©2007 Clairmont Press

North Carolina: North Carolina: Land of ContrastsLand of Contrasts

Chapter 12Chapter 12The Great Depression and the Big WarThe Great Depression and the Big War

Study PresentationStudy Presentation

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Great Depression The Great Depression

and the Big Warand the Big War

• Section 1: North Carolina Roars Through the Twenties

• Section 2: The Great Depression Levels North Carolina

• Section 3: The New Deal Plows Through North Carolina

• Section 4: North Carolina Again Helps Win the World War

Section 1: North Carolina Roars Section 1: North Carolina Roars Through the TwentiesThrough the Twenties

ESSENTIAL QUESTION–How did the movement of people

after World War I effect North Carolina’s development?

Section 1: North Carolina Roars Section 1: North Carolina Roars Through The TwentiesThrough The Twenties

What words do I need to know?

1. assembly line

2. moonshine

3. evolution

4. stretch-out

Section 1: North Carolina Roars Section 1: North Carolina Roars Through the TwentiesThrough the Twenties

Introduction• Lifestyles in North Carolina were fast-paced, for

rich and poor residents• Auto dealer Osmond Barringer opened the first

Charlotte Motor Speedway, at Pineville • World War I generated jobs and money for

people to buy automobiles• Ford produced the Model T on Assembly lines,

making cars affordable, even in the South

The Popularity of Cars The Popularity of Cars and Moonshineand Moonshine

• Ford built a Model T factory in Charlotte, which could produce 300 cars per day

• Trolleys began to give way to buses

• One-fourth of city dwellers owned a car

• Autos delivered illegal alcohol (moonshine), called “rum running”

• Bootleggers, those who produced and sold moonshine, caused many problems

Good Roads StateGood Roads State• Leaders built road networks to connect

Piedmont industrial towns with raw materials on the coastal plain

• Good Roads Association pushed idea of bond issue to finance road building plans

• Highway 10, from the coast into the mountains, helped North Carolina lead the South in good highways

State on the MoveState on the Move• More than 100,000 people moved to North

Carolina’s towns and cities after World War I• Winston-Salem’s tobacco industry made it the

state’s largest city• Top branded products emerged from the state:

sheets, towels, aluminum, denim, underwear, and hosiery

• Tobacco companies sponsored popular radio shows originating from Charlotte, creating more wealth for the state

Struggles in Rural Areas and MillsStruggles in Rural Areas and Mills• Farms prices dropped steadily in the 1920s due

in part to pests and competition from other states

• Rural areas still had many unpaved roads• Most families did not support the teaching of

evolution in high schools• Many farmers lacked electricity• In mill towns, wages were low• “Stretch-out” occurred when mill workers had to

stretch to tend to more electrified machines than they could handle; complainers were often fired

The Loray Mill StrikeThe Loray Mill Strike• In 1929, mill workers at Loray Mill in

Gastonia walked off the job, asking for better pay and working conditions

• Strikers were evicted from their homes

• Workers camped outside the factory; violence resulted in deaths to the sheriff and a key union organizer

• Created distrust of labor unions in the state

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Section 2: The Great Depression Section 2: The Great Depression Levels North CarolinaLevels North Carolina

ESSENTIAL QUESTION–How did Depression-era bank

failures and job losses affect all North Carolinians?

Section 2: The Great Depression Section 2: The Great Depression Levels North CarolinaLevels North Carolina

What words do I need to know?

1. secret ballot

2. Depression

3. relief

4. Live at Home Program

Section 2: The Great Depression Section 2: The Great Depression Levels North CarolinaLevels North Carolina

Introduction• Governor Max Gardner faced greatest problems

during Depression years of 1929 to 1933• Gardner supported the secret ballot, where a

voter decided in a private booth• He settled labor disputes and felt black students

deserved more respect• He effectively reorganized government, resulting

in the Shelby Dynasty for Democrats through World War II

The Great DepressionThe Great Depression• Depression is a downturn in economic

activity; prices fall, banks fail, people lose jobs

• Paying off bond debts created during the 1920s to build school and roads caused major hardship to North Carolina

• A lack of consumers to buy up goods in a timely manner created the Great Depression

• Masses of people withdrawing their money from banks forced banks to close

.

Live At Home Program Live At Home Program • Sharecroppers and mill workers suffered first in North Carolina; they had little to fall back

on• Families on relief (getting financial help from government) worked for the town or county• Many farmers participated in the “Live At Home Program,” where they used seeds bought

by local governments to grow food and raise the necessities they usually bought at stores• Governor Gardner convinced the legislature not to pass a sales tax, which would hurt the

poor• Some industries, which were taxed, still made profits during the Great Depression

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Section 3: The New Deal Plows Section 3: The New Deal Plows Through North CarolinaThrough North Carolina

ESSENTIAL QUESTION–How were North Carolinians

affected by New Deal programs?

Section 3: The New Deal Plows Section 3: The New Deal Plows Through North CarolinaThrough North Carolina

What words do I need to know?

