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The Federal Music Project ( FMP ) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression . In addition to performing thousands of concerts, offering music classes, organizing the Composers Forum Laboratory, hosting music festivals and creating 34 new orchestras, employees of the FMP researched American traditional music and folk songs, a practice now called ethnomusicology . In the latter domain the Federal Music Project did notable studies on cowboy , Creole , and what was then termed Negro music. During the Great Depression, many people visited these symphonies to forget about the economic hardship of the time. In 1939, the FMP transitioned to the Works Progress Administration 's Music Program, which along with many other WPA projects, was phased out in the midst of World War II.

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149-584: In the grips of the Great Depression , President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed to sharply increase public projects in order to raise employment. This overarching strategy was known as the New Deal. Roosevelt realized the importance of the arts in American culture, stating that the "American Dream… was the promise not only of economic and social justice but also of cultural enrichment." In July 1935

298-702: A Great Contraction of the economy from 1929 until the New Deal began in 1933. This view was endorsed by Fed Governor Ben Bernanke who in 2002 said in a speech honoring Friedman and Schwartz: Let me end my talk by abusing slightly my status as an official representative of the Federal Reserve. I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression, you're right. We did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again. — Ben S. Bernanke The Wall Street Crash of 1929

447-657: A Northwest Passage to Asia in 1609. New Netherland was established in 1621 by the company to capitalize on the North American fur trade . Growth was slow at first due to mismanagement by the Dutch and Native American conflicts. After the Dutch purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans, the land was named New Amsterdam and became the capital of New Netherland. The town rapidly expanded and in

596-524: A Catholic haven in 1632. The economy of these two colonies was built entirely on yeoman farmers and planters. The planters established themselves in the Tidewater region of Virginia, establishing massive plantations with slave labor. In 1670, the Province of Carolina was established, and Charleston became the region's great trading port. While Virginia's economy was also based on tobacco, Carolina

745-490: A New Deal program known as Federal One was created. This included five arts projects, including the FMP. This project was the first where Federal money was used on culture. The Depression had compounded a downturn in the fortunes of American musicians. At the same time musicians were also being affected by advances in technology. Sound recordings were beginning to replace live musicians at functions and events. Dr. Nikolai Sokoloff

894-448: A broad group of tribes. Their most important city was Cahokia , near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri . At its peak in the 12th century, the city had an estimated population of 20,000, larger than the population of London at the time. The entire city was centered around a mound that stood 100 feet (30 m) tall. Cahokia, like many other cities and villages of the time, depended on hunting, foraging, trading, and agriculture, and developed

1043-818: A class system with slaves and human sacrifice that was influenced by societies to the south, like the Mayans . In the Southwest , the Anasazi began constructing stone and adobe pueblos around 900 BCE. These apartment-like structures were often built into cliff faces, as seen in the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde . Some grew to be the size of cities, with Pueblo Bonito along the Chaco River in New Mexico once consisting of 800 rooms. The indigenous peoples of

1192-484: A deficit for the first time (the deficit was less than 2.8% of GDP). By the end of 1931, Hoover had decided to recommend a large increase in taxes to balance the budget; in addition, Congress approved the tax increase in 1932, a substantial reduction in personal immunity to increase the number of taxpayers, and the interest rates had risen sharply, the lowest marginal rate rose from 25% on taxable income in excess of $ 100,000 to 63% on taxable income in excess of $ 1 million as

1341-607: A dominant commercial center in a few short years. While Quakers populated the city, German immigrants began to flood into the Pennsylvanian hills and forests, while the Scots-Irish pushed into the far western frontier. The overwhelmingly rural Southern Colonies contrasted sharply with the New England and Middle Colonies. After Virginia, the second British colony south of New England was Maryland , established as

1490-457: A food source, and later foraging for berries and seeds became an important alternative to hunting. Paleo-Indians in central Mexico were the first in the Americas to farm, around 8,000 BCE. Eventually, the knowledge began to spread northward. By 3,000 BCE, corn was being grown in the valleys of Arizona and New Mexico , followed by primitive irrigation systems and, by 300 BCE, early villages of

1639-470: A job to anyone who showed up at the factory gate. The war brought a restoration of prosperity and hopeful expectations for the future across the nation. It had the greatest impact on the cities of the West Coast, especially Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Economic historians led by Price Fishback have examined the impact of New Deal spending on improving health conditions in

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1788-526: A large degree of ethnic and religious diversity. At the same time, the Iroquois of New York, strengthened by years of fur trading with Europeans, formed the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. The last colony in this region was Pennsylvania , established in 1681 by William Penn as a home for religious dissenters, including Quakers , Methodists , and the Amish . The capital of the colony, Philadelphia , became

1937-606: A normal part of economic life. Worried depositors started to withdraw savings, so the money multiplier worked in reverse. Banks were forced to liquidate assets (such as calling in loans rather than creating new loans). This caused the money supply to shrink and the economy to contract (the Great Contraction ), resulting in a significant decline in aggregate investment. The decreased money supply further aggravated price deflation , putting more pressure on already struggling businesses. The U.S. Government 's commitment to

2086-419: A number of important political analyses on the subjugation of Black women, termed "triple exploitation" by Louise Thompson Patterson in her 1936 article "Toward a Brighter Dawn." As the Great Depression trekked onward, homelessness spiked. For the first time in American history, the issue of homelessness was brought to the forefront of the public eye. In search of work, men would board trains and travel across

2235-477: A physician or a midwife to perform the abortion. The Comstock laws effectively prevented women from accessing or talking about contraception until 1950 when it was repealed with the Griswold v. Connecticut case. Only a few states allowed physicians to provide information and contraception. Despite this, women and companies found ways around this law to receive and provide birth control. The most popular method

2384-436: A result caused several of the everyday individuals to speculate on the economy in the coming months. Rumors of market stability and banking conditions began to spread, consumer confidence continued to drop and panic began to set in. Contagion spread like wildfire pushing Americans all over the country to withdraw their deposits en masse . This idea would continue from 1929 to 1933 causing the greatest financial crisis ever seen at

2533-525: A sense of humor but sometimes housewife rage exploded. In Chicago, angry Polish housewives doused thousands of pounds of meat with kerosene and set it on fire at the warehouses of the Armour Company to dramatize their belief that high prices were not the result of shortages. Formal organizations were formed by housewives as well, based on the power of these earlier community-based demonstrations: United Council of Working Class Women, Women's Committee of

