document_title: Once Upon a Time in the West

question_text: who played harmonica in once upon a time in the west

text: Once Upon a Time in the West

text: Plot[edit]

text: The film portrays two conflicts that take place around Flagstone, a fictional town in the American Old West: a land battle related to construction of a railroad, and a mission of vengeance against a cold-blooded killer. A struggle exists for Sweetwater, a piece of land near Flagstone containing the region's only water source. The land was bought by Brett McBain (Frank Wolff), who foresaw that the railroad would have to pass through that area to provide water for the steam locomotives. When crippled railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) learns of this, he sends his hired gun Frank (Henry Fonda) to intimidate McBain to move off the land, but Frank instead kills McBain and his three children, planting evidence to frame the bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards). It appears the land has no owner; however, a former prostitute (Claudia Cardinale) arrives from New Orleans, revealing she is Jill McBain, Brett's new wife and the owner of the land.

text: Meanwhile, a mysterious harmonica-playing gunman (Charles Bronson), whom Cheyenne later dubs "Harmonica", pursues Frank. In the film's opening scene, Harmonica kills three men sent by Frank to kill him. In a roadhouse on the way to Sweetwater, he informs Cheyenne that the three gunfighters appeared to be posing as Cheyenne's men.

text: Back at Sweetwater, construction materials are delivered to build a railroad station and a small town. Harmonica explains that Jill will lose Sweetwater unless the station is built by the time the track's construction crews reach that point, so Cheyenne puts his men to work building it.

text: Frank turns against Morton, who wanted to make a deal with Jill; Morton's disability makes him unable to fight back. After raping Jill, Frank forces her to sell the property in an auction. He tries to buy the farm cheaply by intimidating the other bidders, but Harmonica arrives, holding Cheyenne at gunpoint and makes a much higher bid based on his reward money for delivering Cheyenne to the authorities. Harmonica rebuffs an offer by Frank to buy the farm from him for one dollar more than he paid at the auction. As Cheyenne is placed on a train bound for the Yuma prison, two members of his gang purchase one-way tickets for the train, intending to help him escape.

text: Frank's men betray and ambush him, having been paid by Morton to turn against him, but—much to Jill's outrage—Harmonica helps Frank kill them, intending to kill Frank himself. Frank returns to Morton, only to find that he and the rest of Frank's men have been killed in a battle with Cheyenne's gang. Frank then goes to Sweetwater to confront Harmonica. On two occasions, Frank has asked Harmonica who he is, but both times Harmonica refused to answer him. Instead, he mysteriously quoted names of men Frank has murdered. This time, Harmonica says he will reveal who he is "only at the point of dying". The two men position themselves for a gun duel, at which point Harmonica's motive for revenge is revealed in a flashback:

text: A younger Frank, already a cruel bandit, is forcing a boy to support on his shoulders his older brother, whose neck is in a noose strung from an arch. As the boy struggles to hold his brother's weight, Frank stuffs a harmonica into the boy's mouth and tells him to play. The older brother curses Frank and kicks his young brother away and dies. The boy (Harmonica) collapses onto the ground clutching the harmonica in his mouth.

text: Harmonica draws first and shoots Frank. As he lies dying, Frank again asks who he is, and Harmonica stuffs his harmonica into Frank's mouth, like Frank did to him when he was a child. Frank suddenly remembers Harmonica as a boy, collapses to the ground clutching the harmonica in his mouth and dies. Harmonica and Cheyenne say goodbye to Jill, who is supervising construction of the railway station as the track-laying crews reach Sweetwater. Cheyenne collapses, revealing that he was mortally wounded by Morton during the fight with Frank's gang. As the work train arrives, Jill carries water to the rail workers, while Harmonica rides away with Cheyenne's dead body.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Claudia Cardinale as Jill McBain
Henry Fonda as Frank
Jason Robards as Manuel "Cheyenne" Gutiérrez
Charles Bronson as "Harmonica"
Gabriele Ferzetti as Mr. Morton
Paolo Stoppa as Sam, the Coachman
Marco Zuanelli as Wobbles
Keenan Wynn as the Sheriff of Flagstone
Frank Wolff as Brett McBain
Lionel Stander as the barman
Woody Strode as Stony, first gunman
Jack Elam as Snaky, second gunman
Al Mulock as Knuckles, third gunman
Enzo Santaniello as Timmy McBain
Simonetta Santaniello as Maureen McBain
Stefano Imparato as Patrick McBain
Antonio Palombi as the old Stationmaster
Claudio Mancini as "Harmonica"'s brother
Dino Mele as young "Harmonica"
Michael Harvey as Frank's Lieutenant
Benito Stefanelli as Frank's Lieutenant
Aldo Sambrell as Cheyenne's Lieutenant

text: With the death of Gabriele Ferzetti in 2015,[7] Claudia Cardinale is the sole surviving member of the film's main cast.

text: Production[edit]

text: Origins[edit]

text: After making his American Civil War epic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Leone had intended to retire from making Westerns, believing he had said all he wanted to say. He had come across the novel The Hoods by the pseudonymous "Harry Grey", an autobiographical book based on the author's own experiences as a Jewish hood during Prohibition, and planned to adapt it into a film (this would eventually, seventeen years later, become his final film, Once Upon a Time in America). Leone though was offered only Westerns by the Hollywood studios. United Artists (who had produced the Dollars Trilogy) offered him the opportunity to make a film starring Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson, but Leone refused. However, when Paramount offered Leone a generous budget along with access to Henry Fonda—his favorite actor, and one whom he had wanted to work with for virtually all of his career—Leone accepted the offer.

text: Leone commissioned Bernardo Bertolucci and Dario Argento—both of whom were film critics before becoming directors—to help him develop the film in late 1966. The men spent much of the following year watching and discussing numerous classic Westerns such as High Noon, The Iron Horse, The Comancheros, and The Searchers at Leone's house, and constructed a story made up almost entirely of "references" to American Westerns.

text: Ever since The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which originally ran for three hours, Leone's films were usually cut (often quite dramatically) for box office release. Leone was very conscious of the length of Once Upon a Time in the West during filming and later commissioned Sergio Donati, who had worked on several of Leone's other films, to help him refine the screenplay, largely to curb the length of the film towards the end of production. Many of the film's most memorable lines of dialogue came from Donati, or from the film's English dialogue adapter, expatriate American actor Mickey Knox.[8]

text: Style and pacing[edit]

text: For Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone changed his approach over his earlier Westerns. Whereas the "Dollars" films were quirky and up-tempo, a celebratory yet tongue-in-cheek parody of the icons of the Wild West, this film is much slower in pace and sombre in theme. Leone's distinctive style, which is very different from, but very much influenced by, Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata (1943), is still present but has been modified for the beginning of Leone's second trilogy, the so-called Once Upon a Time Trilogy. The characters in this film are also beginning to change markedly over their predecessors in the Dollars Trilogy. They are not quite as defined and, unusual for Leone characters up to this point, they begin to change (or at least attempt to) over the course of the story. This signals the start of the second phase of Leone's style, which would be further developed in Duck, You Sucker! and Once Upon a Time in America.

text: The film features long, slow scenes in which there is very little dialogue and little happens, broken by brief and sudden violence. Leone was far more interested in the rituals preceding violence than in the violence itself. The tone of the film is consistent with the arid semi-desert in which the story unfolds, and imbues it with a feeling of realism that contrasts with the elaborately choreographed gunplay.

