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152-544: The complex was originally built in the early 1920s as the Pacific International Livestock Exposition , and operated as a livestock exhibition, cattle grading, and auction facility. Alexander Chalmers, Centerville/Forest Grove, breeder of Shorthorn Cattle; Frank Brown, Carlton, breeder of Shropshire Sheep and Shorthorn Cattle; Herb Chandler, Baker, breeder of Hereford Cattle; A.C. Ruby, Portland, breeder of Clydesdale Horses; O.M. Plumber,

304-634: A deflationary spiral started in 1931. Farmers faced a worse outlook; declining crop prices and a Great Plains drought crippled their economic outlook. At its peak, the Great Depression saw nearly 10% of all Great Plains farms change hands despite federal assistance. At first, the decline in the U.S. economy was the factor that triggered economic downturns in most other countries due to a decline in trade, capital movement, and global business confidence. Then, internal weaknesses or strengths in each country made conditions worse or better. For example,

456-829: A prohibitionist with a famous name. Roosevelt, then 38, resigned as Assistant Secretary after the Democratic convention and campaigned across the nation for the party ticket. During the campaign, Cox and Roosevelt defended the Wilson administration and the League of Nations , both of which were unpopular in 1920. Roosevelt personally supported U.S. membership in the League, but, unlike Wilson, he favored compromising with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other "Reservationists". Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge defeated

608-418: A silver standard , almost avoided the depression entirely. The connection between leaving the gold standard as a strong predictor of that country's severity of its depression and the length of time of its recovery has been shown to be consistent for dozens of countries, including developing countries . This partly explains why the experience and length of the depression differed between regions and states around

760-600: A 4,500-square-foot (420 m) connector. East Hall has 4,400-square-foot (410 m) of space. The complex has many meeting rooms and a total of 330,000 square feet (30,700 m) of exhibit space. Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR , was the 32nd president of the United States , serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. The longest-serving U.S. president, he

912-549: A Portland businessman; and W.B. Ayre, Portland, a wealthy lumberman as a group formed the Pacific International Livestock Show in Portland. The first year of the show (approx. 1920), the stock, including cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs, were housed in the beef cattle covered pens. Two huge exhibition tents were erected for the judging of the stock. Later, a building was constructed adjacent to

1064-402: A Republican, but Roosevelt decided to seek the 1920 vice presidential nomination. After Governor James M. Cox of Ohio won the party's presidential nomination at the 1920 Democratic National Convention , he chose Roosevelt as his running mate, and the convention nominated him by acclamation . Although his nomination surprised most people, he balanced the ticket as a moderate, a Wilsonian, and

1216-459: A campaign team led by Howe and Farley, and a " brain trust " of policy advisers, primarily composed of Columbia University and Harvard University professors. Some were not so sanguine about his chances, such as Walter Lippmann , the dean of political commentators, who observed: "He is a pleasant man who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be president." However, Roosevelt's efforts as governor to address

1368-471: A car. Due to his aggressive campaign, his name gained recognition in the Hudson Valley, and in the Democratic landslide in the 1910 United States elections , Roosevelt won a surprising victory. Despite short legislative sessions, Roosevelt treated his new position as a full-time career. Taking his seat on January 1, 1911, Roosevelt soon became the leader of a group of "Insurgents" in opposition to

1520-471: A close. Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty; drastic reductions in liquidity , industrial production, and trade; and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States , the largest economy in

1672-471: A court of appeals, as a depository of information, and as a tool of co-ordination; by ignoring or bypassing collective decision-making agencies, such as the Cabinet...and always by persuading, flattering, juggling, improvising, reshuffling, harmonizing, conciliating, manipulating. When Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933, the U.S. was at the nadir of the worst depression in its history . A quarter of

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1824-524: A descending pattern of recovery. Roosevelt was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down and was diagnosed with polio . A 2003 study strongly favored a diagnosis of Guillain–Barré syndrome , but historians have continued to describe his paralysis according to the initial diagnosis. Though his mother favored his retirement from public life, Roosevelt, his wife, and Roosevelt's close friend and adviser, Louis Howe, were all determined that he continue his political career. He convinced many people that he

1976-420: A distant second place. Roosevelt then promised the vice-presidential nomination to Garner, who controlled the votes of Texas and California; Garner threw his support behind Roosevelt after the third ballot, and Roosevelt clinched the nomination on the fourth ballot. Roosevelt flew in from New York to Chicago after learning that he had won the nomination, becoming the first major-party presidential nominee to accept

2128-604: A former privately run bank, bearing no relation to the U.S. government (not to be confused with the Federal Reserve ). Unable to pay out to all of its creditors, the bank failed. Among the 608 American banks that closed in November and December 1930, the Bank of United States accounted for a third of the total $ 550 million deposits lost and, with its closure, bank failures reached a critical mass. In an initial response to

2280-662: A four-day national "bank holiday", to end the run by depositors seeking to withdraw funds. He called for a special session of Congress on March 9, when Congress passed, almost sight unseen, the Emergency Banking Act . The act, first developed by the Hoover administration and Wall Street bankers, gave the president the power to determine the opening and closing of banks and authorized the Federal Reserve Banks to issue banknotes. The " first 100 Days " of

2432-707: A fourth year, taking graduate courses. Like his cousin Theodore, he was a member of The Explorers Club . Roosevelt entered Columbia Law School in 1904, but dropped out in 1907 after passing the New York bar examination . In 1908, he took a job with the prestigious law firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn , working in the firm's admiralty law division. During his second year of college, Roosevelt met and proposed to Boston heiress Alice Sohier, who turned him down. Franklin then began courting his childhood acquaintance and fifth cousin once removed, Eleanor Roosevelt ,

2584-501: A great deal and incorporated some of his 1924 ideas into the design for the United Nations in 1944–1945. Smith, the Democratic presidential nominee in the 1928 presidential election , asked Roosevelt to run for governor of New York in the 1928 state election . Roosevelt initially resisted, as he was reluctant to leave Warm Springs and feared a Republican landslide. Party leaders eventually convinced him only he could defeat

2736-467: A greater reduction in credit. On 5 April 1933, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102 making the private ownership of gold certificates , coins and bullion illegal, reducing the pressure on Federal Reserve gold. British economist John Maynard Keynes argued in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money that lower aggregate expenditures in the economy contributed to

2888-577: A house built for herself alongside that townhouse. Eleanor never felt at home in the houses at Hyde Park or New York; however, she loved the family's vacation home on Campobello Island , which was also a gift from Sara. Burns indicates that young Franklin Roosevelt was self-assured and at ease in the upper class. On the other hand, Eleanor was shy and disliked social life. Initially, Eleanor stayed home to raise their children. As his father had done, Franklin left childcare to his wife, and Eleanor delegated