2682-424: A single day, more than $ 30 billion in the week. The value that evaporated that week was ten times more than the entire federal budget and more than all of what the U.S. had spent on World War I . By 1930 the value of shares had fallen by 90%. Since many banks had also invested their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed. After the stock market crash and

2831-434: A steady flow of immigrants, especially teenagers who arrived as indentured servants. Over half of all European immigrants to Colonial America arrived as indentured servants . Typically, people would sign a contract agreeing to a set term of labor, usually four to seven years, and in return would receive transport to America and a piece of land at the end of their servitude. In some cases, ships' captains received rewards for

2980-461: A strong central government. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 doubled the size of the country. Encouraged by available, inexpensive land and the notion of manifest destiny , the country expanded to the Pacific Coast . The resulting expansion of slavery was increasingly controversial, and fueled political and constitutional battles. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 ,

3129-725: A way for the hungry to access free food. However, these kitchens were also overcrowded and often ran out of food before everyone could be served, so they were not always a reliable source of food. Homeless individuals that did not stay in shelters sometimes stayed in shantytowns, or "Hoovervilles" (named after Herbert Hoover, the president in office when the Depression began). These "Hoovervilles" were self-made communities of homeless people that followed their own rules and established their own society. Men, women, and even some children lived in these shantytowns and people from all different types of socio-economic backgrounds lived together, which

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3278-527: A whole experienced a massive reduction in banking footholds across the country amounting to more than nine thousand closed banks by 1933. The closures resulted in a massive withdrawal of deposits by millions of Americans estimated at near $ 6.8 billion ($ 136 billion in 2023 dollars). During this time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was not in place resulting in a loss of roughly $ 1.36 billion (or 20%) of

3427-413: Is by Michael Darby in 1976. He put the unemployment rate at a peak of 22.5 percent in 1932. Job losses were less severe among women, workers in non durable industries (such as food and clothing), services and sales workers, and those employed by the government. Unskilled inner city men had much higher unemployment rates. Age also played a factor. Young people had a hard time getting their first job. Men over

3576-511: Is evident that the banking system suffered massive reductions across the country due to the lack of consumer confidence. As withdraw requests would exceed cash availability banks began conducting steed discount sales such as fire sales and short sales. Due to the inability to immediately determine current value worth these fire sales and short sales would result in massive losses when recuperating any possible revenue for outstanding and defaulted loans. This would allow healthy banks to take advantage of

3725-577: Is noted by many to have been the biggest player in reforming healthcare for Black folks during the Depression. The efforts of these "Militant Housewives" had lasting effects on the United States, predominantly the expansion of welfare and the growth of diverse feminist movements, as well as the strengthening of unionization movements in the US. Black women's involvement in Communist organizing produced

3874-669: Is often cited as the beginning of the Great Depression. It began on October 24, 1929, and kept going down until March 1933. It was the longest and most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States. Much of the stock market crash can be attributed to exuberance and false expectations. In the years leading up to 1929, the rising stock market prices had created vast sums of wealth in relation to amounts invested, in turn encouraging borrowing to buy more stock. However, on October 24 (Black Thursday), share prices began to fall and panic selling caused prices to fall sharply. On October 29 (Black Tuesday), share prices fell by $ 14 billion in

4023-449: Is precisely because of the shaky banking system, the United States was using monetary policy to save the economy that had been severely constrained. The American economist Charles P. Kindleberger of long-term studying of the Great Depression pointed out that in the 1929, before and after the collapse of the stock market, the Fed lowered interest rates, tried to expand the money supply and eased

4172-530: The 1938 United States elections the Republicans made an unexpected comeback, and Roosevelt's efforts to purge the Democratic Party of his political opponents backfired badly. The conservative coalition of Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats took control of Congress, outvoted the urban liberals, and halted the expansion of New Deal ideas. Roosevelt survived in 1940 thanks to his margin in

4321-642: The Boston Tea Party in 1773, led to Parliament issuing the Intolerable Acts designed to end self-government. In 1776, the United States declared its independence . Led by General George Washington , it won the Revolutionary War in 1783. The Constitution was adopted in 1789, and a Bill of Rights was added in 1791 to guarantee inalienable rights . Washington, the first president , and his adviser Alexander Hamilton created

4470-528: The Delaware River . Over the following seventeen years, 12 more expeditions brought settlers from the Swedish Empire to New Sweden. The colony established 19 permanent settlements along with many farms, extending into modern-day Maryland , Pennsylvania , and New Jersey . It was incorporated into New Netherland in 1655 after a Dutch invasion from the neighboring New Netherland colony during

4619-532: The Democratic National Committee , to refer sardonically to President Herbert Hoover whose policies Michelson blamed for the depression. The government did not calculate unemployment rates in the 1930s. The most widely accepted estimates of unemployment rates for the Great Depression are those by Stanley Lebergott from the 1950s. He estimated that unemployment reached 24.9 percent in the worst days of 1933. Another commonly cited estimate

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4768-686: The European theater . In the Pacific War , America defeated Imperial Japan after using nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki . The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers during the Cold War ; the two countries confronted each other indirectly in the arms race , the Space Race , propaganda campaigns, and proxy wars . In the 1960s, in large part due to

4917-551: The First Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance. The Congress called for a boycott of British trade , published a list of rights and grievances , and petitioned the king to rectify those grievances. This appeal had no effect. The Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence on July 2, 1776. The Declaration of Independence presented arguments in favor of the rights of citizens, stating that all men are created equal , supporting

5066-545: The Gold Standard as the country's currency gauge throughout the following years. As a result, the American shareholders with the majority of the gold reserves began to grow wary of the value of gold in the near future. Europe 's decision to move away from the Gold Standard caused individuals to start to withdraw gold shares and move the investments out of the country or began to hoard gold for future investment. The market continued to suffer due to these reactions, and as

5215-878: The Grand Canyon , and the Great Plains . In 1539, Hernando de Soto extensively explored the Southeast, and a year later Francisco Coronado explored from Arizona to central Kansas in search of gold. Escaped horses from Coronado's party spread over the Great Plains, and the Plains Indians mastered horsemanship within a few generations. Small Spanish settlements eventually grew to become important cities, such as San Antonio , Albuquerque , Tucson , Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Dutch East India Company sent explorer Henry Hudson to search for

5364-811: The Great Plains (the Okies ) and the South to places such as California and the cities of the North (the Great Migration ). Racial tensions also increased during this time. The memory of the Depression also shaped modern theories of government and economics and resulted in many changes in how the government dealt with economic downturns, such as the use of stimulus packages , Keynesian economics , and Social Security . It also shaped modern American literature, resulting in famous novels such as John Steinbeck 's The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men . Examining