text: Sergio Leone liked to tell the story of a cinema in Paris where the film ran uninterrupted for two years. When he visited this theatre, he was surrounded by fans who wanted his autograph, as well as the projectionist, who was less than enthusiastic. Leone claimed the projectionist told him "I kill you! The same movie over and over again for two years! And it's so SLOW!"[9]

text: Locations[edit]

text: Most of the film was shot in Cinecittà studios, Rome. The brick arch where Bronson's character flashbacks to his youth and the original lynching incident was built near a small airport fifteen miles north of Monument Valley, in Utah and two miles from U.S. Route 163 (which links Gouldings Lodge and Mexican Hat). The opening sequence with the three gunmen meeting the train was one of the sequences filmed in Spain. Shooting for scenes at Cattle Corner Station, as the location was called in the story, was scheduled for four days and was filmed at the 'ghost' train station in the municipality of La Calahorra, county of Gaudix, near Guadix, in the Province of Granada, Spain, as were the scenes of Flagstone, and shooting for the scenes in the middle of the railway were filmed along the Guadix - Hernan Valle railway line.[10][11][12]

text: Casting[edit]

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Fonda did not accept Leone's first offer to play Frank, so Leone flew to New York to convince him, telling him: "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera tilts up to the gunman's face and...it's Henry Fonda." After meeting with Leone, Fonda called his friend Eli Wallach, who had co-starred in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Wallach advised Fonda to do the film, telling him "You will have the time of your life."

text: When he accepted the role, Fonda came to the set with brown contacts and facial hair. Fonda felt having dark eyes and facial hair would blend well with his character's evil and also help the audience to accept this "new" Fonda as the bad guy, but Leone immediately told him to remove the contacts and facial hair. Leone felt that Fonda's blue eyes best reflected the cold, icy nature of the killer. It was one of the first times in a Western film where the villain would be played by the lead actor.

text: Leone originally offered the role of Harmonica to Clint Eastwood; when he turned it down, Leone hired Charles Bronson who had originally been offered and turned down the part of the Man with No Name in A Fistful of Dollars. James Coburn was also approached for Harmonica, but demanded too much money.

text: Robert Ryan was offered the role of the Sheriff played by Keenan Wynn. Ryan initially accepted, but backed out after being given a larger role in Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch.

text: Enrico Maria Salerno and Robert Hossein were both offered the role of Morton before Gabriele Ferzetti was cast; Hossein had accepted, but had to drop out for a theatre commitment. Ferzetti, who considers it one of his best roles, referred to his casting as "Fate, Destiny" in an interview for the DVD release.

text: Actor Al Mulock (featured as Knuckles in the opening train sequence, as well as in Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) committed suicide during shooting of the film by leaping from his Guadix hotel room in full costume. Frank Wolff, the actor who plays McBain, also committed suicide in a Rome hotel in 1971.

text: Following the film's completion, Once Upon a Time in the West was dubbed into several languages, including Italian, French, German, Spanish and English. For the English dub, the voices of much of the American cast, including Fonda, Bronson, Jason Robards, Jack Elam, Wynn, Wolff and Lionel Stander, were used. However, the rest of the cast had to be dubbed by other actors, including Ferzetti, who was dubbed by actor Bernard Grant (who is believed to have voiced Gian Maria Volontè and Aldo Giuffrè in the Dollars Trilogy), and Claudia Cardinale, who was voiced by Grant's wife, Joyce Gordon.[13]

text: Music[edit]

text: The music was written by composer Ennio Morricone, Leone's regular collaborator, who wrote the score under Leone's direction before filming began. As in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the haunting music contributes to the film's grandeur and, like the music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is considered one of Morricone's greatest compositions.

text: The film features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters (each with their own theme music) as well as to the spirit of the American West.[14] Especially compelling are the wordless vocals by Italian singer Edda Dell'Orso during the theme music for the Claudia Cardinale character. It was Leone's desire to have the music available and played during filming. Leone had Morricone compose the score before shooting started and would play the music in the background for the actors on set.[14]

text: Except for about a minute of the "Judgment" motif, before Harmonica kills the three outlaws, no soundtrack music is played until at the end of the second scene, when Henry Fonda makes his first entry. During the beginning of the film, Leone instead uses a number of natural sounds, for instance a turning wheel in the wind, sound of a train, grasshoppers, shotguns while hunting, wings of pigeons, etc., in addition to the harmonica played by Bronson's character, since that sound is "explained" by the fact that the sound of the harmonica is diegetic rather than a true soundtrack.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Though less popular in the US than the earlier Dollars Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West has gained a cult following around the world, particularly among cineastes and filmmakers. In the late 1960s and 1970s, it was re-evaluated by young filmmakers and critics, many of whom called it a masterpiece. Directors including Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, John Carpenter, Vince Gilligan,[15] and John Boorman have spoken about the influence that the film had on them. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and some critics consider it to be the finest Western and Sergio Leone's finest accomplishment as a director. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews from 56 critics and gave the film a score of 98%. Once Upon a Time in the West can be found on numerous film polls and 'best of' lists.

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Time named Once Upon a Time in the West as one of the 100 greatest films of all-time.[16]
In They Shoot Pictures, Don't They's list of the 1000 Greatest Films, Once Upon a Time in the West is placed at number 62.[17]
Total Film magazine placed Once Upon a Time in the West in their special edition issue of the 100 Greatest Movies.[18]
In 2008, Empire held a poll of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time", taking votes from 10,000 readers, 150 filmmakers and 50 film critics. "Once Upon a Time in the West" was voted in at number 14, the highest Western on the list.[19]
In 2009, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.[6]
In 2014, Time Out polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films.[20] Once Upon A Time In The West placed 30th on their list.[21]

text: The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

text:
2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:

Frank – Nominated Villain[22]

2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated[23]

text: Releases[edit]

text: European release[edit]

text: The movie was a massive hit in France[2] and was easily the most successful film released there in 1969.[24] It sparked a brief fashion trend for duster coats which took such proportions that Parisian department stores such as Au Printemps had to affix signs on escalators warning patrons to keep their "maxis," as they were called, clear from the edges of moving steps to prevent jamming.

text: American release[edit]

text: In the US, Paramount edited the film to about 145 minutes for the wide release, but the film underperformed at the box office, earning $2.1M in rentals in North America.[25]

text: The following scenes were cut for the American release:

text:
The entire scene at Lionel Stander's trading post. Cheyenne (Robards) was not introduced in the American release until his arrival at the McBain ranch later in the film. Stander remained in the credits, even though he did not appear in this version at all.
The scene in which Morton and Frank discuss what to do with Jill at the Navajo Cliffs.
Morton's death scene was reduced considerably.
Cheyenne's death scene was completely excised.

text:
Otherwise, one scene was slightly longer in the US version than in the international film release:
Following the opening duel (where all four gunmen fire and fall), Charles Bronson's character stands up again showing that he had only been shot in the arm. This part of the scene had been originally cut by director Sergio Leone for the worldwide theatrical release. It was added again for the U.S. market because the American distributors feared American viewers would not understand the story otherwise, especially since Harmonica's arm wound is originally shown for the first time in the scene at the trading post which was cut for the shorter U.S. version.

text: The English-language version was restored to approximately 165 minutes for a re-release in 1984, and for its video release the following year.

text: Director's cut[edit]

text: In Italy, a 175-minute director's cut features a yellow tint filter, and several scenes augmented with additional material. This director's cut was released on home video until the early 2000s, and still airs on TV, but more recent home video releases have used the international cut.

