..The Great Depression stunned the nation. Hard-working men and women found themselves out of work, starving, and at a complete loss of what to do. The confidence of the 1920s had evaporated into a time of self doubt, and humiliation for millions. One of the best known songs of the Depression era was written by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg, the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia who lived in the lower East Side of New York City. Working with composer Jay Gorney, Harburg wrote Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? in 1932. Bing Crosby - "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931) They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread? Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime? Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime; Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime? Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum, Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum! Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime? Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum, Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum! Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime? Do Now: What feelings does this song convey? 1 What do the images tell you about life at the time?
HW Directions: Read the following information about Huey Long and answer the questions that follow. Born in 1893 to middle-class parents in north-central Louisiana, Huey Long is best known as the populist governor of that state. Although Long showed early promise as a gifted student with a photographic memory, he dropped out of high school and soon became a successful salesman. Further, after no more than a year of formal study he took and passed the bar exam in 1915, then established his law practice in Winnfield, Louisiana. Later he would say, "My cases in Court were on the side of the small man the underdog." Soon Long was beginning his political climb, on the State Railroad Commission, and later as chairman of the Public Services Commission. In that role, he sought to lower rates on essential "people services" such as telephone use, gas and electric power, and streetcar fares. Long ran for Governor in 1928, campaigning on a slogan from the late 19th century populist, William Jennings Bryan, "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown." Making education and attacks on powerful corporations his main themes, Long won the governorship by the largest margin in Louisiana history. Introducing major reforms, including free textbooks and free night courses for adult learning, Long also launched a program to build a school within walking distance of every child in the state. Moreover, the Democratic governor improved the state s infrastructure. When Long came to office the state had less than 350 miles of paved roads; during his tenure he paved 3000 miles of roads using money from a tax on gas. He supported the building of 111 bridges, a new airport in New Orleans, and a medical school at Louisiana State University (LSU). During his time in office, Long increased the taxes of large business in the state, especially the oil companies. Despite impressive reforms, Long s critics accused him of being a dictator, noting that he overcame virtually all opposition to his program of economic and social reform through intimidation and patronage. In 1929, he was impeached on charges of bribery and gross misconduct, but the state senate did not convict him by a narrow margin of just two votes. After that, his tactics became more ruthless and demagogic. Elected to the United States Senate in 1930, he refused to take his seat in that federal legislative body until he had assured that one of his own supporters would take his spot as governor. From Washington, he continued to run the Louisiana government. By 1934 he began a reorganization of the state that all but abolished local government and gave himself the power to appoint all state employees. In 1930, Governor Huey Long was elected to the United States Senate. Although he had supported the presidency of Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, by 1934 Senator Long was claiming that the president s New Deal had done little to alleviate the problems of the depression. He began to criticize FDR for being too mild of a reformer. Believing himself capable of becoming president, Long used the floor of the Senate to expound his views on the redistribution of wealth. By the fall of 1933 the Long-Roosevelt alliance had ruptured, partially because he believed FDR had failed to provide real help to the people and became too cozy with the same people who had caused the Depression; and in part over Long s growing interest in running for president. In 1934 Long organized his own, alternative political organization, the Share-Our-Wealth Society, through which he advocated a populist program for redistributing wealth through sharply graduated income and inheritance taxes. As his national recognition grew, he spoke with increasing frequency to national radio audiences. No politician in this era except Roosevelt himself and Long s sometime ally, Father Charles Coughlin used radio as frequently and effectively. In the early 30s, many outside of Louisiana became captivated by Long, whose colorful oratory, and promises of "every man a king" resonated with the poor during this Great Depression Era. Though he was a Democrat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered Long a demagogue and privately said of him that 2
