J.S. McGowan Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 We are about to start covering the Great Depression at school. I have noticed that my History teacher is very much against capitalism and I fear that I will end up being its sole defender when we begin to explore the issue of the Great Depression.I was dismayed even more when I read through the section about the great depression in my text book...I will quote a paragraph: "Roosevelt's New Deal did much to restore the economy. Confidence returned, prices stabilized, the banking system was reformed and unemployment was reduced. Many Historians believe that the new deal strengthened capitalism by getting rid of some abuses and introducing some necessary state control (regulation) over the economy. However, for the first time in America, the principle of the government's responsibility for the welfare of its citizens was accepted. this went against the capitalist belief that that the government had no role to play in providing for the unemployed, the elderly or the sick..." the section seems to be fully bias in its support of the New Deal as no defense for capitalism is made. does anyone have any advice or material for me on the subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 We are about to start covering the Great Depression at school. I have noticed that my History teacher is very much against capitalism and I fear that I will end up being its sole defender when we begin to explore the issue of the Great Depression.I was dismayed even more when I read through the section about the great depression in my text book...I will quote a paragraph: "Roosevelt's New Deal did much to restore the economy. Confidence returned, prices stabilized, the banking system was reformed and unemployment was reduced. Many Historians believe that the new deal strengthened capitalism by getting rid of some abuses and introducing some necessary state control (regulation) over the economy. However, for the first time in America, the principle of the government's responsibility for the welfare of its citizens was accepted. this went against the capitalist belief that that the government had no role to play in providing for the unemployed, the elderly or the sick..."the section seems to be fully bias in its support of the New Deal as no defense for capitalism is made.does anyone have any advice or material for me on the subject?This book is perfect for your purposes:"The Forgotten Man" redirects here. For other uses, see The Forgotten Man (disambiguation). The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression Author(s) Amity Shlaes Country United States Language English Subject(s) The Great Depression Genre(s) History Publisher HarperCollins Publication date June 12, 2007 Media type Print Pages 480 pp ISBN 0066211700 OCLC Number 74029445 Dewey Decimal 973.91/6 22 LC Classification E806 .S52 2007 The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression is a book by Amity Shlaes and published by HarperCollins. The book is a re-analysis of the events of the Great Depression, generally from a free-market perspective. The bo"The Forgotten Man" redirects here. For other uses, see The Forgotten Man (disambiguation). The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression Author(s) Amity Shlaes Country United States Language English Subject(s) The Great Depression Genre(s) History Publisher HarperCollins Publication date June 12, 2007 Media type Print Pages 480 pp ISBN 0066211700 OCLC Number 74029445 Dewey Decimal 973.91/6 22 LC Classification E806 .S52 2007 The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression is a book by Amity Shlaes and published by HarperCollins. The book is a re-analysis of the events of the Great Depression, generally from a free-market perspective. The book criticizes Herbert Hoover and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff for their role in exacerbating the Depression through government intervention. It criticizes Franklin D. Roosevelt for erratic policies that froze investment and for not taking smart enough steps to stop the Depression. Shlaes criticizes the New Deal for extending the length of the Depression and for its effects on individuals.Shlaes praises the model offered by Wendell Willkie before the 1940 presidential election, where the New Deal would have been scaled back and business would have stepped in.The book begins with an anecdote of the 1937 recession, eight years after the Depression began, when Roosevelt adopted budget-balancing policies indistinguishable from the stereotype of what Hoover supposedly did. Shlaes presents her arguments in part by telling stories of self-starters who showed what the free market could have accomplished without the New Deal.[1]ok criticizes Herbert Hoover and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff for their role in exacerbating the Depression through government intervention. It criticizes Franklin D. Roosevelt for erratic policies that froze investment and for not taking smart enough steps to stop the Depression. Shlaes criticizes the New Deal for extending the length of the Depression and for its effects on individuals.Shlaes praises the model offered by Wendell Willkie before the 1940 presidential election, where the New Deal would have been scaled back and business would have stepped in.The book begins with an anecdote of the 1937 recession, eight years after the Depression began, when Roosevelt adopted budget-balancing policies indistinguishable from the stereotype of what Hoover supposedly did. Shlaes presents her arguments in part by telling stories of self-starters who showed what the free market could have accomplished without the New Deal.