text: Home video releases[edit]

text: After years of public requests, Paramount released a 2-Disc "Special Collector's Edition" of Once Upon a Time in the West on November 18, 2003, with a running time of 165 minutes (158 minutes in some regions).[nb 1] This release is the color 2.35:1 aspect ratio version in anamorphic wide-screen, closed captioned and Dolby. Commentary is also provided by film experts and historians including John Carpenter, John Milius, Alex Cox, film historian and Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling, Dr. Sheldon Hall, as well as actors Claudia Cardinale and Gabriele Ferzetti, and director Bernardo Bertolucci, a co-writer of the film.

text: The second disc has special features, including three recent documentaries on several aspects of the film:

text:
An Opera of Violence
The Wages of Sin
Something to Do with Death

text: The film was released on Blu-ray on May 31, 2011.

text: Film references[edit]

text: Leone's intent was to take the stock conventions of the American Westerns of John Ford, Howard Hawks and others, and rework them in an ironic fashion, essentially reversing their intended meaning in their original sources to create a darker connotation.[26] The most obvious example of this is the casting of veteran film good guy Henry Fonda as the villainous Frank, but there are also many other, more subtle reversals throughout the film. According to film critic and historian Christopher Frayling, the film quotes from as many as 30 classic American Westerns.

text: The major films referenced include:

text:
The Comancheros (1961): The names "McBain" and "Sweetwater" may come from this film. (Contrary to popular belief, the name of the town "Sweetwater" was not taken from Victor Sjöström's silent epic drama The Wind. Bernardo Bertolucci has stated that he looked at a map of the southwestern United States, found the name of the town in Arizona, and decided to incorporate it into the film. However, both "Sweetwater" and a character named "McBain" appeared in The Comancheros, which Leone admired.[27])
Johnny Guitar (1954): Jill and Vienna have similar backstories (both are former prostitutes who become saloonkeepers), and Harmonica, like Sterling Hayden's title character, is a mysterious, gunslinging outsider known by his musical nickname. Some of West's central plot (Western settlers vs. the railroad company) may be recycled from Nicholas Ray's film.[27]
The Iron Horse (1924): West may contain several subtle references to this film, including a low angle shot of a shrieking train rushing towards the screen in the opening scene, and the shot of the train pulling into the Sweetwater station at the end.[27]
Shane (1953): The massacre scene in West features young Timmy McBain out hunting with his father, just as Joey does in this movie. The funeral of the McBains is borrowed almost shot-for-shot from Shane.[27] Also, the movie ends with the wounded gunslingers leaving town, unable to stay in civilization, as does Shane.
The Searchers (1956): Leone admitted that the rustling bushes, the silencing of insect sounds, and the fluttering grouse that suggest menace approaching the farmhouse when the McBain family is massacred were all taken from The Searchers. The ending of the film—where Western nomads Harmonica and Cheyenne move on rather than join modern society—also echoes the famous ending of Ford's film.[27]
Winchester '73 (1950): It has been claimed that the scenes in West at the trading post are based on those in Winchester '73, but the resemblance is slight.[27]
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): The dusters (long coats) worn by Cheyenne and his gang (and by Frank and his men while impersonating them) resemble those worn by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and his henchmen when they are introduced in this film. In addition, the auction scene in West was intended to recall the election scene in Liberty Valance.[27]
The Last Sunset (1961): The final duel between Frank and Harmonica is shot almost identically to the duel between Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson in this film.[27]
Duel in the Sun (1946): The character of Morton, the crippled railroad baron in West, was based on the character played by Lionel Barrymore in this film.[27]

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ The 7-minute regional variation in DVD running time is due to the 4% speed difference between the 24 fps NTSC and 25 fps PAL video formats. There is no difference in content.

tag: ol


document_title: Great Depression in the United States

question_text: when did the great depression hit the united states

root

text: Great Depression in the United States

text: The Stock Market Crash[edit]

text: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 is often cited as the beginning of the Great Depression. It began on October 24, 1929, and was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States. A lot of the stock market crash can be blamed on over exuberance and false expectations. In the years leading up to 1929, the stock market offered the potential for making huge gains in wealth. As share prices rose, people started to borrow money to invest in the stock market. However, on October 24 (Black Thursday), share prices began to fall and panic selling caused prices to fall sharply. On October 29 (Black Tuesday), share prices fell by $14 billion in a single day, more than $30 billion in the week. [9] The value that evaporated the week was 10x more than the entire federal budget and more than all of what the U.S. spent on World War I. By 1930 the value of shares had fallen by 90%. [10]

tag: p

text: Since many banks had also invested their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed. After the stock market crash and the bank closures, people were too afraid to lose more money. Because of the fears of further economic challenge, individuals from all classes stopped purchasing and consuming. Thousands of individual investors who believed they could get rich by investing on margin lost everything they had. The stock market crash severely impacted American economy.

text: Banking Failures[edit]

text: A large contribution to the recession is due to the closure and suspension of thousands of banks across the country. The causation of these failing financial institutions come from several reasons including unregulated lending procedures, confidence in the Gold standard, consumer confidence in future economics, and agricultural defaults on outstanding loans. With these compacting issues the banking system struggled to keep up with the high demand of cash withdraws from the public. This impact overall decreased the money supply and forced the banks to result to short sale (real estate) and liquidation of existing loans.[8] In the race to liquidate assets the banking system began to fail on a wide scale. In November 1930 the first major banking crisis begun with over 800 banks closing their doors by January 1931; over 2100 banks will be suspended by October 1931, with the highest suspension rate recorded in the St. Louis Federal Reserve District with 2 out of every 5 banks suspended.[11] The economy in whole experienced a massive reduction in banking footholds across the country amounting to more than nine thousand closed banks by 1933.

text: The closures resulted in a massive withdraw of deposits by millions of Americans estimated near 6.8 billion dollars (equivalent to around 60 billion dollars in today's dollars). During this time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was not in place resulting in a loss of roughly 1.36 billion dollars (or 20%) of the total 6.8 billion accounted for within the failed banks. These losses will come directly from everyday individuals savings, investments, and daily banking accounts. GDP will fall as a result from the high seven-hundreds in 1929 to the low mid six-hundreds in 1933 before seeing any recovery for the first time in nearly 4 years.[12] Federal leadership intervention is highly debated on its effectiveness and overall participation. The Federal Reserve Act could not effectively tackle the banking crisis as state bank and trust companies were not compelled to be a member, paper eligible discount member banks heavily restricted access to the fed, power between the twelve federal reserve banks was decentralized and federal level leadership were ineffective, inexperienced, and weak.

text: Unregulated Growth[edit]

text: Throughout the early 1900s banking regulations were extremely lax if not non-existent. The Currency Act of 1900 lowered the required Capital (economics)of investors from 50,000 to 25,000 to create a national bank. As a result of this change nearly two thirds of the banks formed over the next ten years were quite small, averaging just above the 25,000 in required capital.[13] The number of banks will nearly double (number of banks divided by Real GDP) from 1890 to 1920 due to the lack of oversight and qualification when banking charters were being issued in the first two decades of the 1900s.[14]

text: The unregulated growth of small rural banking institutions can be partially attributed to the rising cost of agriculture especially in the Corn Belt and Cotton Belt. Throughout the corn and cotton belts real estate increases drove the demand for more local funding to continue to supply rising agricultural economics. The rural banking structures would supply the needed capital to meet the farm commodity market, however, this came with a price of reliability and low risk lending. Economic growth was promising during the period of 1887-1920 with an on average of 6 percent growth in [GDP]. In particular the participation in World War I (1917-1918) drove a booming agricultural market that drove optimism at the consumer and lending level, which in turn, resulted in a laxer approach in the lending process. Overbanked conditions existed which pressured struggling banking locations to increase their services (specifically to the agricultural customers) without any additional regulatory oversight or qualifications. This dilemma introduced several high risk and marginal business returns to the banking market.[15] Banking growth would continue through the first two decades well outside of previous trends disregarding the current economic and population standards. Banking profitability and loan standards begin to deteriorate as early as 1900 as a result; adding to the agriculture shock and Great Depression to follow.