5513-682: The Hohokam . One of the earlier cultures in the present-day United States was the Clovis culture (9,100 to 8,850 BCE), who are primarily identified by the use of fluted spear points called the Clovis point . The Folsom culture was similar, but is marked by the use of the Folsom point . A later migration around 8,000 BCE included Na-Dene -speaking peoples, who reached the Pacific Northwest by 5,000 BCE. From there, they migrated along

5662-738: The Hopewell tradition , a powerful people who traded tools and goods across a wide territory. They continued the Adena tradition of mound-building and pioneered a trading system called the Hopewell Exchange System, which at its greatest extent ran from the present-day Southeast up to the Canadian side of Lake Ontario . By 500 CE, the Hopewellians had been absorbed into the larger Mississippian culture . The Mississippians were

5811-593: The Ice Age , and then spread southward. This migration may have begun as early as 30,000 years ago and continued to about 10,000 years ago, when the land bridge became submerged by the rising sea level. These early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians , soon diversified into hundreds of culturally distinct groups. By 10,000 BCE, humans were relatively well-established throughout North America. Originally, Paleo-Indians hunted Ice Age megafauna like mammoths , but as they began to go extinct, people turned instead to bison as

5960-638: The Industrial Revolution , or those simply seeking adventure and opportunity. Between the late 1610s and the Revolution, the British shipped an estimated 50,000 to 120,000 convicts to their American colonies. In some areas, Native Americans taught colonists how to plant and harvest the native crops. In others, they attacked the settlers. Virgin forests provided an ample supply of building material and firewood. Natural inlets and harbors lined

6109-659: The Ortoiroid culture , successive generations of native migrations arrived replacing or absorbing local populations. By the year 1000 Arawak people had arrived from South America via the Lesser Antilles ; these settlers would become the Taíno encountered by the Spanish in 1493. Upon European contact a native population between 30,000 and 60,000 was likely, led by a single chief called a Cacique . Colonization resulted in

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6258-517: The Osage , Kaw , Ponca , and Omaha peoples. The exact date for the settling of Hawaii is disputed but the first settlement most likely took place between 940 and 1130 CE. Around 1200 CE, Tahitian explorers found and began settling the area as well establishing a new caste system. This marked the rise of the Hawaiian civilization, which would be largely separated from the rest of the world until

6407-535: The Pacific Coast and into the interior and constructed large multi-family dwellings in their villages, which were used only seasonally in the summer to hunt and fish, and in the winter to gather food supplies. Another group, the Oshara tradition people, who lived from 5,500 BCE to 600 CE, were part of the Archaic Southwest . The Adena began constructing large earthwork mounds around 600 BCE. They are

6556-678: The Powhatan attack of 1622 , King James I revoked the Virginia Company's charter and made Virginia a royal colony. New England was initially settled primarily by Puritans fleeing religious persecution. The Pilgrims sailed for Virginia on the Mayflower in 1620, but were knocked off course by a storm and landed at Plymouth , where they agreed to a social contract of rules in the Mayflower Compact . About half died in

6705-546: The Second Northern War . Giovanni da Verrazzano landed in North Carolina in 1524, and was the first European to sail into New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay . In the 1540s, French Huguenots settled at Fort Caroline near present-day Jacksonville , Florida. In 1565, Spanish forces led by Pedro Menéndez destroyed the settlement and established the first Spanish settlement in what would become

6854-593: The Stamp Act of 1765 , imposing a tax on the colonies without going through the colonial legislatures. Crying " No taxation without representation ", the colonists refused to pay. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a direct action to protest the new tax on tea. Parliament responded the next year with the Intolerable Acts , stripping Massachusetts of its historic right of self-government and putting it under military rule, which sparked outrage and resistance in all thirteen colonies. Patriot leaders from every colony convened

7003-519: The causes of the Great Depression raises multiple issues: what factors set off the first downturn in 1929; what structural weaknesses and specific events turned it into a major depression; how the downturn spread from country to country; and why the economic recovery was so prolonged. Many rural banks began to fail in October 1930 when farmers defaulted on loans. There was no federal deposit insurance during that time as bank failures were considered

7152-506: The civil rights movement , social reforms enforced the constitutional rights of voting and freedom of movement to African Americans. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan 's presidency realigned American politics towards reductions in taxes and regulations. The Cold War ended when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 , leaving the United States as the world's sole superpower. Foreign policy after the Cold War has often focused on many conflicts in

7301-421: The gold standard prevented it from engaging in expansionary monetary policy . High interest rates needed to be maintained in order to attract international investors who bought foreign assets with gold. However, the high interest also inhibited domestic business borrowing. The U.S. interest rates were also affected by France 's decision to raise their interest rates to attract gold to their vaults. In theory,

7450-620: The potlatch . In present-day upstate New York , the Iroquois formed a confederacy of tribal peoples in the mid-15th century, consisting of the Oneida , Mohawk , Onondaga , Cayuga , and Seneca . Each tribe had seats in a group of 50 sachem chiefs . It has been suggested that their culture contributed to political thinking during the development of the United States government. The Iroquois were powerful, waging war with many neighboring tribes, and later, Europeans. As their territory expanded, smaller tribes were forced further west, including

7599-416: The 114 largest cities, 1929–1937. They estimated that every additional $ 153,000 in relief spending (in 1935 dollars, or $ 1.95 million in year 2000 dollars) was associated with a reduction of one infant death, one suicide, and 2.4 deaths from infectious disease. The Great Depression's political landscape proved conducive to the first large-scale movement of class-conscious working-class women organizers since

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7748-503: The 1930s that most schools had their own music program. In addition, it created something for people to do during the hardships. These musical concerts were either a very low cost, or they were free, allowing many who could otherwise not afford such luxury to attend. In 1939, the Federal Music Project's budget was cut. This was followed by the decline in finances for other New Deal programs as well; many other projects like

7897-469: The American colonies had a slightly different governmental structure. Typically, a colony was ruled by a governor appointed from London who controlled the executive administration and relied upon a locally elected legislature to vote on taxes and make laws. By the 18th century, the American colonies were growing very rapidly as a result of low death rates along with ample supplies of land and food. The colonies were richer than most parts of Britain, and attracted