[1] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merjet Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 America's Great Depression by Murray N. RothbardI won't say it's top-notch, but Rothbard's view is radically different from your professor's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 America's Great Depression by Murray N. RothbardI won't say it's top-notch, but Rothbard's view is radically different from your professor's.Agreed it is a good book for thinking along different paths than that teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jts Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 From FEE (Foundation for Economic Education):Speech by Lawrence W. Reed:GREAT MYTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION 14:08GREAT MYTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION (FULL) 1:06:26Whole bunch of free downolads:http://www.fee.org/library/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 We are about to start covering the Great Depression at school. I have noticed that my History teacher is very much against capitalism and I fear that I will end up being its sole defender when we begin to explore the issue of the Great Depression.I was dismayed even more when I read through the section about the great depression in my text book...I will quote a paragraph: "Roosevelt's New Deal did much to restore the economy. Confidence returned, prices stabilized, the banking system was reformed and unemployment was reduced. Many Historians believe that the new deal strengthened capitalism by getting rid of some abuses and introducing some necessary state control (regulation) over the economy. However, for the first time in America, the principle of the government's responsibility for the welfare of its citizens was accepted. this went against the capitalist belief that that the government had no role to play in providing for the unemployed, the elderly or the sick..."the section seems to be fully bias in its support of the New Deal as no defense for capitalism is made.does anyone have any advice or material for me on the subject?The man who got us out from under the Great Depression was Adolph Hitler. War and two wide Oceans saved the U.S.Under FDR we had a "double dip" recession within the Depression in 1937. FDR's policies were a failure and an exercise in American style Fascism. Compare the NRA Eagle to the Nazi Eagle sometime. They resemble each other to a disturbing degree.Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S. McGowan Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks for all the posts The link to the Rothbard article doesn't work thoughbut i think that I am definitely more clued up on the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merjet Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The link to the Rothbard article doesn't work I fixed it. Also: http://mises.org/rot...gd/contents.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jts Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The man who got us out from under the Great Depression was Adolph Hitler. War and two wide Oceans saved the U.S.Did you read Bastiat's story of the broken window? Did you read Hazlitt's repeat of the broken window story in Economics In One Lesson? Read the whole story, not just half of it.There is a cartoon of a guy reading the broken window story and when he is half way, he hears a crash. A 2nd guy smashed a window with a brick. Next thing, he is smashing all the windows in the block. The title of the cartoon is Economics in Half a Lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The man who got us out from under the Great Depression was Adolph Hitler. War and two wide Oceans saved the U.S.Did you read Bastiat's story of the broken window? Did you read Hazlitt's repeat of the broken window story in Economics In One Lesson? Read the whole story, not just half of it.There is a cartoon of a guy reading the broken window story and when he is half way, he hears a crash. A 2nd guy smashed a window with a brick. Next thing, he is smashing all the windows in the block. The title of the cartoon is Economics in Half a Lesson.Notwithstanding Bastiat's point, I claim I stated a fact. Roosevelt dissolved the Great Depression by progressive violations of the U.S. Neutrality act starting 1939 with war production and arms shipments to Great Britain. This continue until Germany finally declared war on the U.S on 11 Dec. 1941 at which point the U.S. declared war on Germany. All of the arms production was in response to what Hitler was doing in Europe. The theory is nice, but the history is fact. If the U.S had been truly neutral we would have been in the dumps well into the 1940's or until such time as we were officially at war. FDRs program for dealing with the Depression was a failure. Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jts Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The theory is nice, but the history is fact. If the U.S had been truly neutral we would have been in the dumps well into the 1940's or until such time as we were officially at war.Let's talk about one of your favorite subjects, logic. Let us suppose that A happened and that a short time later B happened. (For example A = Hitler and B = recovery from the Great Depression.) Altho this by itself does not prove that A caused B, let us suppose in a given instance that you can prove that A caused B. Does it follow that if A had not happened that B would not have happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The idea that WWII ended the Great Depression is common but controversial.--Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The theory is nice, but the history is fact. If the U.S had been truly neutral we would have been in the dumps well into the 1940's or until such time as we were officially at war.Let's talk about one of your favorite subjects, logic. Let us suppose that A happened and that a short time later B happened. (For example A = Hitler and B = recovery from the Great Depression.) Altho this by itself does not prove that A caused B, let us suppose in a given instance that you can prove that A caused B. Does it follow that if A had not happened that B would not have happened?No war, no recovery. Virtually all new employment in 1939 and 1940 was to support war production and lend lease. Then there were the secondary increases in ancillary industries derived from wages earned in the war industries. The war in Europe saved our asses.If there had been no war brewing in Europe we might have remained in economic Depression until 1950.All of FDRs fiddling helped not. The CCC, the NRA and other alphabet soup agencies could not prevent a secondary recession in 1937. Only War worked. War is good for business as long as one is protected by two large oceans. Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9thdoctor Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The idea that WWII ended the Great Depression is common but controversial.Another view is that Truman’s Congress ended the Great Depression by ending the New Deal, or rather, by not restarting the New Deal following the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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