1. New Deal

2. Blue Ridge Parkway

3. tobacco allotment

4. Social Security Act

Section 3: The New Deal Plows Section 3: The New Deal Plows Through North CarolinaThrough North Carolina

Introduction• In 1933, farm agents in every county

plowed up crops in the field• President Franklin Roosevelt closed then

reopened solvent banks• Farms and factories were regulated by

federal oversight• All types of people were given temporary

work to help them earn some money

New Deal ProgramsNew Deal Programs

• Federal programs were designed to help citizens earn money; their spending power would help revive the economy

• Programs divided into relief, recovery, and reform

• Relief programs helped people pay debts and go on living

• Federally-funded water and sewer lines and post offices created jobs and improved living standards

Blue Ridge ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway• Public Works Administration hired thousands of

mountain residents to clear, grade, and pave the Blue Ridge Parkway

• 469-mile road increased mountain tourism and trade with residents

• The project began in 1935 with the final seven miles completed in 1987

• The Linn Viaduct is a concrete bridge marvel and popular with tourists

• Fontana Dam is the highest east of the Rockies

Recovery AttemptsRecovery Attempts• Overproduction was a major problem; if

goods were reduced while people still worked, prices would rise but people had money to buy the goods

• The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) helped farmers earn more by lessening the supply available at market

• African American sharecroppers did not always experience a rise in incomes

Tobacco Price SupportsTobacco Price Supports• Tobacco growers held a tobacco allotment,

a specific amount of land to grow a crop• Parity existed to ensure that each farmer

received enough cash to live on• Tobacco price supports helped farmers

receive enough money to make a profit• Farm families were able to remain on their

land; they didn’t have to move to cities• Merchants and banks had guaranteed

business, which improved the economy.

Labor IssuesLabor Issues• National Recovery Administration (NRA)

devised “code of conduct” for merchants and manufacturers to regulate wages and prices

• Eliminated child labor and established a minimum wage and 40-hour work week

• The General Strike of 1934 forced mill work stoppages; the National Guard stepped in; eventually most striking union laborers returned to work because they needed money

.

Reform Efforts of the New DealReform Efforts of the New Deal• Social Security Act gave industrial workers

their first retirement pension; it helped those laid off from work

• Streets and airports were built with federal money

• Rural electric cooperatives meant more lights for farming communities

• The state’s tobacco industry enjoyed great profits due to regulation and more people smoking

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Section 4: North Carolina Again Section 4: North Carolina Again Helps Win the World WarHelps Win the World War

ESSENTIAL QUESTION– What contributions did North

Carolina make toward the War effort?

Section 4: North Carolina Again Section 4: North Carolina Again Helps Win the World WarHelps Win the World War

What words do I need to know?

1. rationing

2. training camps

3. victory gardens

4. polio

Section 4: North Carolina Again Section 4: North Carolina Again Helps Win World War IIHelps Win World War II

Introduction• In 1940, hundreds of women took jobs in

downtown stores and kept them for decades

• A generation of North Carolinians knew industry, segregated graded schools, and automobiles

• Life seemed more stable; people were willing to fight for the lives they had built

Mobilizing for WarMobilizing for War

• Once war started, Congress started a military draft, which sent more young North Carolinians into military service

• In 1940, for the first time, more North Carolinians had to pay federal income taxes

• The United States used federal money to produce industrial goods for the allies fighting Germany and Japan (Axis Powers)

North Carolinians in the WarNorth Carolinians in the War• Hundreds of North Carolinians were on

ships sunk at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese

• Germans submarines ambushed hundreds of ships off Cape Hatteras

• Colonel Charles M. McCorkle shot down five enemy planes in one week

• More than 300,000 North Carolinians served in World War II; more than 7,000 who served died while serving

North Carolina As Training CenterNorth Carolina As Training Center• Fort Bragg swelled to 100,000 servicemen

and women

• The 82nd Airborne first trained in Scotland County

• Camp Lejeune opened in Onslow County in 1942 to train Marines on the ground

• Cherry Point trained Marine airmen and Camp Butner trained infantrymen

Raw Materials Aided War EffortRaw Materials Aided War Effort• NC textile mills made most of the fabric

used by the armed forces

• The Wilmington area produced ingredients for army trucks and more than 400 ships

• Mica mines produced materials for electrical wires and trees were cut down for use in war zones

• North Carolina tobacco factories produced millions of cigarettes shipped across the world

Women and Minorities JoinWomen and Minorities Join the War the War

• Female college students picked cotton where there were labor shortages

• More than 7,000 women served and thousands worked at factories

• Greensboro’s Mary Webb Nicholson served in the British Royal Air Force

• Thousands of black women moved from rural areas to the towns to work in factories

Sacrifices on the Home FrontSacrifices on the Home Front• Groceries were controlled by rationing;

families could only buy limited amounts of any item in a month

• Gasoline usage was also limited• Families were encouraged to plant

“victory gardens” to raise more of their own food

• Polio struck hundreds of children in western North Carolina; new drugs and physical therapy saved dozens of lives

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