8046-418: The Americas. However, the effects of new Eurasian diseases carried by the colonists, especially smallpox and measles, were much worse for the Native Americans, as they had no immunity to them. They suffered epidemics and died in very large numbers, usually before large-scale European settlement began. Their societies were disrupted by the scale of deaths. Spanish explorers were the first Europeans, after

8195-673: The Awakening added a new emphasis on divine outpourings of the Holy Spirit and conversions that implanted new believers with an intense love for God. Revivals encapsulated those hallmarks and carried the newly created evangelicalism into the early republic, setting the stage for the Second Great Awakening in the late 1790s. In the early stages, evangelicals in the South, such as Methodists and Baptists , preached for religious freedom and abolition of slavery. Each of

8344-667: The Federal Music Program received praise for its diversity. The Federal Music Project created lessons for adults who were underprivileged, and it created a musical program for children. The creation of music was more popular, and the appreciation for music arose. The amateur musicians became better, and there were more musical participants. The project formed new orchestras, singers, dancers, vocal groups, and vocal producers. The music project supplied performers and teachers of music an occupation. It also created many new orchestral pieces of music. The project caught on so much in

8493-707: The Federal Music Project saw their funding reduced. Congressional support deteriorated in the late 1930s, and the budget bill passed in June 1939 reflected the reduced support. Sokoloff had resigned the previous month amid debate over his preference toward classical music. And in 1939 the Federal Music Project was renamed. Its new name was the WPA Music Program. Though a year later the Federal Music Project/WPA Music Program would be terminated. State music projects came to an end with

8642-496: The Great Depression due to the lack of confidence in the regulatory and recovery displayed during the 1920s, this ultimately drove a nation of doubts, uneasiness, and lack of consumer confidence in the banking system. With a lack of consumer confidence in the economic direction given by the federal government panic started to spread across the country shortly after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 . President Hoover retained

8791-428: The Middle East , especially after the September 11 attacks . In the 21st century, the country was negatively affected by the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic . It is not definitively known how or when Native Americans first settled the Americas . The prevailing theory proposes that people from Eurasia followed game across Beringia , a land bridge that connected Siberia to present-day Alaska during

8940-404: The New Deal through the Hoover and Roosevelt administration. One visible effect of the depression was the advent of Hoovervilles , which were ramshackle assemblages on vacant lots of cardboard boxes, tents, and small rickety wooden sheds built by homeless people. Residents lived in the shacks and begged for food or went to soup kitchens. The term was coined by Charles Michelson, publicity chief of

9089-496: The New World, settled the strip of land along the east coast in the 1600s. The first British colony in North America was established at Roanoke by Walter Raleigh in 1585, but failed. It would be twenty years before another attempt. The early British colonies were established by private groups seeking profit, and were marked by starvation, disease, and Native American attacks. Many immigrants were people seeking religious freedom or escaping political oppression, peasants displaced by

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9238-445: The New World. Captain John Smith held the fledgling Jamestown together in the first year, and the colony descended into anarchy and nearly failed when he returned to England two years later. John Rolfe began experimenting with tobacco from the West Indies in 1612, and by 1614 the first shipment arrived in London. It became Virginia's chief source of revenue within a decade. In 1624, after years of disease and Indian attacks, including

9387-472: The Norse Vinland sagas . The strongest archaeological evidence of the existence of Norse settlements in America is located in Canada; there is significant scholarly debate as to whether Norse explorers also made landfall in New England . Europeans brought horses, cattle, and hogs to the Americas and took back maize, turkeys, tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, beans, and squash to Europe. Many explorers and early settlers died after being exposed to new diseases in

9536-401: The Norse, to reach the present-day United States, after the voyages of Christopher Columbus (beginning in 1492) established possessions in the Caribbean , including the modern-day U.S. territories of Puerto Rico , and parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands . Juan Ponce de León landed in Florida in 1513. Spanish expeditions quickly reached the Appalachian Mountains , the Mississippi River ,

9685-403: The North were limited, they were nonexistent in the South. Many homeless African Americans relied on aid from their own communities. Churches and Black-run organizations often provided their own soup kitchens and shelters to make up for aid the government wasn't providing its African American citizens. Both birth control and abortion were illegal prior to and during the Great Depression. With

9834-410: The Pacific Northwest were likely the most affluent Native Americans. Many distinct cultural groups and political entities developed there, but they all shared certain beliefs, traditions, and practices, such as the centrality of salmon as a resource and spiritual symbol. Permanent villages began to develop in this region as early as 1,000 BCE, and these communities celebrated by the gift-giving feast of

9983-414: The Solid South and in the cities. In the North the cities over 100,000 gave Roosevelt 60% of their votes, while the rest of the North favored Willkie 52–48%. With the start of full-scale war mobilization in the summer of 1940, the economies of the cities rebounded. Even before Pearl Harbor, Washington pumped massive investments into new factories and funded round-the-clock munitions production, guaranteeing

10132-424: The South in 1877, often using paramilitary suppression of voting and Jim Crow laws to maintain white supremacy , as well as new state constitutions that legalized racial discrimination. The United States became the world's leading industrial power in the 20th century, largely due to entrepreneurship, industrialization , and the arrival of millions of immigrant workers and farmers . A national railroad network

10281-517: The U.S. and some others the negative economic impact often lasted until the beginning of World War II, when war industries stimulated recovery. There is little agreement on what caused the Great Depression, and the topic has become highly politicized. At the time the great majority of economists around the world recommended the "orthodox" solution of cutting government spending and raising taxes. However, British economist John Maynard Keynes advocated large-scale government deficit spending to make up for

10430-410: The U.S. government. Due to the downturned economy, jobs were scarce and Black men were a huge target of the lay-offs, making up a large population of the unemployed during the Depression. Black folks were also still unable to vote at this time in the Jim Crow south, meaning Black families were facing immense compounding pressures. These conditions set the precedent for Black women to take action and demand

10579-440: The U.S. would have two potential responses to that: allow the exchange rate to adjust, or increase their own interest rates to maintain the gold standard. At the time, the U.S. was pegged to the gold standard. Therefore, Americans converted their dollars into francs to buy more French assets, the demand for the U.S. dollar fell, and the exchange rate increased. One of the only things the U.S. could do to get back into equilibrium

10728-405: The United States have a long history of activism regarding housing and the cost of food despite the common and longstanding misconception that homemakers are passive and apolitical. The rising prices in the U.S. meant a new issue for consumers: the concept of being an "ethical consumer" and reckoning with their own consumer behavior in the ever-changing markets. As the government acted minimally at