"he was one of the... most dangerous men in America." Promising a redistribution of wealth through a plan of economic and social reform called "Share Our Wealth," Long envisioned himself as president. That plan was cut short when Dr. Carl A. Weiss assassinated him in the State Capitol Building in Baton Rouge on September 8, 1935. He is now buried on those Capitol grounds. Long charged that the nation s economic collapse was the result of the vast disparity between the super-rich and everyone else. A recovery was impossible, Long argued, while 95% of the nation s wealth was held by only 15% of the population. In Long s view, this concentration of money among a handful of wealthy bankers and industrialists restricted its availability for average citizens, who were already struggling with debt and the effects of a shrinking economy. Because no one could afford to buy goods and services, businesses were forced to cut their workforces, thus deepening the economic crisis through a devastating ripple effect. We do not propose to say there shall be no rich men, Long told an audience of millions. We do not ask to divide the wealth. We only propose that, when one man gets more than he and his children and children s children can spend or use in their lifetimes, that then we shall say that such person has his share. Long believed that it was morally wrong for the government to allow millions of Americans to suffer in poverty when there existed a surplus of food, clothing, and shelter. He blamed the mass suffering on a capitalist system run amok and feared that impending civil unrest threatened the democracy. The concern was great enough for the Democratic National Committee to commission a secret political poll in 1935 (perhaps the first use of polling for this purpose) to gauge his appeal; it found that he could get as much as 11 percent of the vote if he ran as a third party candidate in 1936.Long enthusiasts created 27,000 Share-Our- Wealth Clubs with perhaps as many as eight million members. 1. When and where was Long born? 2. What is admirable about his passing the Bar Exam and becoming a lawyer? 3. Who did Long commonly defend as a lawyer? 4. What was his campaign slogan as he very successfully ran for Governor of Louisiana in 1928? 5. List 8 improvements (in short bulleted format)long made while governor of Louisiana? 3
6. What were some negative or non-democratic features of his tenure as a governor and then senator from Louisiana? (Turn over) 7. List the 4 reasons Long stopped supporting and began criticizing FDR. 8. In 1 sentence summarize Long s Share our Wealth philosophy. 9. How did Long die? 10. According to Long, what was the main obstable to what he considered to be real help for the majority of U.S. citizens? 11. According to Long, why was the government morally wrong to allow Americans to suffer in poverty? 12. Provide 1 piece of evidence that FDR considered Long to be a threat to his popularity 4
Share the Wealth : Huey Long Talks to the Nation Huey Long first came to national attention as governor of Louisiana in 1928 and U.S. Senator in 1930. He ruled Louisiana as a virtual dictator, but he also initiated massive public works programs, improved public education and public health, and even established some restrictions on corporate power in the state. While Long was an early supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, by the fall of 1933 the Long-Roosevelt alliance had ruptured, in part over Long s growing interest in running for president. In 1934 Long organized his own, alternative political organization, the Share-Our-Wealth Society, through which he advocated a populist program for redistributing wealth through sharply graduated income and inheritance taxes. As his national recognition (and ambitions) grew, he spoke with increasing frequency to national radio audiences. No politician in this era except Roosevelt himself and Long s sometime ally, Father Charles Coughlin used radio as frequently and effectively. In this April 1935 radio address, Long sharply criticized FDR and the New Deal and then sketched out his alternative program. WE WILL LISTEN TO AN AUDIO EXCERPT ACCOMPANIED BY THE TEST BELOW. Huey Long: Now in the third year of his administration, we find more of our people unemployed than at any other time. We find our houses empty and our people hungry, many of them half-clothed and many of them not clothed at all. Mr. Hopkins announced twenty-two millions on the dole, a new high-water mark in that particular sum, a few weeks ago. We find not only the people going further into debt, but that the United States is going further into debt. The states are going further into debt, and the cities and towns are even going into bankruptcy. The condition has become deplorable. Instead of his promises, the only remedy that Mr. Roosevelt has prescribed is to borrow more money if he can and to go further into debt. The last move was to borrow $5 billion more on which we must pay interest for the balance of our lifetimes, and probably during the lifetime of our children. And with it all, there stalks a slimy specter of want, hunger, destitution, and pestilence, all because of the fact that in the land of too much and of too much to wear, our president has failed in his promise to have these necessities of life distributed into the hands of the people who have need of them. Now, my friends, you have heard me read how a great New York newspaper, after investigations, declared that all I have said about the bad distribution of this nation s wealth is true. But we have been about our work to correct this situation. That is why the Share Our Wealth societies are forming in every nook and corner of America. They re meeting tonight. Soon there will be Share Our Wealth societies for everyone to meet. They have a great work to perform. Here is what we stand for in a nutshell: Number one, we propose that every family in America should at least own a homestead equal in value to not less than one third the average family wealth. The average family wealth of America, at normal values, is approximately $16,000. So our first proposition means that every family will have a home and the comforts of a home up to a value of not less than around $5,000 or a little more than that. 5