3040-635: A memorial honoring the people held at the Portland Assembly Center in 1942. For three months in the summer of 1959, the Oregon Centennial Exposition was held at the site. Among various attractions, the centennial exposition featured a railroad line that used two trains built for the then-new Portland Zoo Railway (now the Washington Park and Zoo Railway ), on temporary loan. Multnomah County acquired

3192-600: A modern industrial city handled shortages of money and resources. Often they updated strategies their mothers used when they were growing up in poor families. Cheap foods were used, such as soups, beans and noodles. They purchased the cheapest cuts of meat—sometimes even horse meat—and recycled the Sunday roast into sandwiches and soups. They sewed and patched clothing, traded with their neighbors for outgrown items, and made do with colder homes. New furniture and appliances were postponed until better days. Many women also worked outside

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3344-402: A monetary contraction first-hand were forced to join the deflationary policy since higher interest rates in countries that performed a deflationary policy led to a gold outflow in countries with lower interest rates. Under the gold standard's price–specie flow mechanism , countries that lost gold but nevertheless wanted to maintain the gold standard had to permit their money supply to decrease and

3496-480: A niece of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1903, Franklin proposed to Eleanor. Despite resistance from his mother, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were married on March 17, 1905. Eleanor's father, Elliott , was deceased; Theodore, who was then president, gave away the bride. The young couple moved into Springwood . Franklin's mother, Sara Roosevelt, also provided a townhouse for the newlyweds in New York City, and had

3648-447: A political figure. Roosevelt and Smith came from different backgrounds and never fully trusted one another, but Roosevelt supported Smith's progressive policies, while Smith was happy to have Roosevelt's backing. Roosevelt gave presidential nominating speeches for Smith at the 1924 and 1928 Democratic National Conventions; the speech at the 1924 convention marked a return to public life following his illness and convalescence. That year,

3800-455: A seat in the state senate. The senate district, located in Dutchess , Columbia , and Putnam , was strongly Republican. Roosevelt feared that opposition from Theodore could end his campaign, but Theodore encouraged his candidacy despite their party differences. Acting as his own campaign manager, Roosevelt traveled throughout the senate district via automobile at a time when few could afford

3952-535: A separate home in Hyde Park at Val-Kill and devoted herself to social and political causes independent of her husband. The emotional break in their marriage was so severe that when Franklin asked Eleanor in 1942—in light of his failing health—to come live with him again, she refused. Roosevelt was not always aware of Eleanor's visits to the White House. For some time, Eleanor could not easily reach Roosevelt on

4104-567: A serious issue in the 1930s. Support for increasing welfare programs during the depression included a focus on women in the family. The Conseil Supérieur de la Natalité campaigned for provisions enacted in the Code de la Famille (1939) that increased state assistance to families with children and required employers to protect the jobs of fathers, even if they were immigrants. In rural and small-town areas, women expanded their operation of vegetable gardens to include as much food production as possible. In

4256-480: A small cadre of Labour, but the vast majority of Labour leaders denounced MacDonald as a traitor for leading the new government. Britain went off the gold standard , and suffered relatively less than other major countries in the Great Depression. In the 1931 British election, the Labour Party was virtually destroyed, leaving MacDonald as prime minister for a largely Conservative coalition. In most countries of

4408-833: A staff of physical therapists and using most of his inheritance to purchase the Merriweather Inn. In 1938, he founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis , leading to the development of polio vaccines. Roosevelt remained active in New York politics while also establishing contacts in the South, particularly in Georgia, in the 1920s. He issued an open letter endorsing Al Smith 's successful campaign in New York's 1922 gubernatorial election, which both aided Smith and showed Roosevelt's continuing relevance as

4560-657: A standstill agreement froze Germany's foreign liabilities for six months. Germany received emergency funding from private banks in New York as well as the Bank of International Settlements and the Bank of England. The funding only slowed the process. Industrial failures began in Germany, a major bank closed in July and a two-day holiday for all German banks was declared. Business failures were more frequent in July, and spread to Romania and Hungary. The crisis continued to get worse in Germany, bringing political upheaval that finally led to

4712-411: A strange wish for you. It is that you may never be President of the United States." Franklin's mother, the dominant influence in his early years, once declared, "My son Franklin is a Delano, not a Roosevelt at all." James, who was 54 when Franklin was born, was considered by some as a remote father, though biographer James MacGregor Burns indicates James interacted with his son more than was typical at

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4864-590: A strong influence throughout Roosevelt's life, officiating at his wedding and visiting him as president. Like most of his Groton classmates, Roosevelt went to Harvard College . He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and the Fly Club , and served as a school cheerleader. Roosevelt was relatively undistinguished as a student or athlete, but he became editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson daily newspaper, which required ambition, energy, and

5016-497: A tour of the battlefield at Verdun . In September, on the ship voyage back to the United States, he contracted pandemic influenza with complicating pneumonia, which left him unable to work for a month. After Germany signed an armistice in November 1918, Daniels and Roosevelt supervised the demobilization of the Navy. Against the advice of older officers such as Admiral William Benson —who claimed he could not "conceive of any use

5168-709: A valuable political player. After the election, Roosevelt returned to New York City, where he practiced law and served as a vice president of the Fidelity and Deposit Company . Roosevelt sought to build support for a political comeback in the 1922 elections , but his career was derailed by an illness. It began while the Roosevelts were vacationing at Campobello Island in August 1921. His main symptoms were fever; symmetric, ascending paralysis; facial paralysis; bowel and bladder dysfunction; numbness and hyperesthesia ; and

5320-658: Is a consensus that the Federal Reserve System should have cut short the process of monetary deflation and banking collapse, by expanding the money supply and acting as lender of last resort . If they had done this, the economic downturn would have been far less severe and much shorter. Modern mainstream economists see the reasons in Insufficient spending, the money supply reduction, and debt on margin led to falling prices and further bankruptcies ( Irving Fisher 's debt deflation). The monetarist explanation

5472-490: Is a real possibility that a romantic relationship existed" between his father and Crown Princess Märtha of Norway , who resided in the White House during part of World War II. Aides referred to her at the time as "the president's girlfriend", and gossip linking the two romantically appeared in newspapers. Roosevelt cared little for the practice of law and told friends he planned to enter politics. Despite his admiration for cousin Theodore, Franklin shared his father's bond with

5624-493: Is supported by the contrast in how the crisis progressed in, e.g., Britain, Argentina and Brazil, all of which devalued their currencies early and returned to normal patterns of growth relatively rapidly and countries which stuck to the gold standard , such as France or Belgium. Frantic attempts by individual countries to shore up their economies through protectionist policies – such as the 1930 U.S. Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act and retaliatory tariffs in other countries – exacerbated

