economy and legitimized broader federal intervention to manage crises (Kennedy, 1999; Temin, 1989).

Conclusion

In sum, World War I accelerated economic modernization and social change, but the 1920s’ structural weaknesses—financial fragility, monetary contraction, and international constraints—culminated in the Great Depression. The crisis produced massive human suffering and political demand for federal action. FDR’s New Deal instituted relief, recovery, and reform programs that redefined federal responsibility in the economy and society, establishing institutions and precedents that shaped American governance for decades (Foner, 2017; Leuchtenburg, 1963; Keynes, 1936).

References

  • Foner, E. (2017). Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Chapter 20–22). W.W. Norton & Company. (Assigned reading)
  • Friedman, M., & Schwartz, A. J. (1963). A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960. Princeton University Press.
  • Temin, P. (1989). Lessons from the Great Depression. MIT Press.
  • Romer, C. D. (1990). The Great Crash and the Onset of the Great Depression. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 105(3), 597–624.
  • Leuchtenburg, W. E. (1963). Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940. Harper & Row.
  • Kennedy, D. M. (1999). Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945. Oxford University Press.
  • Eichengreen, B. (1992). Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919–1939. Oxford University Press.
  • Keynes, J. M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Macmillan.
  • Bernstein, M. A. (1987). The Great Depression: Delayed Recovery and Economic Change in America, 1929–1939. Cambridge University Press.
  • Roosevelt, F. D. (1933). First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933. (Primary source)

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