Number two, we propose that no family shall own more than three hundred times the average family wealth, which means that no family shall possess more than a wealth of approximately $5 million none to own less than $5,000, none to own more than $5 million. We think that s too much to allow them to own, but at least it s extremely conservative. Number three, we propose that every family shall have an income equal to at least one third of the average family income in America. If all were allowed to work, there d be an income of from $5,000 to $10,000 per family. We propose that one third would be the minimum. We propose that no family will have an earning of less than around $2,000 to $2,500 and that none will have more than three hundred times the average less the ordinary income taxes, which means that a million dollars would be the limit on the highest income. We also propose to give the old-age pensions to the old people, not by taxing them or their children, but by levying the taxes upon the excess fortunes to whittle them down, and on the excess incomes and excess inheritances, so that the people who reach the age of sixty can be retired from the active labor of life and given an opportunity to have surcease and ease for the balance of the life that they have on earth. We also propose the care for the veterans, including the cash payment of the soldiers' bonus. We likewise propose that there should be an education for every youth in this land and that no youth would be dependent upon the financial means of his parents in order to have a college education. WE WILL LISTEN TO AN AUDIO EXCERPT WITHOUT TEXT. The excerpt is from one of Long s more famous speeches the Barbecue Speech, delivered at the Washington Press Club in 1935. He consistently used the phrase Every man a King, but no one wears a crown, which adequately encapsulated his economic strategy. Share Our Wealth Proposal 1. Cap personal fortunes at $50 million (equivalent to about $750 million today) 2. Limit annual income to one million dollars each (about $12 million today) 3. Limit inheritances to five million dollars each (about $60 million today) 4. Limit poverty by providing that every deserving family would share in the wealth of America and guarantee every family an annual income of $2,000 (or one-third the national average $24,000 today) 5. Free college education and vocational training 6. Old-age pensions for all persons over 60 7. Extensive veterans benefits and healthcare 8. A 30 hour work week so that overproduction could be prevented, and workers could enjoy some of the recreations, conveniences, and luxuries of life. 9. A four week vacation for every worker, which would also increase employment. 6
10. To balance agricultural production with what could be sold and consumed, to maintain stable prices for farmers. Discussion Questions: 1. Why did FDR (and most of the members of Congress) consider Long to be so dangerous? 2. Do you agree/disagree with Long s general philosophy to share the wealth? Why or why not. 3. Do you agree with these specific proposals: a. Personal Salary Caps b. Inheritance Limits c. Guaranteeing a minimum income d. Free College and Vocational Education e. 30 hour work week f. Mandatory allowance of 4 weeks vacation 4. Where on the political spectrum do you think Long belongs? We will discuss using a diagram. 7
Do Now: In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck described the hard times faced by farmers in the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Many Dust Bowl farmers could not pay their debts and lost their land to the bankers because they could not pay their mortgage. These bankers were heavily resented by the farmers because they owned much land (due to foreclosures), and this land was not being used for farming. That reality combined with the overall wealth of the bankers and their general lack of what the farmers thought to be real suffering, created a tremendous level of resentment and bitterness between the two groups. In the selection below, farmers who have lost their land argue with the new owners. Read the selection carefully. Then answer the questions that follow. Note: A squatter is a person who lives someplace illegally and without ownership. You ll have to get off the land. The plows ll go through the dooryard. And now the squatting men stood up angrily. Grampa took up the land, and Pa was born here. Then a bad year came and he had to borrow money. The bank owned the land then, but we stayed and we got a little bit of what we raised. We know that all that. It s not us, it s the bank. A bank isn t like a man. Sure, cried the squatters, but it s our land. We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even it it s no good, it s still ours. That s what makes it ours being born on it, working it, dying on it. That makes ownership, not a paper with numbers on it. 1. According to the farmers, how did the bank become owner of the land? 2. Why do the farmers feel they are the real owners of the land? 8 3. What do the new owners mean when they say A bank isn t like a man.?
Ignited Mass Exodus from Plains States: 1. 100s of thousands becoming 2. Labeled " " or " s" 3. Many headed to 4. Found no or poorly paying farm jobs Location: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas (Plains States) Dust Bowl (1930s) Causes: 1. 1930-1936 Abnormally low rainfall = and dry baked land 2. land during 1900-1930 3. were allowed to overgraze 4. Result - is loosened 5. Vulnerable to Dust Storms: 1. 1932-19 2. gigantic dust clouds (day looked like night) 3. 12 tons of dust on 4. Dust reached Boston, and Atlanta 5. Result = nonfertile land, suffocated animals, paint stripped off houses, respiratory diseases Overfarmed land: 1. New farming technology (tractor, harvester-thresher) 2. Pressure from investors to grow increasing amounts of cash crops (wheat, cotton) 3. Strips the soil before it can replenish itself = loose dusty dead 9