10877-808: The United States — St. Augustine . Most French lived in Quebec and Acadia (modern Canada), but far-reaching trade relationships with Native Americans throughout the Great Lakes and Midwest spread their influence. French colonists in small villages along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers lived in farming communities that served as a grain source for Gulf Coast settlements. The French established plantations in Louisiana along with settling New Orleans , Mobile and Biloxi . The English, drawn in by Francis Drake 's raids on Spanish treasure ships leaving

11026-400: The United States. Even though the project was thought to be this picturesque, ideal, and perfect plan, there were still many challenging facets that occurred during its time. One of the more general obstacles the Federal Music Project had to go through was the types of culture going into the project. Sokoloff was predisposed to European classical music, and made that the focus of the FMP. There

11175-670: The Washington Commonwealth Federation, Women's Committee against the High Cost of Living, Housewives Industrial League, and the Housewives' League of Detroit to name a few. New ways of activism came out of these boycotts and a renewed awareness of where folks were putting their money came with concerns from American consumers. One unique demonstration by the League of Women Shoppers and Lee Simonson

11324-426: The age of 45, if they lost their job, would rarely find another one because employers had their choice of younger men. Millions were hired in the Great Depression, but men with weaker credentials were not, and they fell into a long-term unemployment trap. The migration in the 1920s that brought millions of farmers and townspeople to the bigger cities suddenly reversed itself. Unemployment made the cities unattractive, and

11473-404: The aid that was offered there. While other shelters accepted African Americans, the fear of racial violence and discrimination from the municipal organizers or other residents was still a threat that lingered over their heads. Many homeless shelters were also located in inconvenient neighborhoods for African Americans, so they were unable to access them. If municipal shelters for African Americans in

11622-569: The arrival of the British 600 years later. Europeans under the British explorer James Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, and within five years of contact, European military technology would help Kamehameha I conquer most of the island group, and eventually unify the islands for the first time, establishing the Hawaiian Kingdom . The island of Puerto Rico has been settled for at least 4,000 years. Starting with

11771-438: The bank closures, people were afraid of losing more money. Because of their fears of further economic challenge, individuals from all classes stopped purchasing and consuming. Thousands of individual investors who believed they could get rich by investing on margin lost everything they had. The stock market crash severely impacted the American economy. A large contribution was the closure and suspension of thousands of banks across

11920-432: The banking crisis as state bank and trust companies were not compelled to be a member, paper eligible discount member banks heavily restricted access to the Federal Reserve, power between the twelve Federal Reserve banks was decentralized and federal level leadership was ineffective, inexperienced, and weak. Throughout the early 1900s banking regulations were extremely lax if not non-existent. The Currency Act of 1900 lowered

12069-401: The banking level pushing the economic recovery efforts further from resolution. An increase in the currency-deposit ratio and a money stock determinant forced money stock to fall and income to decline. This panic-induced banking failure took a mild recession to a major recession. Whether this caused the Great Depression is still heavily debated due to many other attributing factors. However, it

12218-490: The banks to resort to short or liquidate existing loans. In the race to liquidate assets the banking system began to fail on a wide scale. In November 1930 the first major banking crisis began with over 800 banks closing their doors by January 1931. By October 1931 over 2100 banks were suspended with the highest suspension rate recorded in the St. Louis Federal Reserve District, with 2 out of every 5 banks suspended. The economy as

12367-491: The benefit of the mother country in a policy known as mercantilism . Colonial America was defined by a severe labor shortage that used forms of unfree labor , such as slavery and indentured servitude. The British colonies were also marked by a policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, known as salutary neglect . This permitted the development of an American spirit distinct from that of its European founders. The French and Indian War (1754–1763), part of

12516-414: The cheapest possible relief, including soup kitchens providing free meals to anyone who showed up. After 1933, new sales taxes and infusions of federal money helped relieve the fiscal distress of the cities, but the budgets did not fully recover until 1941. The federal programs launched by Hoover and greatly expanded by President Roosevelt's New Deal used massive construction projects to try to jump-start

12665-463: The children of slave women were born slaves ( partus sequitur ventrem ). By the 1770s African slaves comprised a fifth of the American population. The question of independence from Britain did not arise as long as the colonies needed British military support against the French and Spanish powers. Those threats were gone by 1765. However, London continued to regard the American colonies as existing for

12814-557: The cities, turned out 80% for FDR, as did Irish, Italian and Jewish communities. In all, the nation's 106 cities over 100,000 population voted 70% for FDR in 1936, compared to his 59% elsewhere. Roosevelt worked very well with the big city machines, with the one exception of his old nemesis, Tammany Hall in Manhattan. There he supported the complicated coalition built around the nominal Republican Fiorello La Guardia , and based on Jewish and Italian voters mobilized by labor unions. In

12963-683: The coast, providing easy ports for essential trade with Europe. Settlements remained close to the coast due to this as well as Native American resistance and the Appalachian Mountains in the interior. The first successful English colony, Jamestown , was established by the Virginia Company in 1607 on the James River in Virginia . The colonists were preoccupied with the search for gold and were ill-equipped for life in

13112-674: The colonies, as reflected in the Albany Congress and symbolized by Benjamin Franklin 's call for the colonies to " Join, or Die ." King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , to organize the new North American empire and protect the Native Americans from colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains. Strains developed in the relations between the colonists and the Crown. The British Parliament passed

13261-503: The colony of Providence Plantations , later Rhode Island , on the basis of freedom of religion. Other colonists established settlements in the Connecticut River Valley, and on the coasts of present-day New Hampshire and Maine . Native American attacks continued, with the most significant occurring in the 1637 Pequot War and the 1675 King Philip's War . New England became a center of commerce and industry due to

13410-441: The cost in the future. Maternal mortality rates rose during the depression, resulting from infections or hemorrhages of self-performed abortions, or methods that women used to try and control their reproduction. The New York Academy of Medicine conducted a study and found that 12.8% of maternal deaths were due to septic abortion. With lower-class women attempting to self-abort due to their new poverty, preventing them from visiting

13559-524: The country mobilized in this ongoing time of hardship. Historian Annelise Orleck recounts the following demonstrations from a variety of communities: In New York City, organized bands of Jewish housewives fiercely resisted eviction, arguing that they were merely doing their jobs by defending their homes and those of their neighbors. Barricading themselves in apartments, they made speeches from tenement windows, wielded kettles of boiling water, and threatened to scald anyone who attempted to move furniture out on to