5776-602: Is the only president to have served more than two terms. His initial two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression , while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II . A member of the prominent Delano and Roosevelt families, Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and was then the assistant Secretary of

5928-539: The 1932 election , Hoover was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt , who from 1933 pursued a series of " New Deal " policies and programs to provide relief and create jobs, including the Civilian Conservation Corps , Federal Emergency Relief Administration , Tennessee Valley Authority , and Works Progress Administration . Historians disagree on the effects of the New Deal, with some claiming that

6080-470: The 73rd United States Congress saw an unprecedented amount of legislation and set a benchmark against which future presidents have been compared. When the banks reopened on Monday, March 15, stock prices rose by 15 percent and in the following weeks over $ 1 billion was returned to bank vaults, ending the bank panic. On March 22, Roosevelt signed the Cullen–Harrison Act , which brought Prohibition to

6232-532: The Aspinwalls and the Delanos , respectively—and resided at Springwood , a large estate south of Hyde Park's historic center. Roosevelt's father, James, graduated from Harvard Law School but chose not to practice law after receiving an inheritance from his grandfather . James, a prominent Bourbon Democrat , once took Franklin to meet President Grover Cleveland , who said to him: "My little man, I am making

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6384-531: The Bonus Army further damaged the incumbent's popularity, as newspapers across the country criticized the use of force to disperse assembled veterans. Roosevelt won 57% of the popular vote and carried all but six states. Historians and political scientists consider the 1932–36 elections to be a political realignment . Roosevelt's victory was enabled by the creation of the New Deal coalition , small farmers,

6536-630: The Democratic Party , and in preparation for the 1910 elections , the party recruited Roosevelt to run for a seat in the New York State Assembly . Roosevelt was a compelling recruit: he had the personality and energy for campaigning and the money to pay for his own campaign. But Roosevelt's campaign for the state assembly ended after the Democratic incumbent, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler , chose to seek re-election. Rather than putting his political hopes on hold, Roosevelt ran for

6688-562: The Fifth Party System . He created numerous programs to provide relief to the unemployed and farmers while seeking economic recovery with the National Recovery Administration and other programs. He also instituted major regulatory reforms related to finance, communications, and labor, and presided over the end of Prohibition . In 1936, Roosevelt won a landslide reelection . He was unable to expand

6840-493: The Navy , was well-read on the subject, and was an ardent supporter of a large, efficient force. With Wilson's support, Daniels and Roosevelt instituted a merit-based promotion system and extended civilian control over the autonomous departments of the Navy. Roosevelt oversaw the Navy's civilian employees and earned the respect of union leaders for his fairness in resolving disputes. No strikes occurred during his seven-plus years in

6992-582: The New York Bank of United States – which produced panic and widespread runs on local banks, and the Federal Reserve sat idly by while banks collapsed. Friedman and Schwartz argued that, if the Fed had provided emergency lending to these key banks, or simply bought government bonds on the open market to provide liquidity and increase the quantity of money after the key banks fell, all the rest of

7144-487: The Tammany Hall machine that dominated the state Democratic Party. In the 1911 U.S. Senate election , which was determined in a joint session of the New York state legislature, Roosevelt and nineteen other Democrats caused a prolonged deadlock by opposing a series of Tammany-backed candidates. Tammany threw its backing behind James A. O'Gorman , a highly regarded judge whom Roosevelt found acceptable, and O'Gorman won

7296-535: The United States Navy Reserve and the Council of National Defense . In April 1917, after Germany declared it would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare and attacked several U.S. ships, Congress approved Wilson's call for a declaration of war on Germany . Roosevelt requested that he be allowed to serve as a naval officer, but Wilson insisted that he continue as Assistant Secretary. For

7448-539: The coming to power of Hitler's Nazi regime in January 1933. The world financial crisis now began to overwhelm Britain; investors around the world started withdrawing their gold from London at the rate of £2.5 million per day. Credits of £25 million each from the Bank of France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and an issue of £15 million fiduciary note slowed, but did not reverse,

7600-670: The official implementation of term limits . Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt obtained a declaration of war on Japan. After Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. on December 11, 1941, the United States Congress approved additional declarations of war in return. He worked closely with other national leaders in leading the Allies against the Axis powers . Roosevelt supervised

7752-430: The $ 100,000 American Peace Award for the best plan to deliver world peace. Roosevelt had leisure time and interest, and he drafted a plan for the contest. He never submitted it because Eleanor was selected as a judge for the prize. His plan called for a new world organization that would replace the League of Nations. Although Roosevelt had been the vice-presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket of 1920 that supported

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7904-447: The 1937 recession that interrupted it). The common view among most economists is that Roosevelt's New Deal policies either caused or accelerated the recovery, although his policies were never aggressive enough to bring the economy completely out of recession. Some economists have also called attention to the positive effects from expectations of reflation and rising nominal interest rates that Roosevelt's words and actions portended. It

8056-760: The British crisis. The financial crisis now caused a major political crisis in Britain in August 1931. With deficits mounting, the bankers demanded a balanced budget; the divided cabinet of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald's Labour government agreed; it proposed to raise taxes, cut spending, and most controversially, to cut unemployment benefits 20%. The attack on welfare was unacceptable to the Labour movement. MacDonald wanted to resign, but King George V insisted he remain and form an all-party coalition " National Government ". The Conservative and Liberals parties signed on, along with

8208-482: The Cox–Roosevelt ticket in the presidential election by a wide margin, carrying every state outside of the South. Roosevelt accepted the loss and later reflected that the relationships and goodwill that he built in the 1920 campaign proved to be a major asset in his 1932 campaign. The 1920 election also saw the first public participation of Eleanor Roosevelt who, with the support of Louis Howe , established herself as

8360-459: The Democrats were badly divided between an urban wing, led by Smith, and a conservative, rural wing, led by William Gibbs McAdoo . On the 101st ballot, the nomination went to John W. Davis , a compromise candidate who suffered a landslide defeat in the 1924 presidential election . Like many, Roosevelt did not abstain from alcohol during Prohibition, but publicly he sought to find a compromise on

8512-530: The Depression. Businessmen ignored the mounting national debt and heavy new taxes, redoubling their efforts for greater output to take advantage of generous government contracts. During World War I many countries suspended their gold standard in varying ways. There was high inflation from WWI, and in the 1920s in the Weimar Republic , Austria , and throughout Europe. In the late 1920s there

8664-521: The Dow returning to 294 (pre-depression levels) in April 1930, before steadily declining for years, to a low of 41 in 1932. At the beginning, governments and businesses spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the corresponding period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom suffered severe losses in the stock market the previous year, cut expenditures by 10%. In addition, beginning in