CHARLES ARTHUR FLOYD: 'PRETTY BOY' FROM COOKSON HILLS By Joseph Geringer (Source: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/floyd/1.html) Criticism of the 1st New Deal(Radicalism and the Dust Bowl) 1930s Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd rose from being a callus-fingered cotton picker to trigger-fingered gunslinger, one of the most colorful bank robbers in the history of Depression-era America. He became a symbol of a troubled era the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. A Robin Hood figure who enjoyed hitting back against the wealthy - in defense of the poor, he is remembered in legend and in song, recalled not with a shudder of fear but with almost a fond salute. In Oklahoma's Cookson Hills, where he grew up, he is an icon. "Pretty Boy," says biographer Michael Wallis, "is the stuff of legends." His beloved Cookson Hills was heavily impacted by an undeniable financial depression and a series of droughts and dust storms that destroyed their livelihood. Like so many others who found it humanly impossible to cope with suffering, he fought back. And when he did so - he didn t receive the romantic glory gained by Jesse James and other boyhood heroes who had grown up on the same roads. The world was changing rapidly - policemen now moved quicker behind the wheel of a Ford Sedan than in the stirrups of a horse. New technology radio and telephone produced a communications system that outdid the old days when Jesse James could ride faster than the news of his latest bank robbery. Floyd couldn't ride faster, but he tried. To the death he tried. Many say that Charles Arthur Floyd, they called him Choctaw, or Choc in an earlier setting, might never have resorted to crime. "He robbed banks, but he had morals, he had truth," nephew Glendon Floyd tells us. Even though in the 1920s the U.S. ignored many social wrongs, it was the big city gangster in Chicago and New York who enjoyed that benefit. But, Pretty Boy could not buy the politicians nor pay off the brilliant lawyers; Pretty Boy stole just enough from the banks to keep himself and his gang members fed, their automobiles gassed and his fellow Okies out of the poor house. In the end, Choc Floyd was betrayed. Not by a woman in red, as was Indiana bank robber John Dillinger; not by a death wish like Bonnie and Clyde. But, allegedly, by J. Edgar Hoover (FBI) who thought Floyd would be better a stepping stone (for himself) to higher things if he was killed and not incarcerated. Pretty Boy Floyd (lyrics) Woody Guthrie, RCA Studios, Camden, NJ, 26 Apr 1940, released on "Dust Bowl Ballads. Hard times provoked defiance by those who were suffering they wanted the government to act and under Herbert Hoover their cries fell on deaf ears. Folk singer Woody Guthrie s song Pretty Boy Floyd glorified those that stole from the rich and gave to the poor. From the perspective of poor farmers of the Dust Bowl whose land was taken by wealthy bankers when the farmers could no longer pay the mortgage, the difference between the outlaw robber and the banker was not always clear. Several robbers gained notoriety during the 1930s, including Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger. Guthrie s song lyrics express the similarities between the robber and the banker, and even refer to the police who often were the enforcers for the bankers. 10
Come and gather 'round me, children, A story I will tell 'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw, Oklahoma knew him well. It was in Shawnee, Oklahoma A Saturday afternoon, His wife beside him in his wagon As into town they rode. There a deputy sheriff approached him In a manner rather rude, Vulgar words of anger, An' his wife she overheard. Pretty Boy grabbed a log chain, And the deputy grabbed his gun; In the fight that followed He laid that deputy down. Then he took to the trees and timber along the river shore Hiding on the river bottom He never came back no more Left a thousand dollar bill. It was in Oklahoma City, It was on a Christmas Day, There was a whole car load of groceries Come with a note to say: Well, you say that I'm an outlaw, You say that I'm a thief. Here's a Christmas dinner For the families on relief. Yes, as through this world I've wandered I've seen lots of funny men; Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen. And as through your life you travel, Yes, as through your life you roam, You won't never see an outlaw Drive a family from their home. 11 Yes He took to the trees and timber To live a life of shame; Every crime in Oklahoma Was added to his name. But there s a many a starving farmer The same old story told How the outlaw paid their mortgage And saved their little homes. Others tell you 'bout a stranger That come to beg a meal, Underneath his napkin
Criticism of the New Deal This is Your Land by Woody Guthrie (February 1940) Woody Guthrie, born in Oklahoma in 1912 in a poor and troubled family, was one of the great folk singers of the 20 th century. In 1940 Guthrie penned This is Your Land. Though quite radical/rebellious in spirit, it became a patriotic anthem being printed in many textbooks and sung in schools around the country. But in many cases, the song s final two stanzas, which speak to Guthrie s sense of social justice, have been deleted. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND This land is your land, this land is my land From California, to the New York Island From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters This land was made for you and me As I was walking a ribbon of highway I saw above me an endless skyway I saw below me a golden valley This land was made for you and me I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts And all around me a voice was sounding This land was made for you and me This land is your land, this land is my land From California, to the New York Island From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters This land was made for you and me The sun comes shining as I was strolling The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting This land was made for you and me As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there And that sign said - no tress passin' But on the other side... it didn't say nothin! Now that side was made for you and me! In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple Near the relief office - I see my people And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin' If this land's still made for you and me. 12