text: Crop failures beginning in 1921 began to impact this poorly regulated system, the expansion areas of corn and cotton suffered the largest due to the dust bowl era resulting in real estate value reductions. In addition, the year 1921 was the peak for banking expansion with roughly 31,000 banks in activity, however, with the failures at the agricultural level 505 banks would close between 1921 -1930 marking the largest banking system failure on record. Regulatory questions began to hit the debating table around banking qualifications as a result; discussions would continue into the [Great Depression] as not only were banks failing but some would disappear altogether with no rhyme or reason.[16] The panic of financial crisis would increase in the Great Depression due to the lack of confidence in the regulatory and recovery displayed during the 1920s, this ultimately drove a nation of doubts, uneasiness, and lack of consumer confidence in the banking system.

text: Contagion[edit]

text: With a lack of consumer confidence in the economic direction given by the federal government panic started to spread across the country shortly after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. President Hoover retained the Gold Standard as the country’s currency gauge throughout the following years. As a result, the American shareholders with the majority of the gold reserves began to grow wary of the value of gold in the near future. Europe’s decision to move away from the Gold Standard caused individuals to start to withdraw gold shares and move the investments out of the country or began to horde gold for future investment. The market continued to suffer due to these reactions, and in result caused several of the everyday individuals to speculate on the economy in the coming months. Rumors of market stability and banking conditions began to spread, consumer confidence continued to drop and panic begin to set in. Contagion spread like wild fire pushing Americans all over the country to withdraw their deposits in mass. This idea would continue from 1929-1933 causing the greatest financial crisis ever seen at the banking level pushing the economic recovery efforts further from resolution. An increase in the currency-deposit ratio and a money stock determinant forced money stock to fall and income to decline. This panic-induced banking failure took a mild recession to a major recession.[17]

text: Whether this caused the Great Depression is still heavily debated due to many other attributing factors. However, it is evident that the banking system suffered massive reductions across the country due to the lack of consumer confidence. As withdraw requests would exceed cash availability banks began conducting steed discount sales such as fire sales and short sales. Due to the inability to immediately determine current value worth these fire sales and short sales would result in massive losses when recuperating any possible revenue for outstanding and defaulted loans. This would allow healthy banks to take advantage of the struggling units forcing additional losses resulting in banks not being able to deliver on depositor demands and creating a failing cycle that would become wide spread.[18] Investment would continue to stay low through the next half decade as the private sector would horde savings due to uncertainty of the future. The federal government would run additional policy changes such as the Check tax, monetary restrictions (including reduction of money supply by burning), High Wage Policy, and The New Deal through the Hoover and Roosevelt administration.

text: The depression in the cities[edit]

text: One visible effect of the depression was the advent of Hoovervilles, which were ramshackle assemblages on vacant lots of cardboard boxes, tents, and small rickety wooden sheds built by homeless people. Residents lived in the shacks and begged for food or went to soup kitchens.The term was coined by Charles Michelson, publicity chief of the Democratic National Committee, who referred sardonically to President Herbert Hoover whose policies he blamed for the depression.[19]

text: Unemployment reached 25 percent in the worst days of 1932-33, but it was unevenly distributed. Job losses were less severe among women, workers in nondurable industries (such as food and clothing), services and sales workers, and those employed by the government. Unskilled inner city men had much higher unemployment rates. Age also played a factor: young people had a hard time getting their first job, and men over the age of 45, if they lost their job, would rarely find another one because employers had their choice of younger men. Millions were hired in the Great Depression, but men with weaker credentials were never hired, and fell into a long-term unemployment trap. The migration that brought millions of farmers and townspeople to the bigger cities in the 1920s suddenly reversed itself, as unemployment made the cities unattractive, and the network of kinfolk and more ample food supplies made it wise for many to go back.[20] City governments in 1930-31 tried to meet the depression by expanding public works projects, as president Herbert Hoover strongly encouraged. However, tax revenues were plunging, and the cities as well as private relief agencies were totally overwhelmed by 1931; no one was able to provide significant additional relief. People fell back on the cheapest possible relief, soup kitchens which provided free meals for anyone who showed up.[21] After 1933 new sales taxes and infusions of federal money helped relieve the fiscal distress of the cities, but the budgets did not fully recover until 1941.

text: The federal programs launched by Hoover and greatly expanded by President Roosevelt's New Deal used massive construction projects to try to jump start the economy and solve the unemployment crisis. The alphabet agencies ERA, CCC, FERA, WPA and PWA built and repaired the public infrastructure in dramatic fashion, but did little to foster the recovery of the private sector. FERA, CCC and especially WPA focused on providing unskilled jobs for long-term unemployed men.

text: The Democrats won easy landslide victories in 1932 and 1934, and an even bigger one in 1936; the hapless Republican Party seemed doomed. The Democrats capitalized on the magnetic appeal of Roosevelt to urban America. The key groups were low skilled ethnics, especially Catholic, Jewish, and black people. The Democrats promised and delivered in terms of political recognition, labor union membership, and relief jobs. The cities' political machines were stronger than ever, for they mobilized their precinct workers to help families who needed help the most navigate the bureaucracy and get on relief. FDR won the vote of practically every demographic in 1936, including taxpayers, small business and the middle class. However, the Protestant middle class voters turned sharply against him after the recession of 1937-38 undermined repeated promises that recovery was at hand. Historically, local political machines were primarily interested in controlling their wards and citywide elections; the smaller the turnout on election day, the easier it was to control the system. However, for Roosevelt to win the presidency in 1936 and 1940, he needed to carry the electoral college and that meant he needed the largest possible majorities in the cities to overwhelm rural voters. The machines came through for him.[22] The 3.5 million voters on relief payrolls during the 1936 election cast 82% percent of their ballots for Roosevelt. The rapidly growing, energetic labor unions, chiefly based in the cities, turned out 80% for FDR, as did Irish, Italian and Jewish communities. In all, the nation's 106 cities over 100,000 population voted 70% for FDR in 1936, compared to his 59% elsewhere. Roosevelt worked very well with the big city machines, with the one exception of his old nemesis, Tammany Hall in Manhattan. There he supported the complicated coalition built around the nominal Republican Fiorello La Guardia, and based on Jewish and Italian voters mobilized by labor unions.[23]

text: In 1938, the Republicans made an unexpected comeback, and Roosevelt's efforts to purge the Democratic Party of his political opponents backfired badly. The conservative coalition of Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats took control of Congress, outvoted the urban liberals, and halted the expansion of New Deal ideas. Roosevelt survived in 1940 thanks to his margin in the Solid South and in the cities. In the North the cities over 100,000 gave Roosevelt 60% of their votes, while the rest of the North favored Willkie 52%-48%.[24]

text: With the start of full-scale war mobilization in the summer of 1940, the economies of the cities rebounded. Even before Pearl Harbor, Washington pumped massive investments into new factories and funded round-the-clock munitions production, guaranteeing a job to anyone who showed up at the factory gate.[25] The war brought a restoration of prosperity and hopeful expectations for the future across the nation. It had the greatest impact on the cities of the West Coast, especially Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.[26]