8816-693: The Expo Center include the Portland Better Living Home and Garden Show, Antique and Collectible Show and Christmas Bazaar. Halls A, B, and C are currently the oldest buildings in the complex. Halls A and B have 15-foot (5 m) ceiling heights, and Hall C has a 25-foot (8 m) ceiling height. Hall A has 48,000 square feet (4,500 m) of space and can accommodate up to 2,726; Hall B has 36,000 square feet (3,300 m) of space and can seat up to 2,700; Hall C has 60,000 square feet (6,000 m) of space, seats up to 4,736. Hall D,

8968-489: The Federal Reserve did not act to limit the decline of the money supply was the gold standard . At that time, the amount of credit the Federal Reserve could issue was limited by the Federal Reserve Act , which required 40% gold backing of Federal Reserve Notes issued. By the late 1920s, the Federal Reserve had almost hit the limit of allowable credit that could be backed by the gold in its possession. This credit

9120-442: The Great Depression is right, or the traditional Keynesian explanation that a fall in autonomous spending, particularly investment, is the primary explanation for the onset of the Great Depression. Today there is also significant academic support for the debt deflation theory and the expectations hypothesis that – building on the monetary explanation of Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz – add non-monetary explanations. There

9272-642: The Great Depression. According to the U.S. Senate website, the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act is among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history. Many economists have argued that the sharp decline in international trade after 1930 helped to worsen the depression, especially for countries significantly dependent on foreign trade. Most historians and economists blame the Act for worsening the depression by seriously reducing international trade and causing retaliatory tariffs in other countries. While foreign trade

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9424-402: The Great Depression. Reflecting changing public opinion, the Democratic platform included a call for the repeal of Prohibition; Roosevelt himself had not taken a public stand on the issue prior to the convention but promised to uphold the party platform. Otherwise, Roosevelt's primary campaign strategy was one of caution, intent upon avoiding mistakes that would distract from Hoover's failings on

9576-405: The Great Depression. In the 1932 presidential election , Roosevelt defeated president Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory . During his first 100 days as president , Roosevelt spearheaded unprecedented federal legislation and directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing the New Deal , building the New Deal coalition , and realigning American politics into

9728-509: The House John Nance Garner of Texas and Al Smith, the 1928 Democratic presidential nominee. Roosevelt entered the convention with a delegate lead due to his success in the 1932 Democratic primaries , but most delegates entered the convention unbound to any particular candidate. On the first presidential ballot, Roosevelt received the votes of more than half but less than two-thirds of the delegates, with Smith finishing in

9880-666: The Interior and Secretary of Agriculture, respectively. In February 1933, Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt by Giuseppe Zangara , who expressed a "hate for all rulers". As he was attempting to shoot Roosevelt, Zangara was struck by a woman with her purse; he instead mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak , who was sitting alongside Roosevelt. As president, Roosevelt appointed powerful men to top positions in government. However, he made all of his administration's major decisions himself, regardless of any delays, inefficiencies, or resentments doing so may have caused. Analyzing

10032-524: The League, by 1924 he was ready to scrap it. His draft of a "Society of Nations" accepted the reservations proposed by Henry Cabot Lodge in the 1919 Senate debate. The new Society would not become involved in the Western Hemisphere, where the Monroe doctrine held sway. It would not have any control over military forces. Although Roosevelt's plan was never made public, he thought about the problem

10184-517: The Navy under President Woodrow Wilson during World War I . Roosevelt was James M. Cox 's running mate on the Democratic Party 's ticket in the 1920 U.S. presidential election , but Cox lost to Republican nominee Warren G. Harding . In 1921, Roosevelt contracted a paralytic illness that permanently paralyzed his legs. Partly through the encouragement of his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt , he returned to public office as governor of New York from 1929 to 1933, during which he promoted programs to combat

10336-739: The Navy Department as World War I broke out in Europe in August 1914. Though he remained publicly supportive of Wilson, Roosevelt sympathized with the Preparedness Movement , whose leaders strongly favored the Allied Powers and called for a military build-up. The Wilson administration initiated an expansion of the Navy after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German submarine , and Roosevelt helped establish

10488-414: The New Deal prolonged the Great Depression, as they argue that National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 and National Labor Relations Act of 1935 restricted competition and established price fixing. John Maynard Keynes did not think that the New Deal under Roosevelt single-handedly ended the Great Depression: "It is, it seems, politically impossible for a capitalistic democracy to organize expenditure on

10640-418: The North Portland stockyards, which was next to Swift & Co. slaughter and processing plant. Subsequent shows were held in this building, which still stood as of 1979. It is now owned by the Multnomah County Fair Association. The show later had a side line of holding huge auctions of livestock for breeding purposes. Later the show included horse show and rodeo venues. From May 2 to September 10, 1942,

10792-406: The Republican Party to launch a third-party campaign against Wilson and sitting Republican president William Howard Taft . Franklin's decision to back Wilson over his cousin in the general election alienated some of his family, except Theodore. Roosevelt overcame a bout of typhoid fever that year and, with help from journalist Louis McHenry Howe , he was re-elected in the 1912 elections . After

10944-458: The Republican gubernatorial nominee, New York Attorney General Albert Ottinger . He won the party's gubernatorial nomination by acclamation and again turned to Howe to lead his campaign. Roosevelt was joined on the campaign trail by associates Samuel Rosenman , Frances Perkins , and James Farley . While Smith lost the presidency in a landslide, and was defeated in his home state, Roosevelt

11096-754: The Southern whites, Catholics, big-city political machines, labor unions, northern black Americans (southern ones were still disfranchised), Jews, intellectuals, and political liberals. The creation of the New Deal coalition transformed American politics and started what political scientists call the "New Deal Party System" or the Fifth Party System . Between the Civil War and 1929, Democrats had rarely controlled both houses of Congress and had won just four of seventeen presidential elections; from 1932 to 1979, Democrats won eight of twelve presidential elections and generally controlled both houses of Congress. Roosevelt

11248-727: The Supreme Court in 1937 , the same year the conservative coalition was formed to block the implementation of further New Deal programs and reforms. Major surviving programs and legislation implemented under Roosevelt include the Securities and Exchange Commission , the National Labor Relations Act , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , and Social Security . In 1940 , he ran successfully for reelection , before

11400-544: The U.K. economy, which experienced an economic downturn throughout most of the late 1920s, was less severely impacted by the shock of the depression than the U.S. By contrast, the German economy saw a similar decline in industrial output as that observed in the U.S. Some economic historians attribute the differences in the rates of recovery and relative severity of the economic decline to whether particular countries had been able to effectively devaluate their currencies or not. This

11552-490: The U.S. unemployment rate down below 10%. World War II had a dramatic effect on many parts of the American economy. Government-financed capital spending accounted for only 5% of the annual U.S. investment in industrial capital in 1940; by 1943, the government accounted for 67% of U.S. capital investment. The massive war spending doubled economic growth rates, either masking the effects of the Depression or essentially ending