13708-530: The country's founding. Housewives, mothers, and working-class women regardless of employment status were driven by rising market prices to become political players within their communities. Black women and immigrant women were essential to these movements, mobilizing their communities to advocate for better conditions. This activism included food boycotts, anti-eviction rallies, the establishment of barter networks, calls for price regulations for food and housing, and gardening co-ops to battle food insecurity. Women in

13857-780: The country, in hopes of finding a way of sending money to their families back home. These men became known as "transients", which was the most common way to refer to these unemployed, homeless individuals. Large urban areas, such as Los Angeles , San Francisco , Chicago , and New York City , became flooded with transients searching for work, causing major train stations to be overcrowded with illegal passengers. Homeless individuals who were not transient often stayed in municipal shelters, which were government-run homeless shelters that provided housing and food. Because these shelters were often placed in large urban areas, they were often overcrowded with poor-quality food and state of living. Soup kitchens also became popular during this time as they were

14006-410: The country. Financial institutions failed for several reasons, including unregulated lending procedures, confidence in the gold standard , consumer confidence in future economics, and agricultural defaults on outstanding loans. With these compounding issues the banking system struggled to keep up with the public's increasing demand for cash withdrawals. This overall decreased the money supply and forced

14155-519: The current economic and population standards. Banking profitability and loan standards begin to deteriorate as early as 1900 as a result. Crop failures beginning in 1921 began to impact this poorly regulated system, the expansion areas of corn and cotton suffered the largest due to the Dust Bowl era resulting in real estate value reductions. In addition, the year 1921 was the peak for banking expansion with roughly 31,000 banks in activity, however, with

14304-402: The decimation of the local inhabitants due to the harsh Encomienda system and epidemics caused by Old World diseases. Puerto Rico would remain a part of Spain until American annexation in 1898. The earliest recorded European mention of America is in a treatise by the medieval chronicler Adam of Bremen , circa 1075, where it is referred to as Vinland . It is also extensively referred to in

14453-424: The delivery of poor migrants, and so extravagant promises and kidnapping were common. The first African slaves arrived in 1619. Initially regarded as indentured servants who could buy their freedom, the institution of slavery began to harden and the involuntary servitude became lifelong as the demand for labor on tobacco and rice plantations grew in the 1660s. Slavery became identified with brown skin color, and

14602-543: The depression, President Herbert Hoover , widely blamed for not doing enough to combat the crisis, lost the election of 1932 to Franklin Delano Roosevelt by a landslide. Roosevelt's economic recovery plan, the New Deal , instituted unprecedented programs for relief, recovery and reform, and brought about a major realignment of politics with liberalism dominant and conservatism in retreat until 1938. There were mass migrations of people from badly hit areas in

14751-502: The dichotomy of the positions they assumed in society under early feminism: The home may be the woman's place, but the "home" was no longer just the family's isolated home and property. Black women served a particularly radical role through the furthering of working-class women's movements. The Great Depression had particularly strong effects on the Black community in the 1920s and 30s, forcing Black women to reckon with their relationship to

14900-524: The earliest known people to have been Mound Builders , however, there are mounds in the United States that predate this culture. Watson Brake is an 11-mound complex in Louisiana that dates to 3,500 BCE, and nearby Poverty Point , built by the Poverty Point culture , is an earthwork complex that dates to 1,700 BCE. These mounds likely served a religious purpose. The Adenans were absorbed into

15049-531: The economic downturn, more families turned toward birth control and abortion to help control family sizing, due to not being able to afford children. In 1936, thousands of women in New Jersey had an abortion "insurance" with more being card-carrying members to a "Birth Control Club", which allowed them access to regular exams and abortions for a fee. This shows that compared to the past, women were now expecting to have abortions, and looking for ways to help lower

15198-418: The economy and solve the unemployment crisis. The alphabet agencies CCC , FERA , WPA and PWA built and repaired the public infrastructure in dramatic fashion, but did little to foster the recovery of the private sector. FERA, CCC and especially WPA focused on providing unskilled jobs for long-term unemployed men. The Democrats won easy landslide victories in 1932 and 1934, and an even bigger one in 1936;

15347-698: The ending of the WPA on June 30, 1943. Great Depression in the United States In the United States , the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment , famine, poverty, low profits, deflation , plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth as well as for personal advancement. Altogether, there

15496-462: The failure of private investment. No major nation adopted his policies in the 1930s. The stock market crash in 1929 not only affected the business community and the public's economic confidence, but it also led to the banking system soon after the turmoil. The boom of the US economy in the 1920s was based on high indebtedness, and the rupture of the debt chain caused by the collapse of the bank had produced widespread and far-reaching adverse effects. It

15645-426: The failures at the agricultural level 505 banks would close between 1921 and 1930 marking the largest banking system failure on record. Regulatory questions began to hit the debating table around banking qualifications as a result; discussions would continue into the Great Depression as not only were banks failing but some would disappear altogether with no rhyme or reason. The panic of financial crisis would increase in

15794-406: The financial market tensions for several times; however, they were not successful. The fundamental reason was that the relationship between various credit institutions and the community was in a drastic adjustment process, the normal supply channels for money supply were blocked. Later, some economists argued that the Fed should do a large-scale opening market business at that time, but the essence of

15943-458: The first two decades of the 1900s. The unregulated growth of small rural banking institutions can be partially attributed to the rising cost of agriculture especially in the Corn Belt and Cotton Belt . Throughout the corn and cotton belts real estate increases drove the demand for more local funding to continue to supply rising agricultural economics. The rural banking structures would supply

16092-514: The first winter. Like Jamestown, Plymouth suffered from disease and starvation, but local Wampanoag Indians taught the colonists how to farm maize. Plymouth was followed by the Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. They maintained a charter for self-government separate from England, and elected founder John Winthrop as governor. Roger Williams opposed Winthrop's treatment of Native Americans and religious intolerance, and established

16241-598: The government expand welfare. In collaboration with their white counterparts, Black women would help to form the National Welfare Rights Organization . "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" boycotts broke out in Black communities, using the role of the homemaking consumer to leverage jobs for Black adults. Black housewives lead marches calling for the government to regulate prices on food while nurses from Black communities set up reproductive health and pre/post natal clinics. Midwife Maude E. Callen

16390-461: The hapless Republican Party seemed doomed. The Democrats capitalized on the magnetic appeal of Roosevelt to urban America. The key groups were low-skilled and Catholics, Jews, and Blacks were especially impacted. The Democrats promised and delivered in terms of political recognition, labor union membership, and relief jobs. The cities' political machines were stronger than ever, for they mobilized their precinct workers to help families who needed help

