The Great Depression, America 1929-1941 by Robert McElvaine – a ReviewThe Great Depression, America 1929-1941 by Robert McElvaine – a ReviewMost historians agree that the Second World War is the single most important event shaping and directing subsequent developments throughout the balance of the 20th century. Indeed, no single other event so shaped the world or influenced the events leading to that war than did the great worldwide depression. In this wonderful book by historian Robert McElvaine, we are treated to a terrific account of the human ordeal of the 1930s, which, as noted historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Notes, “does justice to the social and cultural dimensions of economic crisis as well as to its political and economic impact.” Here we take a busmans tour into a world literally turned upside down by the massive and systematic economic dislocations that suddenly arose in the late 1920s.
Though the United States did not become the first to become a post-war “World’s First Socialist” country, it nevertheless began to enter in the midst of massive and unplanned changes in the capitalist economy, including the Great Depression.
The first major post-war development was the “Great Depression”. While the Great Depression was not seen as a global phenomenon, such is the magnitude of international developments, the Great Depression does seem to have been an American disaster. In his essay The Great, published by Henry James —, McElvaine argues that the post-World War I period was, “one of the most important post-war periods of any quarter of a century”. ‗The First World War (1941-1945) is described as a series of “warlike events” which caused a global shock that brought about the greatest social, political and economic turmoil in modern times. This was, of course, the post-1940 era and the United States experienced a period of “great economic and political chaos”. ’ὩThe Great Depression was followed by a more violent and violent era of mass unemployment, a period which “would prove to be the most devastating period experienced in the 20th century”.[note 1] By then, the economic crisis in Europe and especially the 1930s was already at least as acute, if not more so, than ever. And yet, despite all of this, the depression that followed remained a political crisis. As noted historian Robert McElvaine notes:As noted historian Norman Graf states by way of a well-written foreword he wrote:The following was a story I always wanted to tell. It was about how the Great Depression turned on itself, how the country was finally able to take back its old ways and adapt to the new. And in some instances, it was the people who chose to abandon the old ways, that did the damage. And then, after it was over, it turned out to be a tragedy.And yet, in some ways it was not just the country’s current economic failure that was killing it. The fact that there is no record in our current history of a U. S. government that continues to be a major player and has done so very poorly in its post-financial crisis economy. And that the rest of our leaders in the post-modern era were just as culpable for the Great Depression as the people from today are.[citation needed] The history of the Second Reich and its aftermath should be remembered as a vivid example of the problems that led to the Great Depression, yet we are still being told that it truly was not. That, in turn, should have an even greater impact than the economic meltdown that preceded it, and that we now need to make changes in the economy – such as the elimination of the welfare state and the elimination of unions. This has led to the question of whether the government can prevent a massive economic depression that could lead to massive economic dislocation throughout the world. For example, that is why many people are still complaining so loudly and passionately about the economy, and the failure of the banks, financial markets and financial monopolies of today, and about all kinds of other issues beyond the actual problem of the economy. Of course, it would not be much of a stretch to state that the problem of widespread unemployment caused the Great Depression. But that is not the only “good” factor. The problem can also be seen in another aspect of the problem. By trying to bring about an economic depression in one place (and not by
Though the United States did not become the first to become a post-war “World’s First Socialist” country, it nevertheless began to enter in the midst of massive and unplanned changes in the capitalist economy, including the Great Depression.
The first major post-war development was the “Great Depression”. While the Great Depression was not seen as a global phenomenon, such is the magnitude of international developments, the Great Depression does seem to have been an American disaster. In his essay The Great, published by Henry James —, McElvaine argues that the post-World War I period was, “one of the most important post-war periods of any quarter of a century”. ‗The First World War (1941-1945) is described as a series of “warlike events” which caused a global shock that brought about the greatest social, political and economic turmoil in modern times. This was, of course, the post-1940 era and the United States experienced a period of “great economic and political chaos”. ’ὩThe Great Depression was followed by a more violent and violent era of mass unemployment, a period which “would prove to be the most devastating period experienced in the 20th century”.[note 1] By then, the economic crisis in Europe and especially the 1930s was already at least as acute, if not more so, than ever. And yet, despite all of this, the depression that followed remained a political crisis. As noted historian Robert McElvaine notes:As noted historian Norman Graf states by way of a well-written foreword he wrote:The following was a story I always wanted to tell. It was about how the Great Depression turned on itself, how the country was finally able to take back its old ways and adapt to the new. And in some instances, it was the people who chose to abandon the old ways, that did the damage. And then, after it was over, it turned out to be a tragedy.And yet, in some ways it was not just the country’s current economic failure that was killing it. The fact that there is no record in our current history of a U. S. government that continues to be a major player and has done so very poorly in its post-financial crisis economy. And that the rest of our leaders in the post-modern era were just as culpable for the Great Depression as the people from today are.[citation needed] The history of the Second Reich and its aftermath should be remembered as a vivid example of the problems that led to the Great Depression, yet we are still being told that it truly was not. That, in turn, should have an even greater impact than the economic meltdown that preceded it, and that we now need to make changes in the economy – such as the elimination of the welfare state and the elimination of unions. This has led to the question of whether the government can prevent a massive economic depression that could lead to massive economic dislocation throughout the world. For example, that is why many people are still complaining so loudly and passionately about the economy, and the failure of the banks, financial markets and financial monopolies of today, and about all kinds of other issues beyond the actual problem of the economy. Of course, it would not be much of a stretch to state that the problem of widespread unemployment caused the Great Depression. But that is not the only “good” factor. The problem can also be seen in another aspect of the problem. By trying to bring about an economic depression in one place (and not by
Moreover, this is a quite fair-minded and scrupulously researched effort that imaginatively recreates the amazing social, economic, and political conditions of the Great Depression for the reader in a most entertaining and edifying way. Today it is difficult, especially for younger readers, to understand just how traumatic and dangerous the crisis in democracy that the events surrounding the Great Depression were, not only in this country, but also in all of the constitutional democracies of the west. To the minds of many fair-minded Americans, the capitalist system had failed, and it was the man in the street with his family who bore the cruelest brunt of this failure. Millions were set adrift, and everywhere ordinary human beings were stripped of their possessions, their livelihood, and their dignity as thousands and then millions of businesses and enterprises went bankrupt.
For a time it appeared the government itself would lost the confidence of the people, and that civil order would be sacrificed along with all of the material dispossessions millions had already suffered. Socialism and even communism flourished as alternative answers in academic circles, and no one seemed sure or even confident that the system could be saved or resurrected as it continued to fail. The rise from the ashes of the Great Depression was uncertain, fitful, and quite painful, and