11704-622: The United States, agricultural organizations sponsored programs to teach housewives how to optimize their gardens and to raise poultry for meat and eggs. Rural women made feed sack dresses and other items for themselves and their families and homes from feed sacks. In American cities, African American women quiltmakers enlarged their activities, promoted collaboration, and trained neophytes. Quilts were created for practical use from various inexpensive materials and increased social interaction for women and promoted camaraderie and personal fulfillment. Oral history provides evidence for how housewives in

11856-543: The United States, remained on the gold standard into 1932 or 1933, while a few countries in the so-called "gold bloc", led by France and including Poland, Belgium and Switzerland, stayed on the standard until 1935–36. According to later analysis, the earliness with which a country left the gold standard reliably predicted its economic recovery. For example, The UK and Scandinavia, which left the gold standard in 1931, recovered much earlier than France and Belgium, which remained on gold much longer. Countries such as China, which had

12008-638: The Wall Street crash, after which the slide continued for three years, which was accompanied by a loss of confidence in the financial system. By 1933, the U.S. unemployment rate had risen to 25 percent, about one-third of farmers had lost their land, and about half of the country's 25,000 banks had gone out of business. Many people, unable to pay mortgages or rent, became homeless and relied on begging or charities to feed themselves. The U.S. federal government initially did little to help. President Herbert Hoover , like many of his fellow Republicans , believed in

12160-554: The ability to manage others. He later said, "I took economics courses in college for four years, and everything I was taught was wrong." Roosevelt's father died in 1900, distressing him greatly. The following year, Roosevelt's fifth cousin Theodore Roosevelt became U.S. president. Theodore's vigorous leadership style and reforming zeal made him Franklin's role model and hero. He graduated from Harvard in three years in 1903 with an A.B. in history. He remained there for

12312-405: The banks would not have fallen after the large ones did, and the money supply would not have fallen as far and as fast as it did. With significantly less money to go around, businesses could not get new loans and could not even get their old loans renewed, forcing many to stop investing. This interpretation blames the Federal Reserve for inaction, especially the New York branch . One reason why

12464-465: The behavior of housewives. The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II . Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery, though it did help in reducing unemployment. The rearmament policies leading up to World War II helped stimulate

12616-677: The center suspended livestock exposition operations and served as a Civilian Assembly Center under President Roosevelt 's Executive Order 9066 , which authorized the eviction and confinement of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast during World War II . 3,676 people of Japanese descent were confined in the hastily converted animal corrals for a period of five months, while they awaited transfer to more permanent camps in California, Idaho and Wyoming. Voices of Remembrance , an installation piece by Portland artist Valerie Otani, acts as

12768-462: The collapse in global trade, contributing to the depression. By 1933, the economic decline pushed world trade to one third of its level compared to four years earlier. While the precise causes for the occurrence of the Great depression are disputed and can be traced to both global and national phenomena, its immediate origins are most conveniently examined in the context of the U.S. economy, from which

12920-475: The crash was a mere symptom of more general economic trends of the time, which had already been underway in the late 1920s. A contrasting set of views, which rose to prominence in the later part of the 20th century, ascribes a more prominent role to failures of monetary policy . According to those authors, while general economic trends can explain the emergence of the downturn, they fail to account for its severity and longevity; they argue that these were caused by

13072-625: The crisis, the U.S. Congress passed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act on 17 June 1930. The Act was ostensibly aimed at protecting the American economy from foreign competition by imposing high tariffs on foreign imports. The consensus view among economists and economic historians (including Keynesians , Monetarists and Austrian economists ) is that the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff had, in fact, achieved an opposite effect to what

13224-633: The decade. The Depression had devastating economic effects on both wealthy and poor countries: all experienced drops in personal income , prices ( deflation ), tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, and unemployment in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities around the world , especially those dependent on heavy industry , were heavily affected. Construction virtually halted in many countries, and farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by up to 60%. Faced with plummeting demand and few job alternatives, areas dependent on primary sector industries suffered

13376-408: The depression. Not all governments enforced the same measures of protectionism. Some countries raised tariffs drastically and enforced severe restrictions on foreign exchange transactions, while other countries reduced "trade and exchange restrictions only marginally": The gold standard was the primary transmission mechanism of the Great Depression. Even countries that did not face bank failures and

13528-435: The domestic price level to decline ( deflation ). There is also consensus that protectionist policies, and primarily the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act , helped to exacerbate, or even cause the Great Depression. Some economic studies have indicated that the rigidities of the gold standard not only spread the downturn worldwide, but also suspended gold convertibility (devaluing the currency in gold terms) that did

13680-402: The drop in demand. Monetarists believe that the Great Depression started as an ordinary recession, but the shrinking of the money supply greatly exacerbated the economic situation, causing a recession to descend into the Great Depression. Economists and economic historians are almost evenly split as to whether the traditional monetary explanation that monetary forces were the primary cause of

13832-427: The economies of Europe in 1937–1939. By 1937, unemployment in Britain had fallen to 1.5 million. The mobilization of manpower following the outbreak of war in 1939 ended unemployment. The American mobilization for World War II at the end of 1941 moved approximately ten million people out of the civilian labor force and into the war. This finally eliminated the last effects from the Great Depression and brought

13984-413: The economy. His statements attacked the incumbent and included no other specific policies or programs. After the convention, Roosevelt won endorsements from several progressive Republicans, including George W. Norris , Hiram Johnson , and Robert La Follette Jr. He also reconciled with the party's conservative wing, and even Al Smith was persuaded to support the Democratic ticket. Hoover's handling of

14136-469: The effects of the depression in his own state established him as the front-runner for the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. Roosevelt rallied the progressive supporters of the Wilson administration while also appealing to many conservatives, establishing himself as the leading candidate in the South and West. The chief opposition to Roosevelt's candidacy came from Northeastern conservatives, Speaker of

14288-441: The election in late March. Roosevelt in the process became a popular figure among New York Democrats. News articles and cartoons depicted "the second coming of a Roosevelt", sending "cold shivers down the spine of Tammany". Roosevelt also opposed Tammany Hall by supporting New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson 's successful bid for the 1912 Democratic nomination . The election became a three-way contest when Theodore Roosevelt left

14440-700: The election, he served as chairman of the Agriculture Committee; his success with farm and labor bills was a precursor to his later New Deal policies. He had then become more consistently progressive , in support of labor and social welfare programs. Roosevelt's support of Wilson led to his appointment in March 1913 as Assistant Secretary of the Navy , the second-ranking official in the Navy Department after Secretary Josephus Daniels who paid it little attention. Roosevelt had an affection for