16539-588: The larger Seven Years' War , was a watershed event in the political development of the colonies. The influence of the French and Native Americans, the main rivals of the British Crown in the colonies and Canada, was significantly reduced and the territory of the Thirteen Colonies expanded into New France in Canada and Louisiana . The war effort also resulted in greater political integration of

16688-560: The late 15th century, wars and epidemics decimated Indigenous societies. Starting in 1585 , the British colonized the Atlantic Coast , and by the 1760s, the thirteen British colonies were established. The Southern Colonies built an agricultural system on slave labor , enslaving millions from Africa . After defeating France , the British Parliament imposed a series of taxes; resistance to these taxes, especially

16837-420: The lending process. Over banked conditions existed which pressured struggling banks to increase their services (specifically to the agricultural customers) without any additional regulatory oversight or qualifications. This dilemma introduced several high-risk and marginal business returns to the banking market. Banking growth would continue through the first two decades well outside of previous trends disregarding

16986-544: The mid-1600s it became an important trading center. Despite being Calvinists and building the Reformed Church in America , the Dutch were tolerant of other religions and cultures and traded with the Iroquois to the north. The colony served as a barrier to British expansion from New England , and as a result a series of wars were fought. The colony was taken over by Britain as New York in 1664 and its capital

17135-439: The most included construction, shipping, mining, logging, and agriculture. Also hard hit was the manufacturing of durable goods like automobiles and appliances, whose purchase consumers could postpone. The economy hit bottom in the winter of 1932–1933; then came four years of growth until the recession of 1937–1938 brought back high levels of unemployment. The Depression caused major political changes in America. Three years into

17284-502: The most navigate the bureaucracy and get on relief. FDR won the vote of practically every demographic in 1936, including taxpayers, small business and the middle class. However, the Protestant middle-class voters turned sharply against him after the recession of 1937–38 undermined repeated promises that recovery was at hand. Historically, local political machines were primarily interested in controlling their wards and citywide elections;

17433-512: The needed capital to meet the farm commodity market , however, this came with a price of reliability and low risk lending. Economic growth was promising from 1887 to 1920 with an average of 6 percent growth in GDP. In particular, the participation in World War I drove a booming agricultural market that drove optimism at the consumer and lending level which, in turn, resulted in a more lax approach in

17582-429: The network of kinfolk and more ample food supplies made it wise for many to go back. City governments in 1930–31 tried to meet the depression by expanding public works projects , as President Herbert Hoover strongly encouraged. However, tax revenues were plunging, and the cities as well as private relief agencies were totally overwhelmed by 1931; no one was able to provide significant additional relief. People fell back on

17731-504: The poor, mountainous soil making agriculture difficult. Rivers were harnessed to power grain mills and sawmills, and the numerous harbors facilitated trade. Tight-knit villages developed around these industrial centers, and Boston became one of America's most important ports. In the 1660s, the Middle Colonies of New York , New Jersey , and Delaware were established in the former Dutch New Netherland, and were characterized by

17880-507: The presidential election approaching, the political heat generated by the Great Depression and the failure of Hoover's policies grew only more withering. History of the United States This is an accepted version of this page The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. After European colonization of North America began in

18029-406: The project. After he became assistant director, many varieties of music became available. Seeger's ambition was for everyone to take an interest in music, and become a part of it. The primary objective of the FMP was to employ professional musicians from all over the country to perform as instrumentalists , singers , and concert actors. As a result of the growing number of performing groups, there

18178-510: The rates were made much more progressive. Hoover changed his approach to fighting the Depression. He justified his call for more federal assistance by noting that "We used such emergency powers to win the war; we can use them to fight the Depression, the misery, and suffering from which are equally great." This new approach embraced a number of initiatives. Unfortunately for the President, none proved especially effective. Just as important, with

18327-435: The required capital of investors from 50,000 to 25,000 to create a national bank . As a result of this change nearly two thirds of the banks formed over the next ten years were quite small, averaging just above the 25,000 in required capital. The number of banks would nearly double (number of banks divided by Real GDP) from 1890 to 1920 due to the lack of oversight and qualification when banking charters were being issued in

18476-524: The show marched in protest of the boycott, opening a national conversation about the definition of ethical consumerism. This was one of America's first highly effective acts of fashion activism . As women either returned or began to enter the workforce, the deplorable conditions quickly became clear to them. The lack of sanitation practices, poor wages, and otherwise unsafe work environments were no longer issues that workers were willing to power through when so many other burdens were weighing on them outside of

18625-497: The smaller the turnout on election day, the easier it was to control the system. However, for Roosevelt to win the presidency in 1936 and 1940, he needed to carry the electoral college and that meant he needed the largest possible majorities in the cities to overwhelm rural voters. The machines came through for him. The 3.5 million voters on relief payrolls during the 1936 election cast 82% percent of their ballots for Roosevelt. The rapidly growing, energetic labor unions, chiefly based in

18774-509: The southern states seceded from the Union to form the pro-slavery Confederate States of America , and started the Civil War . The Confederates' defeat in 1865 led to the abolition of slavery . In the subsequent Reconstruction era , the national government emerged much stronger, and gained explicit duty to protect individual rights . White southern Democrats regained their political power in

18923-610: The statement was that the US government should be quick to implement measures to expand fiscal spending and fiscal deficits. Between the 1920s and 1930s, The United States began to try the tight money policy to promote economic growth. In terms of the fiscal policy, the US government failed to reach a consensus on the fiscal issue. President Hoover began to expand federal spending, setting up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to provide emergency assistance to banks and financial institutions that were on

19072-624: The street. Black mothers in Cleveland, unable to convince a local power company to delay shutting off electricity in the homes of families who had not paid their bills, won restoration of power after they hung wet laundry over every utility line in the neighborhood. They also left crying babies on the desks of caseworkers at the Cleveland Emergency Relief Association, refusing to retrieve them until free milk had been provided for each child. These actions reflected

19221-543: The struggling units forcing additional losses resulting in banks not being able to deliver on depositor demands and creating a failing cycle that would become widespread. Investment would continue to stay low through the next half-decade as the private sector would hoard savings due to uncertainty of the future. The federal government would run additional policy changes such as the Check tax, monetary restrictions (including reduction of money supply by burning), High Wage Policy, and

19370-511: The successful Allies . After the prosperous Roaring Twenties , the Wall Street Crash of 1929 marked the onset of the decade-long worldwide Great Depression . President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal programs, including unemployment relief and social security , defined modern American liberalism . Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the United States entered World War II , helping defeat Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in

