Economic Development (The Great Depression and the New Deal)

Though there was an incredible amount of economic prosperity in America during the 1920’s, the “Roaring Twenties” came to end with the start of The Great Depression. The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash in October of 1929, but there were many other economic factors before this that led to America’s fall from grace. These factors were individual financial troubles, a slowdown in spending, trouble for farmers, and stock market speculation. Installment plans and buying on credit caused peoples’ debt to skyrocket. The economic prosperity of the 1920’s led many businesses to overproduce products, this overproduction and debt triggered the slowdown in spending. Next drought and over cultivation led to the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl caused many farmers to lose their crops and not be able to pay back loans. Lastly over speculation and buying on margin caused people to invest and lose their life savings in the Stock Market. 

President Hoover preferred a hands off approach and called on businesses to take voluntary action. This voluntary action and his few attempts at aid didn’t work and the country continued to spiral out of control. Because of the little contribution and aid attempts by Hoover, his name became synonymous with the bad times. Hoovervilles were make shift towns made out of scraps by the poor and homeless, Hoover flags were  empty pockets, and Hoover blankets were newspapers. During this time, millions of Americans lost their jobs, life savings, and were living in poverty. The worst part is that the American unemployment rate began its climb that would eventually reach in its peak of 24.9% in 1933. 

The Election of 1932 was an opportunity for change and a new beginning in America. The apparent neglect by President Hoover and Roosevelt’s campaign slogan of, “happy days are here again,” led to Roosevelt winning the election. Roosevelt preferred a more hands on approach to things. The first thing Roosevelt did as president was address the visible problems in America and offer his recovery idea, the New Deal. The New Deal was a series of economic programs created by Roosevelt that focused on the Relief, Recovery, and Reform of the American economy. Some programs of the New Deal were the Civilian Conservation Corps, Tennessee Valley Authority, Civil Works Administration, Social Security Act, National Recovery Act, and Federal Housing Administration. Though some these programs weren’t fair to all Americans, they were designed with the intention of putting Americans back to work, fixing industries, aiding the needy, and building the American economy back up. 

I believe that the Great Depression was one of the darkest times in American history, but it is still important and must be learned from. The quote by George Santayana, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” is extremely relevant and has definitely helped us in the world today. Because of the depression, America has been able to adapt and has made law and regulations that will never allow a situation like this to happen again. Some programs from the New Deal, like Social Security, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, were so successful at addressing their problem, they are still around today. Finally America’s fight to get through the depression and perseverance to recover is truly inspiring and proves how strong America is.

Work Cited

        

Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bilerico.com/2008/12/78319-004-545F8CDD.jpg>.

Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://iws.collin.edu/kwilkison/Online1302home/20th%20Century/HooverTruck.jpg>.

"The Great Depression." Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm>.

"The New Deal." United States American History. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1851.html>.

Class Discussion

Mockingjay Continued

Over the past two months or so I have been reading, on and off, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Like I've said before I really like the Hunger Game series and especially enjoy Mockingjay. There is so much excitement in these books; it makes you want to keep reading. The book is so good and fast paced that I often find myself reading faster and faster, but I have to slow down because I want the book to last.

    In my last blog post I left off where Katniss and her team were thinking of ways to infiltrate the Capitol’s military strong hold, “The Nut”. Since “The Nut” is heavily armored, they decide that the best way to shut it down is to bomb the mountain to start a rock slide. This will block the air vents on the outside of the mountain and force the enemy to flee the base. After the rock slide Katniss and her team are waiting at the end of the train tunnel to take the enemy soldiers in as prisoners and if needed use lethal force. At first the enemies are disorientated and don’t put up much of a fight, but when they realize that they are surrounded they begin to shoot wildly. Command back at District 13 decide that to cut the number of casualties, the “Mockingjay” should give a speech from one of the buildings. After the speech, the fighting continues until somebody shoots her while she is helping an enemy soldier. 

         She wakes up in the hospital with her rival from the Quarter Quell games, Johanna, at her side. Over her time in the hospital, she and Johanna become very good friends. As soon as she is able to walk she is told that she is going to attend Finnick and Annie’s wedding the next day and the wedding is going to be televised to show the strength and resilience of the rebellion. At the reception they bring in a gorgeous wedding cake, which Katniss recognizes to be Peeta’s work. She goes to find Peeta in the hospital, only to find out that the cake decorating was part of his therapy and he is slowly becoming himself again.

     Both Katniss and Johanna want to fight in the war because the rebels are getting closer and closer to the Capitol, but President Coin refuses to let them go until they complete basic training. They think the training will be easy, but Katniss hasn’t fully healed and Johanna is addicted to morphine. This makes their training incredibly difficult and painful, but they eventually complete it. On the last day, Peeta is brought in, with two guards, to start his training Everyone is surprised by President Coin’s decision to let Peeta fight, but she feels that he needs to do something to become stable.

      After Katniss’s last day of training she is assigned to a Special Forces group, known as the “Super Star Team”. Finnick, Gale, Boggs, and a few other incredibly skilled soldiers are on this team. After they are sent out into the field they find out that their main purpose is to shoot propaganda videos for the rebellion. After a week of no action, President Coin sends Peeta, who is still unstable, to join the group. No can understand the President’s reasoning and they decide to handcuff him and set up guards, so nobody gets hurt. The next day they are given orders to go into a cleared town to shoot some videos. They start to act out a battle with live fire and smoke grenades, only to find out that the mines and booby-traps laid out by the Capitol have been moved. During this fake battle the leader of the team, Boggs, steps on a mine which blows his legs off. This sets off a chain reaction that quickly gets out of hand. The team rushes into one of the buildings, dragging Boggs with them.  As soon as they get into the building Boggs gives Katniss command of the team and pass away…

Katniss from The Hunger Games movie

  The Hunger Games is one of my all-time favorite series and I am really enjoying reading this book. I know this might sound like another advertisement but it’s fast paced, actions packed, and you’ll never want to put it down.  I’d definitely recommend this and the other books in the series and if you ever have the opportunity to buy or borrow this book, do it. This book is easy to relate to because of everyday problems experienced by Katniss in her life. In my opinion it’s a must read if you’re a picky reader like me, who normally gets tired of a book in a few chapters because its boring. This series has yet to have a dull part. This book is so good that it has captured mine and millions of peoples’ imaginations, has become a best-seller, and is soon being released as a movie.

HERE'S A LINK ABOUT THE UPCOMING MOVIE OF THE FIRST BOOK THE HUNGER GAMES - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/