14592-576: The end of the month. A large sell-off of stocks began in mid-October. Finally, on 24 October, Black Thursday , the American stock market crashed 11% at the opening bell. Actions to stabilize the market failed, and on 28 October, Black Monday, the market crashed another 12%. The panic peaked the next day on Black Tuesday, when the market saw another 11% drop. Thousands of investors were ruined, and billions of dollars had been lost; many stocks could not be sold at any price. The market recovered 12% on Wednesday but by then significant damage had been done. Though

14744-500: The explanations of the Keynesians and monetarists. The consensus among demand-driven theories is that a large-scale loss of confidence led to a sudden reduction in consumption and investment spending. Once panic and deflation set in, many people believed they could avoid further losses by keeping clear of the markets. Holding money became profitable as prices dropped lower and a given amount of money bought ever more goods, exacerbating

14896-640: The facility in 1965; it was renamed the Multnomah County Exposition Center. It became home to the annual Multnomah County Fair in 1970, and the fairs were held there through 1996. After the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission of Metro , the regional government for the Portland metropolitan area, took over ownership and management of the facility in 1994, the complex was renamed Portland Expo Center. It has since undergone major renovations. Events at

15048-503: The few women in the labor force, layoffs were less common in the white-collar jobs and they were typically found in light manufacturing work. However, there was a widespread demand to limit families to one paid job, so that wives might lose employment if their husband was employed. Across Britain, there was a tendency for married women to join the labor force, competing for part-time jobs especially. In France, very slow population growth, especially in comparison to Germany continued to be

15200-505: The first week of June, 540 million in the second, and 150 million in two days, 19–20 June. Collapse was at hand. U.S. President Herbert Hoover called for a moratorium on payment of war reparations . This angered Paris, which depended on a steady flow of German payments, but it slowed the crisis down, and the moratorium was agreed to in July 1931. An International conference in London later in July produced no agreements but on 19 August

15352-433: The fleet will ever have for aviation"—Roosevelt personally ordered the preservation of the Navy's Aviation Division . With the Wilson administration near an end, Roosevelt planned his next run for office. He approached Herbert Hoover about running for the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination, with Roosevelt as his running mate. Roosevelt's plan for Hoover to run fell through after Hoover publicly declared himself to be

15504-606: The government tried to reshape private household consumption under the Four-Year Plan of 1936 to achieve German economic self-sufficiency. The Nazi women's organizations, other propaganda agencies and the authorities all attempted to shape such consumption as economic self-sufficiency was needed to prepare for and to sustain the coming war. The organizations, propaganda agencies and authorities employed slogans that called up traditional values of thrift and healthy living. However, these efforts were only partly successful in changing

15656-545: The governor's wife but would also be free to pursue her own agenda and interests. He also began holding " fireside chats ", in which he directly addressed his constituents via radio, often pressuring the New York State Legislature to advance his agenda. In October 1929, the Wall Street Crash occurred and the Great Depression in the United States began. Roosevelt saw the seriousness of

15808-519: The home, or took boarders, did laundry for trade or cash, and did sewing for neighbors in exchange for something they could offer. Extended families used mutual aid—extra food, spare rooms, repair-work, cash loans—to help cousins and in-laws. In Japan, official government policy was deflationary and the opposite of Keynesian spending. Consequently, the government launched a campaign across the country to induce households to reduce their consumption, focusing attention on spending by housewives. In Germany,

15960-527: The initial crisis spread to the rest of the world. In the aftermath of World War I , the Roaring Twenties brought considerable wealth to the United States and Western Europe. Initially, the year 1929 dawned with good economic prospects: despite a minor crash on 25 March 1929, the market seemed to gradually improve through September. Stock prices began to slump in September, and were volatile at

16112-648: The issue acceptable to both wings of the party. In 1925, Smith appointed Roosevelt to the Taconic State Park Commission, and his fellow commissioners chose him as chairman. In this role, he came into conflict with Robert Moses , a Smith protégé, who was the primary force behind the Long Island State Park Commission and the New York State Council of Parks. Roosevelt accused Moses of using

16264-640: The judiciary, the police force, and organized crime , prompting the creation of the Seabury Commission . The Seabury investigations exposed an extortion ring, led many public officials to be removed from office, and made the decline of Tammany Hall inevitable. Roosevelt supported reforestation with the Hewitt Amendment in 1931, which gave birth to New York's State Forest system . As the 1932 presidential election approached, Roosevelt turned his attention to national politics, established

16416-496: The lack of an adequate response to the crises of liquidity that followed the initial economic shock of 1929 and the subsequent bank failures accompanied by a general collapse of the financial markets. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped from 381 to 198 over the course of two months, optimism persisted for some time. The stock market rose in early 1930, with

16568-652: The march of civilization." His platform called for aid to farmers, full employment , unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions. He was elected to a second term by a 14% margin. Roosevelt proposed an economic relief package and the establishment of the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration to distribute those funds. Led first by Jesse I. Straus and then by Harry Hopkins , the agency assisted over one-third of New York's population between 1932 and 1938. Roosevelt also began an investigation into corruption in New York City among

16720-521: The market entered a period of recovery from 14 November until 17 April 1930, the general situation had been a prolonged slump. From 17 April 1930 until 8 July 1932, the market continued to lose 89% of its value. Despite the crash, the worst of the crisis did not reverberate around the world until after 1929. The crisis hit panic levels again in December 1930, with a bank run on the Bank of United States ,

16872-414: The mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U.S. Interest rates dropped to low levels by mid-1930, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment remained low. By May 1930, automobile sales declined to below the levels of 1928. Prices, in general, began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930. Then

17024-510: The mobilization of the American economy to support the war effort and implemented a Europe first strategy. He also initiated the development of the first atomic bomb and worked with the other Allied leaders to lay the groundwork for the United Nations and other post-war institutions, even coining the term "United Nations". Roosevelt won reelection in 1944 but died in 1945 after his physical health seriously and steadily declined during

17176-423: The monetary base and by not injecting liquidity into the banking system to prevent it from crumbling, the Federal Reserve passively watched the transformation of a normal recession into the Great Depression. Friedman and Schwartz argued that the downward turn in the economy, starting with the stock market crash, would merely have been an ordinary recession if the Federal Reserve had taken aggressive action. This view

17328-502: The most to make recovery possible. Every major currency left the gold standard during the Great Depression. The UK was the first to do so. Facing speculative attacks on the pound and depleting gold reserves , in September 1931 the Bank of England ceased exchanging pound notes for gold and the pound was floated on foreign exchange markets. Japan and the Scandinavian countries followed in 1931. Other countries, such as Italy and