text: Economic historians led by Price Fishback have examined the impact of New Deal spending on improving health conditions in the 114 largest cities, 1929-1937. They estimated that every additional $153,000 in relief spending (in 1935 dollars, or $1.95 million in year 2000 dollars) was associated with a reduction of one infant death, one suicide, and 2.4 deaths from infectious disease. [27][28]

text: Global comparison of severity[edit]

text: The Great Depression began in the United States of America and quickly spread worldwide.[29] It had severe effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, consumption, industrial output, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%.[30]

text: Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by approximately 60%.[31][32] Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as grain farming, mining and logging, as well as construction, suffered the most.[33]

text: Most economies started to recover by 1933–34. However, in the U.S. and some others the negative economic impact often lasted until the beginning of World War II, when war industries stimulated recovery.[34]

text: There is little agreement on what caused the Great Depression, and the topic has become highly politicized. At the time the great majority of economists around the world recommended the "orthodox" solution of cutting government spending and raising taxes. However, British economist John Maynard Keynes advocated large-scale government deficit spending to make up for the failure of private investment. No major nation adopted his policies in the 1930s.[35]

text: Europe[edit]

text:
Europe as a whole was badly hit, in both rural and industrial areas. Democracy was discredited and the left often tried a coalition arrangement between Communists and Socialists, who previously had been harsh enemies. Right wing movements sprang up, often following Italy's fascist mode.[36]
As the Great Depression worsened, Labour lost power in Britain and a coalition government dominated by conservatives came to power in 1931, and remained in power until 1945. There were no programs in Britain comparable to the New Deal.
In France, the "Popular Front" government of Socialists with some Communist support, was in power 1936–1938. It launched major programs favoring labor and the working class, but engendered stiff opposition.
Germany during the Weimar Republic had fully recovered and was prosperous in the late 1920s. The Great Depression hit in 1929 and was severe. The political system descended into violence and the Nazis under Hitler came to power through elections in early 1933. Economic recovery was pursued through autarky, pressure on economic partners, wage controls, price controls, and spending programs such as public works and, especially, military spending.
Spain saw mounting political crises that led in 1936–39 to civil war.
In Benito Mussolini's Italy, the economic controls of his corporate state were tightened. The economy was never prosperous.
The Soviet Union was mostly isolated from the world trading system during the 1930s. To force peasants into industrial jobs in the cities, food was stripped from rural areas, and millions died of starvation. The dictator Joseph Stalin purged nearly all the old Bolsheviks, and killed or imprisoned hundreds of thousands of presumed enemies.

tag: ul

text: Canada and the Caribbean[edit]

text:
In Canada, Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40%, compared to 37% in the U.S. Unemployment reached 28% at the depth of the Depression in 1929 and 1930,[37] while wages bottomed out in 1933.[38] Many businesses closed, as corporate profits of C$396 million in 1929 turned into losses of $98 million in 1933. Exports shrank by 50% from 1929 to 1933. Worst hit were areas dependent on primary industries such as farming, mining and logging, as prices fell and there were few alternative jobs. Families saw most or all of their assets disappear and their debts became heavier as prices fell. Local and provincial government set up relief programs but there was no nationwide New-Deal-like program. The Conservative government of Prime Minister R. B. Bennett retaliated against the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act by raising tariffs against the U.S. but lowered them on British Empire goods. Nevertheless, the economy suffered. In 1935, Bennett proposed a series of programs that resembled the New Deal; but was defeated in the elections of that year and no such programs were passed.[39]
Cuba and the Caribbean saw its greatest unemployment during the 1930s because of a decline in exports to the U.S., and a fall in export prices.

text: Asia[edit]

text:
China was at war with Japan during most of the 1930s, in addition to internal struggles between Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists and Mao Zedong's communists.
Japan's economy expanded at the rate of 5% of GDP per year after the years of modernization. Manufacturing and mining came to account for more than 30% of GDP, more than twice the value for the agricultural sector. Most industrial growth, however, was geared toward expanding the nation's military power. Beginning in 1937 much of Japan's energy was focused on a large-scale war and occupation of China.

text: Australia and New Zealand[edit]

text:
In Australia, 1930s conservative and Labor-led governments concentrated on cutting spending and reducing the national debt.
In New Zealand, a series of economic and social policies similar to the New Deal were adopted after the election of the first Labour Government in 1935.[40]

text: Tight Monetary Policy[edit]

text: The stock market crash in the 1929 not only affected the business community and the public’s economic confidence, but also it led to the banking system soon after the turmoil. The boom of the US economy in the 1920s was based on high indebtedness, and the rupture of the debt chain caused by the collapse of the bank had produced widespread and far-reaching adverse effects. It is precisely because of the shaky banking system, the United States was using monetary policy to save the economy that had been severely constrained. The American economist Kindleberger of long-term studying of the Great Depression pointed out that in the 1929, before and after the collapse of the stock market, the Fed lowered interest rates, tried to expand the money supply and eased the financial market tensions for several times, however they were not successful, the fundamental reason was that the relationship between various credit institutions and the community was in a drastic adjustment process, the normal supply channels for money supply were blocked.[41] Later, some economists argued that the Fed should do a large-scale opening market business at that time, but the essence of the statement was that the US government should be quick to implement measures to expand fiscal spending and fiscal deficits, whereas, the essence of this argument was that the US government should be promptly implemented to expand the fiscal spending and the fiscal deficits measures.

text: Hoover Administration Gold Standard[edit]

text: Between the 1920s and 1930s, The United States began to try the tight money policy to promote economic growth. In terms of the fiscal policy, the US government failed to reach a consensus on the fiscal issue. President Hoover began to expand federal spending, he set up a governmental financial revitalization company to provide emergency assistance to banks and financial institutions that were on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoover's fiscal policy had accelerated the recession. In December 1929, as means of showing government confidence of the economy, Hoover reduced all income tax rates by 1% of 1929 due to the continuing budget surplus. By 1930, the surplus turned into a fast-growing deficit of economic contraction. In 1931, the US federal fiscal revenue and expenditure changed from the financial surplus to deficit for the first time (the deficit was less than 2.8% of GDP). By the end of 1931, Hoover had decided to recommend a large increase in taxes to balance the budget; in addition, Congress approved the tax increase in 1932, a substantial reduction in personal immunity to increase the number of taxpayers, and the interest rates had risen sharply, the lowest marginal rate rose from 25% on taxable income in excess of $100,000 to 63% on taxable income in excess of $1 million as the rates were made much more progressive. Hoover changed his approach to fighting the Depression. He justified his call for more federal assistance by noting that "We used such emergency powers to win the war; we can use them to fight the Depression, the misery, and suffering from which are equally great." This new approach embraced a number of initiatives. Unfortunately for the President, none proved especially effective. Just as important, with the presidential election approaching, the political heat generated by the Great Depression and the failure of Hoover's policies grew only more withering.[42]

text: In terms of the financial reform, since the recession, Hoover had been trying to repair the economy. He founded government agencies to encourage labor harmony and support local public works aid which promoted cooperation of government and business, stabilize prices, and strive to balance the budget. His work focused on indirect relief from individual countries and the private sector, which was reflected in the letter emphasizing "more effective supporting for each national committee" and volunteer service -" appealing for funding" from outside the government.[43] The commitment to maintain the gold standard system prevented the Federal Reserve expanded its money supply operations in 1930 and 1931, and it promoted Hoover's destructive balancing budgetary action to avoid the gold standard system overwhelming the dollar. As the Great Depression became worse, the call raised for increasing in federal intervention and spending. But Hoover refused to allow the federal government to force fixed prices, control the value of the business or manipulate the currency, in contrast, he started to control the dollar price. For official dollar prices, he expanded the credit base through free market operations in federal reserve system to ensure the domestic value of the dollar. He also tended to provide indirect aid to banks or local public works projects, refused to use federal funds to give aid to citizens directly, which will reduce public morale. Instead, he focused on volunteering to raise money.[43] Even though Hoover was a philanthropist before becoming president, his opponents regarded him as not responsible for the citizens. During the administration of Hoover, the US economic policies had moved to activism and interventionism. In his re-election campaign, Hoover tried to persuade the Americans to claim that the measures they requested seemed to be helpful in the short term, but it would be devastating in the long run. Eventually, he was defeated by Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.

