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Election and Re-election of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada from 1921-1930 and from 1935-1948. King was perceived in a fairly neutral manner by the Canadian public and is much like Hoover in the respect that he hid behind the British-North America act in order to justify his lack of action in the economy. Due to his policy of action, he was thrown out of office and replaced by RB Bennett but only for a period of five years. -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
The stock market crash of 1929 occurred on October 28th, 1929, a day that is now referred to as black Tuesday. After months of finical fluctuations, there was a massive sell off on the market as investors lost confidence in its stability. The magnitude of the sell-off set in motion a series of events such as bank failures, farm failures, and business failures, that would ultimately lead to the Great Depression, the worst economic slump in American history. -
Coffee Crisis
The Coffee Crisis, a drastic reduction in the trade of coffee between countries from Brazil, was a significant catalyst of the Great Depression in Latin America. The country’s economy solely relied on coffee and thus they had so much coffee that they used it in the construction of roads. The crisis represented the lack of diversification in Latin American economies and the effect of the poor trade policies these countries adopted throughout the 1920’s. -
Economic Downturn in Canada
The sharp economic downturn in Canada after the Great Depression lead to a drastic reformation of the Canadian economy and political system. Unemployment went over 25%. Foreign industry called branch plants left in a mass exodus from the country. Canadian over-dependency on America lead to a drastic decrease in trade and economic growth. The sharp economic downturn lead to the election of RB Bennett and William Lyon Mackenzie King and the drastic increase in political parties in Canada. -
Import Subsitution Industrialization
ISI or import Substitution Industrialization was an economic policy heavily utilized in Latin America highly based on dependency theory; it was the process of switching from an import economy to an export economy through producing previously imported goods. Vargas in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile heavily utilized the policy; it proved effective in getting Latin America out of the Great Depression. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
Hawley-Smoot Tariff was an act passed by the Hoover administration that drastically increased tariffs in the United States. Such a move is credited as irresponsible as it was a bill that would limit international trade in the middle of the worst economic downturn in history. The critics of the bill were correct in their analysis, in response to the high tariff rates other countries raised their own tariff rates leading to an environment where international trade was drastically reduced. -
Election of Richard B Bennett
Richard B Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada from 1930-1935, was credited with leading Canada during the prime years of the Great Depression. He created his own list of “Canadian alphabet-soup agencies” called Bennett’s New Deal. Furthermore, he gave $20 Million to relief programs but raised tariffs by 50% essentially a zero-sum gain. Bennett was thrown out of office after one term as the Canadian people regarded him as a failure. -
September Revolution
The September Revolution was a political revolution in which the military leader, General Jose Felix Uriburu marched into Buenos Aries unopposed. Uriburu took control over the country and attempted to establish a military dictatorship. His rival, General Justo, won the election forming the Concordancia that relied solely on political corruption and election fraud. The September Revolution represented the political instability in Argentina and throughout Latin America. -
Bank Failures and Federal Reserve Monetary Policy
Bank failures and Federal Reserve monetary policy played a significant role in amplifying the depression. By October of 1930, over 7,000 banks failed due to the massive panic around the country. Since nearly all of the population lost confidence in the bank system, many people were inclined to withdraw all their money at nearly the same time. This overflow of requests for withdrawals or bank runs is what lead thousands of banks to bankruptcy. -
Formation of the Concordancia
The Concordancia was a political alliance in Argentina between the church, the military, and all of the right-wing political forces. The Concordancia was able to hold power in Argentina up until WWII and essentially established a dictator-like presence in the country; it represented the easiness of the population to fall into the hands of an authoritarian regime. -
Inaguration of Franklin Delano Rossevelt
The inauguration of FDR shaped the course of not only the Great Depression but also how the federal government is viewed today. FDR was elected in a landslide after the poor economic policies (voluntarism) of the Hoover Administration. FDR would come to be president of the United States from 1933-1945 and lead America through both of her’s toughest changes: The Great Depression and Word War II. -
New Deal I and New Deal II
New Deal I and New Deal II were the signature polices of the Roosevelt Administration that created a list of new “alphabet soup” agencies such as the TVA, REA, PWA, NRA, and many others. The polices would expand public work projects, establish entitlement programs such as social security, and lead to an overall investment in the nations infrastructure. Unfortunately, the plan did not successful bring America out of the great depression and many argue that it actually prolonged it; World War II. -
Election of Getúlio Vargas
Getuilo Vargas, president of Brazil during the Great Depression, lead Brazil out of the poor economic conditions in the country and created policies that helped the poor. Vargas utlized ISI policies, valorization, and diversification of the Brazillian economy. Vargas is considered one of the most progressive presidents in Brazillan history. -
On-To-Ottawa Trek
The On-To-Ottawa Trek was a massive riot by the Canadian unemployed working in the labor camps; the purpose of the protest was to expose the abuses of the government labor camps that were meant to help people. The protest was amplified by the poor economic policies of RB Bennett and the formation of shantytowns called “Bennett Boroughs”. The Trek represented the poor economic policies of the Bennett administration and the failure of his policies to thwart the depression. -
Dust Bowl Ravages The Heartland
The Dust Bowl was a catastrophic natural disaster that plagued the heartland of the United States for years beginning in 1935. The dust bowl was the term given to the massive clouds of dust the storm would create; it destroyed nearly all-fertile topsoil in the Midwest and lead to a massive exodus to California. The dust bowl destroyed almost all of what was left of American agriculture at the time and only amplified the effects of farm failures due to the Great Depression. -
Opposition to the New Deal and Huey Long
Formal opposition to the New Deal began with the Supreme Court striking down many propositions of the New Deal as unconstitutional such as the NRA. The Republican party also remained opposed to all New Deal policies throughout FDR’s presidency. On the left, Huey Long, a southern socialist who almost gained the U.S. presidency, opposed FDR. However, before he ascended to the presidency he was conveniently assassination year before the election. Opposition to FDR was strong and continues even now. -
Regina Riot
The Regina Riot was one of the most violent riots during the Great Depression period in Canada; thousands of citizens rioted against the abuse in the Canadian work camps and the generally inaction of the government. The riot represented the severe discontent with the Canadian government and political parties. -
Federal Project Number One
Federal Project Number One, a comprehensive program that encompassed all federal arts programs, put thousands of artists back to work creating murals, music, and literature. This program was unique in the sense that this was the first time the federal government funded artistic works to this magnitude; it represented the expansion of government in nearly every facet of economic life. -
Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937
Court Packing, formally called the Judicial, was a bill passed by FDR in order to expand the court by five judges. FDR felt this was necessary as the court was in his view was a board of “lassiez-faire” judicial activists who were naturally disposed to his New Deal Programs. This act received heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle and further proved the political talking point that FDR was an anti-constitution authoritarian. -
Recession of 1937- A Setback for Rossevelt
The Recession of 1937 represented a major setback for FDR and the new deal. Unemployment went from a low of 14% all the way back up to 20%, essentially reversing all the economic gains of the Great Depression. Among all other economic factors, the recession of 1937 represented the failure of FDR to effectively get the economy back on track in a effective and speedy manner.