19519-563: The time to protect consumers from predatory market tactics, many women as workers, housewives, and mothers found activism a natural part of their role in the name of protecting their families. The boycotts done by housewives predominantly revolved around targeting unfair businesses in their communities that price-gauged their shops or refused to support their workers' livelihoods to an acceptable degree. Housewives in New York were particularly active at this time, but housewives and mothers across

19668-474: The total $ 6.8 billion accounted for within the failed banks. These losses came directly from everyday individuals' savings, investments and bank accounts. As a result, GDP fell from the high seven-hundreds in 1929 to the low to mid six-hundreds in 1933 before seeing any recovery for the first time in nearly 4 years. Federal leadership intervention is highly debated on its effectiveness and overall participation. The Federal Reserve Act could not effectively tackle

19817-420: The verge of bankruptcy. Hoover's fiscal policy had accelerated the recession. In December 1929, as means of showing government confidence in the economy, Hoover reduced all income tax rates by 1% in 1929 due to the continuing budget surplus. By 1930, the surplus had turned into a fast-growing deficit of economic contraction. In 1931, the US federal fiscal revenue and expenditure changed from the financial surplus to

19966-590: The workplace. The 1930s brought falling wages and high unemployment, which had workplaces implementing strong efforts to keep women and Black folks out of jobs to better employ the preferred white male population, as well as keeping the few female and/or Black workers out of unions. International Ladies Garment Workers Union , Farmer-Labor Women's Federation of Minnesota, and American Federation of Labor were all run by working-class women demanding better conditions to work and raise their families under. The speeches and demonstrations done by these groups of women underscored

20115-459: The world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry . Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by approximately 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as grain farming, mining and logging, as well as construction, suffered the most. Most economies started to recover by 1933–34. However, in

20264-470: Was a fashion show, attended by high society women of D.C. , urging consumers to boycott unethically sourced (to protest Japanese actions during the 30's) and overpriced Japanese silk (a popular luxury fabric at the time). Simultaneously, a large number of predominantly unemployed women (as well as some garment workers and representatives from the American Federation of Hosiery Workers ) outside

20413-415: Was a general loss of confidence in the economic future. The usual explanations include numerous factors, especially high consumer debt , ill-regulated markets that permitted overoptimistic loans by banks and investors, and the lack of high-growth new industries. These all interacted to create a downward economic spiral of reduced spending, falling confidence and lowered production. Industries that suffered

20562-553: Was a much lower priority placed on vernacular or American folk music. These Eurocentric tastes were in contrast to the "common man" ideology of the New Deal. Despite this national focus on classical music, regional and local implementations of the FMP revealed the diverse musical genres in early 20th century America. Live performances of African American and Hispanic music drew attention, as did efforts in several states to document musical traditions from ethnic minorities, spirituals, work songs and other folk music. The Federal Music Program

20711-399: Was also a need for music copyists and binders. Men and women were hired to copy existing music by hand and then to bind them, distributing musical arrangements to ensembles around the nation. The Project also aimed to inspire music appreciation by enabling access to live performances and by introducing music instruction in the classroom. Finally, the FMP sought to document musical activity in

20860-510: Was completed, and large-scale mines and factories were established. Dissatisfaction with corruption, inefficiency, and traditional politics stimulated the Progressive movement , leading to reforms including the federal income tax , direct election of Senators, citizenship for many Indigenous people, alcohol prohibition , and women's suffrage . Initially neutral during World War I , the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, joining

21009-639: Was increase interest rates. In the late 20th century, Winner of the Swedish Central Bank Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences economist Milton Friedman and his fellow monetarist Anna Schwartz argued that the Federal Reserve could have stemmed the severity of the Depression, but failed to exercise its role of managing the monetary system and ameliorating banking panics , resulting in

21158-566: Was more diversified, exporting rice, indigo, and lumber as well. In 1712, it was divided in two, creating North and South Carolina . The Georgia Colony was established by James Oglethorpe in 1732 as a border to Spanish Florida and a reform colony for former prisoners and the poor. Religiosity expanded greatly after the First Great Awakening , a religious revival in the 1740s led by preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield . American Evangelicals affected by

21307-519: Was particularly successful in New Mexico. Helen Chandler Ryan served as the FMP state music director from January 1936 until the project's end in 1943. She adapted the national program to meet the special musical interests of her sparsely populated state. She decided to devote much of the program to solo instruction in rural communities. Another concentration was the study of the diverse regional musical style created by blending European, Native American and Spanish American music. New Mexico's implementation of

21456-404: Was rapidly growing. Department stores became the most popular place to receive female contraception and these stores created departments where women could shop for contraception in privacy. When women were becoming wary of purchasing inside department stores, manufacturers switched to selling at their homes. In 1930, female contraceptives outnumbered condom sales five to one. By 1940, the market size

21605-821: Was renamed New York City. In the early years of the Swedish Empire , Swedish, Dutch, and German stockholders formed the New Sweden Company to trade furs and tobacco in North America. The company's first expedition was led by Peter Minuit , who had been governor of New Netherland from 1626 to 1631, and landed in Delaware Bay in March 1638. The settlers founded Fort Christina at the site of modern-day Wilmington, Delaware , and made treaties with Indigenous peoples for land ownership on both sides of

21754-576: Was the director of the Federal Music Project. Before the Federal Music Project, Dr. Sokoloff was the conductor for the original Cleveland Orchestra from 1919-1933. Sokoloff appointed a staff of five Regional Directors, twenty three State Directors, and five administrative staff. In 1936, the Works Progress Administration also began to add on to the Federal Music Project. The WPA's didn't center towards original music. The next year Charles Seeger developed into assistant director of

21903-429: Was three times what it was in 1935. The Great Depression began in the United States of America and quickly spread worldwide. It had severe effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, consumption, industrial output, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around

22052-416: Was to conceal the intended function of products by marketing them as "feminine hygiene products", "protections", "security", and "dependability". In 1930, a legal verdict allowed contraceptive companies to freely advertise their products if the product's sole purpose was not birth control. Companies that previously avoided the birth control market capitalized on this opportunity and the demand for birth control

22201-479: Was very uncommon during the time of segregation . Although the African American community was one of the hardest hit during the Great Depression, their struggle during this time often went unnoticed. Homeless African Americans were practically invisible during this time as the effects of Jim Crow and segregation were in full force. Many municipal shelters in the North were segregated and turned away from

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