text: The Consequences of Hoover Policy[edit]

text: 1929: The Great Depression began, the asset bubble burst, the unemployment rate rose.

text: 1930: In this year, most people thought that nothing is worth worrying about, Hoover had taken decisive action on issues such as employment, construction, public construction and agriculture, which backed the public confidence. The unemployed population rose, although it less than 9%.

text: 1931: "the tragic year", politicians and economists were convinced that the economy will recover in 1931, but a serious economic crisis and depression happened this year.

text: 1932: In a critical atmosphere, at the Congress meeting in 1932, Hoover prepared to take more vigorous measures in the government work report that he submitted to the Congress. First, Hoover affirmed his own achievements over the past two years. Due to Hoover policy led financial spending increased and financial difficulties, Hoover decided to increase taxes.

text: 1933: Hoover stepped down and Roosevelt came to power.

text: Roosevelt Administration Gold Standard[edit]

text: At the beginning of 1933, the last few weeks of Hoover's term, the American financial system was paralyzed. The Great Depression was extended by the interventionist policy for four years. Bank crisis caused the serious deflationary pressures. For this phenomenon, Hoover still wanted to stop it. In fact, the worst period of 1932 – the Great Depression had passed, but the recovery was slow and weak. During the financial crisis of 1933 that culminated in the banking holiday in March 1933, a lot of gold flowed out from the Fed, some of them flow out to individuals and companies in the United States. This domestic loss occurred because individuals and businesses like to deposit metal gold into bank deposits or banknotes, some gold flows to foreign countries, and this external loss occurred because foreign investors were worried about the depreciation of the dollar.[44]Roosevelt understands that the traditional political and financial policy cannot save the United States from the "disaster years", he pursued the "New Deal" to attempt to make up for the United States by administrative means. In the spring and summer of 1933, the Roosevelt government suspended the gold standard. The Emergency Banking Act gave the President the power to control international and domestic gold sports. It also gave the treasury secretary the power to surrender of gold coins and certificates. On April 20, President Roosevelt issued a formal announcement of the moratorium on the gold standard. The announcement prohibited gold exports, and prohibited financial institutions from converting money and deposits into gold coins and ingots. The action prevented the gold outflow. Soon, the Roosevelt government weakened the connection with gold once again. Thomas amendment to the Agricultural Relief Act to the gave to the President power to reduce the dollar's gold content by as much as 50%. The President Roosevelt also used the silver standard instead of gold to exchange dollars, it determined by the price of the bank.[44] In April 1933, Roosevelt decided to abolish the gold standard through the New Deal. He abandoned this traditional monetary policy is mainly due to the big crisis to the original monetary policy failure.[45] And the purpose of his action is to prohibit all exports of gold except for foreign countries, so that the United States can maintain an equal monetary base with the vast majority of countries. The Hoover government stubbornly insisted on using the "sound money" policy who against deficit spending and state relief that only make the economic crisis worsen. Because of this situation Roosevelt forced the implementation of inflation, and used the federal deficit spending to promote employment to enforce relief. The abandon of the gold standard made the Wall Street stock prices quickly increased, Wall Street's stock trading was exceptionally active, with a total of 5 million shares delivered on a day, which is the most active day in the past six months.

text: Political results of the depression[edit]

text: Hoover's Response[edit]

text: The Hoover Administration attempted to correct the economic situation quickly, but was unsuccessful. Throughout Hoover's presidency, businesses were encouraged to keep wage rates high.[46] President Hoover and many academics believed that high wage rates would maintain a steady level of purchasing power, keeping the economy turning. In December 1929, after the beginning phases of the depression had begun, President Hoover continued to promote high wages. It wasn't until 1931 that business owners began reducing wages in order to stay afloat. Later that year, The Hoover Administration created the Check Tax[47] to generate extra government funding. The tax added a two cent tax to the purchase of all bank checks, directly effecting the common person. This additional cost pushed people away from using checks, so instead the majority of the population increased their usage of cash. Banks had already closed due to cash shortage, but this reaction to the Check Tax rapidly increased the pace.

text: Roosevelt's New Deal[edit]

text: In the "First New Deal" of 1933–34, A wide variety of programs were targeted toward the depression and agriculture in rural areas, in the banking industry, and for the economy as a whole. Relief programs were set up for the long-term unemployed who are routinely passed over whenever new jobs did open up. [48][49] The most popular program was the Civilian Conservation Corps the put young men to work in construction jobs, especially in rural areas. Prohibition was repealed, the filling a campaign pledge and generating new tax revenues for local and state government. A series of relief programs were designed to provide jobs, in cooperation with local governments. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), sought to stimulate demand and provide work and relief through increased government spending. To end Deflation the Gold standard was suspended and a series of panels comprising business leaders in each industry set regulations which ended what was called "cut-throat competition," believed to be responsible for forcing down prices and profits nationwide.[50] Several Hoover agencies were continued, most notably the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which provided large-scale financial aid to banks, railroads, and other agencies.[51] Reforms that had never been enacted in the 1920s now took center stage, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) designed to electrify and modernize a very poor, mountainous region in Appalachia.

text: In 1934–36, came the much more controversial"Second New Deal." It featured social security; the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Very large relief agency for the unemployed run by the federal government; the National Labor Relations Board, Which operated as a strong stimulus to the growth of labor unions. Unemployment fell by ⅔ in Roosevelt's first term (from 25% to 9%, 1933–1937). The second set of reforms launched by the Roosevelt Administration during the same period, which is a responsibility for social welfare with the main legislation —— Social Security Act in 1935. Insurance and poor relief (“public assistance” or “welfare”)are constituent parts of the legislation that provided pensions to the aged, benefit payments to dependent mothers, crippled children and blind people, and unemployment insurance.[52] The Social Security Act still plays a significant role of the American health and human service system so far. Much of the economy had recovered by 1936, but persistent, long-term unemployment lasted until rearmament began for World War II in 1940.[53]

text: The New Deal was, and still is, sharply debated.[54] The business community, with considerable support from such conservative Democrats as Al Smith, Launched a crusade against the new deal, warning that dangerous man had seized control of the economy and threatened America's conservative traditions. [55] Scholars remain divided as well. When asked whether "as a whole, government policies of the New Deal served to lengthen and deepen the Great Depression," 74% of American university professors specializing in economic history disagreed, 21% agreed with provisos, and 6% fully agreed. Among respondents who taught or studied economic theory, 51% disagreed, 22% agreed with provisos, and 22% fully agreed. Robert Whaples, "Where Is There Consensus Among American Economic Historians? The Results of a Survey on Forty Propositions," Journal of Economic History, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 139–154 in JSTOR see also the summary at "EH.R: FORUM: The Great Depression". Eh.net. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-10-11. </ref>

text: Recession of 1937–38[edit]

text: By 1936, all the main economic indicators had regained the levels of the late 1920s, except for unemployment, which remained high. In 1937, the American economy unexpectedly fell, lasting through most of 1938. Production declined sharply, as did profits and employment. Unemployment jumped from 14.3% in 1937 to 19.0% in 1938.[56] A contributing factor to the Recession of 1937 was a tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve doubled reserve requirements between August 1936 and May 1937[57] leading to a contraction in the money supply.

