By John Ballard
I'm not alone compring current events with those of the Great Depression.
Or the Tea Party with the American Liberty League. (Check out the link)
As a political phenomenon, then, the Tea Party shares many of the same tenets and clearly emerged from some of the same forces and fears that gave rise to the American Liberty League in 1934. The one major difference to date appears to lie in the two leaders� responses; for in spite of his popularity, FDR never took anything � especially an election � for granted, and in the 1936 campaign he launched such an effective rhetorical assault on the League and its moneyed backers that by the fall of that year his Republican opponent, Alfred Landon, called the League�s endorsement of his candidacy �the kiss of death.� To date, President Obama has chosen not to take on the Tea Party with anything like the same rhetorical conviction, preferring to take a more reasoned as opposed to emotional approach to a remarkably similar anti-government backlash in a time of crisis. This might be more in keeping with his style of governance, but it may be a decision he will live to regret come November.
Here is an assortment of events from 1933 that caught my attention.
January 5 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
February 6 - The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution goes into effect. (The "Lame Duck Amendment" shortened the time between when officials were elected and when their terms officially started. Prior to this lame duck officials remained in office over a year before being replaced.)
February 17 The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
March 2 - The original film version of King Kong, starring Fay Wray, premieres (I had to include this because I got to see Fay Wray in person in 1969.)
March 4 President Herbert Hoover is succeeded by Franklin D. Roosevelt,
...who in reference to the Great Depression, gives his "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself" inauguration speech. FDR is sworn in by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. It would also be the last time Inauguration Day in the United States would occur on March 4.
The economy was already faltering when Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932. But the situation worsened in the next few months. The banking system was failing- capital was fleeing abroad, depositors were withdrawing their money, prices were falling, and unemployment rising dramatically.
President Hoover and President-elect Roosevelt could not work together. According to historian David Kennedy, Hoover was more interested in vindicating his policies, while Roosevelt aide Raymond Moley thought Roosevelt wanted all the credit for rescuing the economy. Meanwhile in February, Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination in Miami and the nation was so gripped in economic terror that some wished for a dictator to straighten the mess. Then Roosevelt sought to soothe the nation in his inaugural address, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." LINK
March 5 Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday", closing all United States banks and freezing all financial transactions (the 'holiday' ended on March 13).
March 9 - Great Depression: The U.S. Congress begins its first 100 days of enacting New Deal legislation. March 12 - Great Depression: Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This was also the first of his "Fireside Chats".
March 15 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises from $53.84 to $62.10. The day's gain of 15.34%, achieved during the depths of the Great Depression, remains to date as the largest one-day percentage gain for the index.
March 31 - The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission to relieve rampant unemployment. April 5 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a National Emergency and makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to own gold.
April 7 Beer is legalized in the U.S., eight months before the full repeal of Prohibition on December 5, 1933. May 2 First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster.
May 10 Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
May 18 - New Deal: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
May 27 New Deal: The Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
June 5 - The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.
October 17 - Albert Einstein arrives in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. November 8 - Great Depression: New Deal - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million of the unemployed.
December 5 - The 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition in the United States, went into effect.
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Several business models have roots in the Great Depression. Someone obsereved that no matter how broke people got they often scraped together enough to get a cup of coffee and a donut. So Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme are heirs to that business model. My own career in the now obsolete cafeteria concept started about that time when people looked for economical alternatives to full-service restaurants. Automats had been around for about twenty years and also got a boost from hard times.
The motion picture industry got a big boost during the depression. Movies were a comfortable, inexpensive way for people to escape their problems for a short time and the popularity of movies surged.
Here's a historic video snip. Skip past the singing, if you want (first two minutes). Nothing can compare with this Busby Berkeley choreography which follows.
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