17480-427: The most. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 ended the Depression, as it stimulated factory production, providing jobs for women as militaries absorbed large numbers of young, unemployed men. The precise causes for the Great Depression are disputed. One set of historians, for example, focuses on non-monetary economic causes. Among these, some regard the Wall Street crash itself as the main cause; others consider that

17632-522: The name recognition of prominent individuals including Roosevelt to win political support for state parks, but then diverting funds to the ones Moses favored on Long Island, while Moses worked to block the appointment of Howe to a salaried position as the Taconic commission's secretary. Roosevelt served on the commission until the end of 1928, and his contentious relationship with Moses continued as their careers progressed. In 1923 Edward Bok established

17784-582: The need to balance the national budget and was unwilling to implement expensive welfare spending . In 1930, Hoover signed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act , which taxed imports with the intention of encouraging buyers to purchase American products, which worsened the Depression because foreign governments retaliated with tariffs on American exports. In 1932, Hoover established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation , which offered loans to businesses and support to local governments. In

17936-450: The newest building in the complex (built in 2001), replaced an older exhibit hall. It has 72,000 square feet (6,700 m) of space and a 30-foot (9 m) ceiling height, can be divided into two exhibit halls and can seat up to 7,000. Hall E, built in 1997, is the largest exhibit hall in the complex, with 108,000 square feet (10,000 m) of space and a 30-foot (9 m) ceiling height. It seats up to 9,000. Halls D and E are connected by

18088-557: The next year, Roosevelt remained in Washington to coordinate the naval deployment, as the Navy expanded fourfold. In the summer of 1918, Roosevelt traveled to Europe to inspect naval installations and meet with French and British officials. On account of his relation to Theodore Roosevelt, he was received very prominently considering his relatively junior rank, obtaining long private audiences with King George V and prime ministers David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau , as well as

18240-452: The nomination in person. His appearance was essential, to show himself as vigorous, despite his physical disability. In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt declared, "I pledge you, I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people... This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms." Roosevelt promised securities regulation, tariff reduction, farm relief, government-funded public works, and other government actions to address

18392-481: The office, as he gained valuable experience in labor issues, wartime management, naval issues, and logistics. In 1914, Roosevelt ran for the seat of retiring Republican Senator Elihu Root of New York. Though he had the backing of Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo and Governor Martin H. Glynn , he faced a formidable opponent in Tammany Hall's James W. Gerard . He also was without Wilson's support, as

18544-483: The physical volume of exports fall, but also the prices fell by about 1 ⁄ 3 as written. Hardest hit were farm commodities such as wheat, cotton, tobacco, and lumber. Governments around the world took various steps into spending less money on foreign goods such as: "imposing tariffs, import quotas, and exchange controls". These restrictions triggered much tension among countries that had large amounts of bilateral trade, causing major export-import reductions during

18696-480: The policies prolonged the Depression instead of shortening it. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%; in the U.S., the Depression resulted in a 30% contraction in GDP. Recovery varied greatly around the world. Some economies, such as the U.S., Germany and Japan started to recover by the mid-1930s; others, like France, did not return to pre-shock growth rates until later in

18848-406: The political situation in Europe. In their book, A Monetary History of the United States , Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz also attributed the recovery to monetary factors, and contended that it was much slowed by poor management of money by the Federal Reserve System . Chairman of the Federal Reserve (2006–2014) Ben Bernanke agreed that monetary factors played important roles both in

19000-567: The power to act. During the transition, Roosevelt chose Howe as his chief of staff, and Farley as Postmaster General. Frances Perkins, as Secretary of Labor, became the first woman appointed to a cabinet position. William H. Woodin , a Republican industrialist close to Roosevelt, was chosen for Secretary of the Treasury, while Roosevelt chose Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee as Secretary of State. Harold L. Ickes and Henry A. Wallace , two progressive Republicans, were selected for Secretary of

19152-483: The president needed Tammany's forces for his legislation and 1916 re-election. Roosevelt was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gerard, who in turn lost the general election to Republican James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. He learned that federal patronage alone, without White House support, could not defeat a strong local organization. After the election, he and Tammany Hall boss Charles Francis Murphy sought accommodation and became allies. Roosevelt refocused on

19304-589: The president's administrative style, Burns concludes: The president stayed in charge of his administration...by drawing fully on his formal and informal powers as Chief Executive; by raising goals, creating momentum, inspiring a personal loyalty, getting the best out of people...by deliberately fostering among his aides a sense of competition and a clash of wills that led to disarray, heartbreak, and anger but also set off pulses of executive energy and sparks of creativity...by handing out one job to several men and several jobs to one man, thus strengthening his own position as

19456-434: The scale necessary to make the grand experiments which would prove my case—except in war conditions." According to Christina Romer , the money supply growth caused by huge international gold inflows was a crucial source of the recovery of the United States economy, and that the economy showed little sign of self-correction. The gold inflows were partly due to devaluation of the U.S. dollar and partly due to deterioration of

19608-562: The situation and established a state employment commission. He also became the first governor to publicly endorse the idea of unemployment insurance . When Roosevelt began his run for a second term in May 1930, he reiterated his doctrine from the campaign two years before: "that progressive government by its very terms must be a living and growing thing, that the battle for it is never-ending and that if we let up for one single moment or one single year, not merely do we stand still but we fall back in

19760-502: The task to caregivers. She later said that she knew "absolutely nothing about handling or feeding a baby." They had six children. Anna , James , and Elliott were born in 1906, 1907, and 1910, respectively. The couple's second son, Franklin, died in infancy in 1909. Another son, also named Franklin , was born in 1914, and the youngest, John , was born in 1916. Roosevelt had several extramarital affairs. He commenced an affair with Eleanor's social secretary, Lucy Mercer , soon after she

19912-443: The telephone without his secretary's help; Franklin, in turn, did not visit Eleanor's New York City apartment until late 1944. Franklin broke his promise to Eleanor regarding Lucy Mercer. He and Mercer maintained a formal correspondence and began seeing each other again by 1941. Roosevelt's son Elliott claimed that his father had a 20-year affair with his private secretary, Marguerite LeHand . Another son, James, stated that "there

20064-407: The time. Franklin had a half-brother, James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt , from his father's previous marriage. As a child, Roosevelt learned to ride, shoot, sail, and play polo, tennis, and golf. Frequent trips to Europe—beginning at age two and from age seven to fifteen—helped Roosevelt become conversant in German and French. Except for attending public school in Germany at age nine, Roosevelt

20216-439: The unemployed. Recovery meant boosting the economy back to normal, and reform was required of the financial and banking systems. Through Roosevelt's 30 " fireside chats ", he presented his proposals directly to the American public as a series of radio addresses. Energized by his own victory over paralytic illness, he used persistent optimism and activism to renew the national spirit. On his second day in office, Roosevelt declared