text: The Roosevelt Administration reacted by launching a rhetorical campaign against monopoly power, which was cast as the cause of the depression, and appointing Thurman Arnold to break up large trusts; Arnold was not effective, and the campaign ended once World War II began and corporate energies had to be directed to winning the war.[58] By 1939, the effects of the 1937 recession had disappeared. Employment in the private sector recovered to the level of the 1936 and continued to increase until the war came and manufacturing employment leaped from 11 million in 1940 to 18 million in 1943.[59]

text: Another response to the 1937 deepening of the Great Depression had more tangible results. Ignoring the pleas of the Treasury Department, Roosevelt embarked on an antidote to the depression, reluctantly abandoning his efforts to balance the budget and launching a $5 billion spending program in the spring of 1938 in an effort to increase mass purchasing power.

text: Business-oriented observers explained the recession and recovery in very different terms from the Keynesian economists. They argued the New Deal had been very hostile to business expansion in 1935–37. They said it had encouraged massive strikes which had a negative impact on major industries and had threatened anti-trust attacks on big corporations. But all those threats diminished sharply after 1938. For example, the antitrust efforts fizzled out without major cases. The CIO and AFL unions started battling each other more than corporations, and tax policy became more favorable to long-term growth.[60]

text: On the other hand, according to economist Robert Higgs, when looking only at the supply of consumer goods, significant GDP growth only resumed in 1946. (Higgs does not estimate the value to consumers of collective goods like victory in war)[61] To Keynesians, the war economy showed just how large the fiscal stimulus required to end the downturn of the Depression was, and it led, at the time, to fears that as soon as America demobilized, it would return to Depression conditions and industrial output would fall to its pre-war levels. The incorrect prediction by Alvin Hansen and other Keynesians that a new depression would start after the war failed to take account of pent-up consumer demand as a result of the Depression and World War.[62]

text: Afterward[edit]

text: The government began heavy military spending in 1940, and started drafting millions of young men that year.[63] By 1945, 17 million had entered service to their country, but that was not enough to absorb all the unemployed. During the war, the government subsidized wages through cost-plus contracts. Government contractors were paid in full for their costs, plus a certain percentage profit margin. That meant the more wages a person was paid the higher the company profits since the government would cover them plus a percentage.[64]

text: Using these cost-plus contracts in 1941–1943, factories hired hundreds of thousands of unskilled workers and trained them, at government expense. The military's own training programs concentrated on teaching technical skills involving machinery, engines, electronics and radio, preparing soldiers and sailors for the post-war economy.[65]

text: Structural walls were lowered dramatically during the war, especially informal policies against hiring women, minorities, and workers over 45 or under 18. (See FEPC) Strikes (except in coal mining) were sharply reduced as unions pushed their members to work harder. Tens of thousands of new factories and shipyards were built, with new bus services and nursery care for children making them more accessible. Wages soared for workers, making it quite expensive to sit at home. Employers retooled so that unskilled new workers could handle jobs that previously required skills that were now in short supply. The combination of all these factors drove unemployment below 2% in 1943.[66]

text: Roosevelt's declining popularity in 1938 was evident throughout the US in the business community, the press, and the Senate and House. Many were labeling the recession the "Roosevelt Recession". In late December 1938, Roosevelt looked to gain popularity with the American people, and try to regain the nation's confidence in the economy. His decision that December to name Harry Hopkins as Secretary of Commerce was an attempt to achieve the confidence he so badly needed. The appointment came as a surprise to most because of Hopkins' lack of business experience, but proved to be vastly important in shaping the years following the recession.[67]

text: Hopkins made it his mission to strengthen ties between the Roosevelt administration and the business community. While Roosevelt believed in complete reform (The New Deal), Hopkins took a more administrative position;[clarification needed] he felt that recovery was imperative and that The New Deal would continue to hinder recovery. With support from Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr, popular support for recovery, rather than reform, swept the nation. By the end of 1938 reform had been struck down, as no new reform laws were passed.[67]

text: The economy in America was now beginning to show signs of recovery and the unemployment rate was lowering following the abysmal year of 1938. The biggest shift towards recovery, however, came with the decision of Germany to invade France at the beginning of WWII. After France had been defeated, the U.S. economy would skyrocket in the months following. France's defeat meant that Britain and other allies would look to the U.S. for large supplies of materials for the war.[68]

text: The need for these war materials created a huge spurt in production, thus leading to promising amount of employment in America. Moreover, Britain chose to pay for their materials in gold. This stimulated the gold inflow and raised the monetary base, which in turn, stimulated the American economy to its highest point since the summer of 1929 when the depression began.[68]

text: By the end of 1941, before American entry into the war, defense spending and military mobilization had started one of the greatest booms in American history thus ending the last traces of unemployment.[68]

text: Facts and figures[edit]

text:
Fireside Chat 1 On the Banking Crisis

Roosevelt's first Fireside Chat on the Banking Crisis (March 12, 1933)

tag: table

text: Effects of depression in the U.S.:[69]

text:
13 million people became unemployed. In 1932, 34 million people belonged to families with no regular full-time wage earner.[70]
Industrial production fell by nearly 45% between 1929 and 1932.
Homebuilding dropped by 80% between the years 1929 and 1932.
In the 1920s, the banking system in the U.S. was about $50 billion, which was about 50% of GDP.[71]
From 1929 to 1932, about 5,000 banks went out of business.
By 1933, 11,000 of the US' 25,000 banks had failed.[72]
Between 1929 and 1933, U.S. GDP fell around 30%, the stock market lost almost 90% of its value.[73]
In 1929, the unemployment rate averaged 3%.[74]
In Cleveland, the unemployment rate was 50%; in Toledo, Ohio, 80%.[70]
One Soviet trading corporation in New York averaged 350 applications a day from Americans seeking jobs in the Soviet Union.[75]
Over one million families lost their farms between 1930 and 1934.[70]
Corporate profits had dropped from $10 billion in 1929 to $1 billion in 1932.[70]
Between 1929 and 1932, the income of the average American family was reduced by 40%.[76]
Nine million savings accounts had been wiped out between 1930 and 1933.[70]
273,000 families had been evicted from their homes in 1932.[70]
There were two million homeless people migrating around the country.[70]
Over 60% of Americans were categorized as poor by the federal government in 1933.[70]
In the last prosperous year (1929), there were 279,678 immigrants recorded, but in 1933 only 23,068 came to the U.S.[77][78]
In the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to it.[79]
With little economic activity there was scant demand for new coinage. No nickels or dimes were minted in 1932–33, no quarter dollars in 1931 or 1933, no half dollars from 1930 to 1932, and no silver dollars in the years 1929–33.
The U.S. government sponsored a Mexican Repatriation program which was intended to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico, but thousands, including some U.S. citizens, were deported against their will. Altogether about 400,000 Mexicans were repatriated.[80]
New York social workers reported that 25% of all schoolchildren were malnourished. In the mining counties of West Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, the proportion of malnourished children was perhaps as high as 90%.[70]
Many people became ill with diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).[70]
The 1930 U.S. Census determined the U.S. population to be 122,775,046. About 40% of the population was under 20 years old.[81]


document_title: Budget Day

question_text: who fixes the date for the union budget presented in parliament

text: Budget Day

text: India[edit]

text: The Union Budget of India, referred to as the Annual Financial Statement[1] in Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India, presented each year on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister of India in Parliament. The budget, which is presented by means of the Financial Bill and the Appropriation bill has to be passed by the House before it can come into effect on 1 April, the start of India's financial year.