20368-624: The war years. Since then, several of his actions have come under criticism , such as his ordering of the internment of Japanese Americans . Nonetheless, historical rankings consistently place him among the three greatest American presidents. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York , to businessman James Roosevelt I and his second wife, Sara Ann Delano . His parents, who were sixth cousins, came from wealthy, established New York families—the Roosevelts ,

20520-462: The workforce was unemployed, and farmers were in deep trouble as prices had fallen by 60%. Industrial production had fallen by more than half since 1929. Two million people were homeless. By the evening of March 4, 32 of the 48 states—as well as the District of Columbia—had closed their banks. Historians categorized Roosevelt's program as "relief, recovery, and reform". Relief was urgently needed by

20672-476: The world, recovery from the Great Depression began in 1933. In the U.S., recovery began in early 1933, but the U.S. did not return to 1929 GNP for over a decade and still had an unemployment rate of about 15% in 1940, albeit down from the high of 25% in 1933. There is no consensus among economists regarding the motive force for the U.S. economic expansion that continued through most of the Roosevelt years (and

20824-671: The world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression. The Depression was preceded by a period of industrial growth and social development known as the " Roaring Twenties ". Much of the profit generated by the boom was invested in speculation , such as on the stock market , which resulted in growing wealth inequality . Banks were subject to minimal regulation under laissez-faire economic policies, resulting in loose lending and widespread debt. By 1929, declining spending had led to reductions in manufacturing output and rising unemployment . Share values continued to rise until

20976-624: The world. The financial crisis escalated out of control in mid-1931, starting with the collapse of the Credit Anstalt in Vienna in May. This put heavy pressure on Germany, which was already in political turmoil. With the rise in violence of National Socialist ('Nazi') and Communist movements, as well as investor nervousness at harsh government financial policies, investors withdrew their short-term money from Germany as confidence spiraled downward. The Reichsbank lost 150 million marks in

21128-778: The worldwide economic decline and eventual recovery. Bernanke also saw a strong role for institutional factors, particularly the rebuilding and restructuring of the financial system, and pointed out that the Depression should be examined in an international perspective. Women's primary role was as housewives; without a steady flow of family income, their work became much harder in dealing with food and clothing and medical care. Birthrates fell everywhere, as children were postponed until families could financially support them. The average birthrate for 14 major countries fell 12% from 19.3 births per thousand population in 1930, to 17.0 in 1935. In Canada, half of Roman Catholic women defied Church teachings and used contraception to postpone births. Among

21280-451: Was homeschooled by tutors until age 14. He then attended Groton School , an Episcopal boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts . He was not among the more popular Groton students, who were better athletes and had rebellious streaks. Its headmaster, Endicott Peabody , preached the duty of Christians to help the less fortunate and urged his students to enter public service. Peabody remained

21432-658: Was a scramble to deflate prices to get the gold standard's conversation rates back on track to pre-WWI levels, by causing deflation and high unemployment through monetary policy. In 1933 FDR signed Executive Order 6102 and in 1934 signed the Gold Reserve Act . The two classic competing economic theories of the Great Depression are the Keynesian (demand-driven) and the Monetarist explanation. There are also various heterodox theories that downplay or reject

21584-478: Was a small part of overall economic activity in the U.S. and was concentrated in a few businesses like farming, it was a much larger factor in many other countries. The average ad valorem (value based) rate of duties on dutiable imports for 1921–1925 was 25.9% but under the new tariff it jumped to 50% during 1931–1935. In dollar terms, American exports declined over the next four years from about $ 5.2 billion in 1929 to $ 1.7 billion in 1933; so, not only did

21736-450: Was elected governor by a one-percent margin, and became a contender in the next presidential election. Roosevelt proposed the construction of hydroelectric power plants and addressed the ongoing farm crisis of the 1920s . Relations between Roosevelt and Smith suffered after he chose not to retain key Smith appointees like Moses. He and his wife Eleanor established an understanding for the rest of his career; she would dutifully serve as

21888-413: Was elected in November 1932 but like his predecessors did not take office until the following March. After the election, President Hoover sought to convince Roosevelt to renounce much of his campaign platform and to endorse the Hoover administration's policies. Roosevelt refused Hoover's request to develop a joint program to stop the economic decline, claiming that it would tie his hands and that Hoover had

22040-474: Was endorsed in 2002 by Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke in a speech honoring Friedman and Schwartz with this statement: 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. The Federal Reserve allowed some large public bank failures – particularly that of

22192-426: Was given by American economists Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz . They argued that the Great Depression was caused by the banking crisis that caused one-third of all banks to vanish, a reduction of bank shareholder wealth and more importantly monetary contraction of 35%, which they called "The Great Contraction ". This caused a price drop of 33% ( deflation ). By not lowering interest rates, by not increasing

22344-407: Was hired in 1914. That affair was discovered by Eleanor in 1918. Franklin contemplated divorcing Eleanor, but Sara objected, and Mercer would not marry a divorced man with five children. Franklin and Eleanor remained married, and Franklin promised never to see Mercer again. Eleanor never forgave him for the affair, and their marriage shifted to become a political partnership. Eleanor soon established

22496-431: Was improving, which he believed to be essential prior to running for office. He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs, by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane. He was careful never to be seen using his wheelchair in public, and great care was taken to prevent any portrayal in the press that would highlight his disability. However, his disability

22648-500: Was in the form of Federal Reserve demand notes. A "promise of gold" is not as good as "gold in the hand", particularly when they only had enough gold to cover 40% of the Federal Reserve Notes outstanding. During the bank panics, a portion of those demand notes was redeemed for Federal Reserve gold. Since the Federal Reserve had hit its limit on allowable credit, any reduction in gold in its vaults had to be accompanied by

22800-446: Was intended. It exacerbated the Great Depression by preventing economic recovery after domestic production recovered, hampering the volume of trade; still there is disagreement as to the precise extent of the Act's influence. In the popular view, the Smoot–Hawley Tariff was one of the leading causes of the depression. In a 1995 survey of American economic historians, two-thirds agreed that the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act at least worsened

22952-470: Was the rollback of those same reflationary policies that led to the interruption of a recession beginning in late 1937. One contributing policy that reversed reflation was the Banking Act of 1935 , which effectively raised reserve requirements, causing a monetary contraction that helped to thwart the recovery. GDP returned to its upward trend in 1938. A revisionist view among some economists holds that

23104-589: Was well known before and during his presidency and became a major part of his image. He usually appeared in public standing upright, supported on one side by an aide or one of his sons. Beginning in 1925, Roosevelt spent most of his time in the Southern United States , at first on his houseboat, the Larooco . Intrigued by the potential benefits of hydrotherapy , he established a rehabilitation center at Warm Springs, Georgia , in 1926, assembling

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