text: Pre-liberalisation[edit]

text: The first Union budget of independent India was presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on 26 November 1947.[2]

text: The Union budgets for the fiscal years 1959–61 to 1963–64, inclusive of the interim budget for 1962–63, were presented by Morarji Desai.[2] On 29 February in 1964 and 1968, he became the only finance minister to present the Union budget on his birthday.[3] Vyas presented budgets that included five annual budgets, an interim budget during his first stint and one interim budget and three final budgets in his second tenure when he was both the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India.[2]

text: After Desai's resignation, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, took over the Ministry of Finance to become the only woman to hold the post of the finance minister.[2]

text: Pranab Mukherjee, the first Rajya Sabha member to hold the Finance portfolio, presented the annual budgets for 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85.[2]

text: Rajiv Gandhi presented the budget for 1987–89 after V P Singh quit his government, and in the process became only the third Prime Minister to present a budget after his mother and grandfather.[2]

text: N. D. Tiwary presented the budget for 1988–89, S B Chavan for 1989–90, while Madhu Dandawate presented the Union budget for 1990–91.[2]

text: Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister but presented the interim budget for 1991–92 as elections were forced.[2]

text: Due to political developments, early elections were held in May 1991 following which the Indian National Congress returned to political power and Singh, the Finance Minister, presented the budget for 1991–92.[2]

text: Post-liberalisation[edit]

text: Manmohan Singh, in his next annual budgets from 1992–93, opened the economy,[4] encouraged foreign investments and reduced peak import duty from 300 plus percent to 50 percent.[2]

text: After elections in 1996, a non-Congress ministry assumed office. Hence the final budget for 1996–97 was presented by P. Chidambaram, who then belonged to Tamil Maanila Congress.[2]

text: Following a constitutional crisis when the I. K. Gujral Ministry was on its way out, a special session of Parliament was convened just to pass Chidambaram's 1997–98 budget. This budget was passed without a debate.[2]

text: After the general elections in March 1998 that led to the Bharatiya Janata Party forming the central government, Yashwant Sinha, the then Finance Minister in this government, presented the interim and final budgets for 1998–99.[2]

text: After general elections in 1999, Sinha again became the finance minister and presented four annual budgets from 1999–2000 to 2002–2003.[2] Due to elections in May 2004, an interim budget was presented by Jaswant Singh.[2]

text: Time of budget announcement[edit]

text: Until the year 2000, the Union Budget was announced at 5 pm on the last working day of the month of February. This practice was inherited from the Colonial Era when the British Parliament would pass the budget in the noon followed by India in the evening of the day.

text: It was Mr.Yashwant Sinha, the then Finance Minister of India in the NDA government (led by BJP) of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who changed the ritual by announcing the 2001 Union Budget at 11 am.[5]

text: Date of budget announcement[edit]

text: Until the year 2016, the Union Budget was presented in the Lok Sabha on the last working day of February.

text: It was Mr. Arun Jaitley, the Minister of Finance in the BJP led NDA Government under the Prime Ministership of Mr. Narendra Modi, who changed the date of the Annual Budget of 2017 to the first working day of February.

text:
Additionally, the Railway Budget was also merged with the General Budget after 92 years in 2017.
[6]

text: Hong Kong[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2013)

text: In Hong Kong the Financial Secretary introduces the appropriations bill for first reading a few weeks before the beginning of a fiscal year on 1 April, with a speech to move the motion for first reading of the bill. In 2002 the tradition for the Secretary for the Treasury to deliver a spending announcement was abolished. The budget day typically falls on a Wednesday in early March, but since 2000 it has been moved to a Wednesday in late February. A resolution for temporary appropriations is usually moved, since the third reading of the appropriations bill usually takes place after 1 April.

text: Ireland[edit]

text: In Ireland, Budget Day is the annual statement to the Dáil by the Minister for Finance, made in the first week of December. It sets out the budgetary targets for the following year and consists of (i) a Financial Statement to the Dáil, (ii) Budgetary Measures (a list of budgetary changes detailing the cost/yield of same), (iii) Budget Statistics and Tables and (iv) various financial resolutions.[citation needed]

text: The day itself is very similar to Budget Day in the United Kingdom. In the early afternoon, the Minister for Finance will normally hold a photocall in the car park of Leinster House, with the traditional budget briefcase (in recent years, a floppy disk or CD-ROM purportely containing the contents of the Budget speech has often been used instead). At 15:45, the Minister for Finance presents the budget speech in Dáil Éireann. The speech, which lasts approximately one hour, is normally carried live on Raidió Teilifís Éireann radio and television. The speech contains the main taxation and other fiscal measures to be employed over the next calendar year. The Opposition Front Bench spokesperson on Finance normally replies to the Budget speech first, followed by the spokespersons on finance of other opposition parties. A vote on supply normally takes place before midnight on the night of the budget, with changes to excise duties on alcohol, tobacco, and petrol taking place from midnight. Most other measures are spelt out in greater detail in the Finance Bill which is introduced in the Oireachtas following the budget, eventually becoming the Finance Act.

text: Netherlands[edit]

text: In the Netherlands, the presentation of the budget is made on the same day as when the monarch gives the speech from the throne; this is held on the third Tuesday of September, which is called Prinsjesdag (Little Princes' Day). After the monarch gives the speech from the throne, announcing the government's agenda for the coming year, the National Budget and the Budget Memorandum are presented later that day to the House of Representatives and are brought in a ceremonial briefcase by the minister of finance.[7] This briefcase tradition was introduced in 1947 by Piet Lieftinck in imitation of the British tradition.[8]

text: United Kingdom[edit]

text: In the United Kingdom, Budget Day is the day that the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers the Budget, first privately to the Cabinet and then publicly in a speech to the House of Commons. It is always aligned with the fiscal year, which itself in the UK is still aligned with the Julian Calendar. Nowadays, Budget Day occurs on a Wednesday in March, before the start of the new fiscal year, although in the early 20th century it was delivered in April, after the start of the fiscal year. However, the current chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement that the budget would from 2018 be moved to October as an 'autumn budget' and the statement moved to March but as a less important convention.[9][10] The last time the budget was held in the autumn to this timing came from 1993 to 1996, when Budget Day was also shifted from spring to autumn.[11]

text:
Chancellors have had varying opinions on Budget Day. Nigel Lawson wrote, in his memoirs, that it is "best
described as an enjoyable ordeal". Harold Macmillan, in explaining his surprise at being appointed Chancellor, said that he thought Budget Day to be "rather like a school Speech Day: a bit of a bore, but there it is".[12][13][14]

text: Preparation[edit]

text: The Chancellor, Treasury ministers, and officials will have been working on the Budget some time in advance of Budget Day. Geoffrey Howe initiated the tradition of a weekend meeting, for all Treasury ministers and officials, outside London and some time in advance of Budget Day, for discussing the Budget. This meeting is now a customary part of the annual Budget preparations.[9]

text: Presentation to the Monarch[edit]

text: The monarch is the first person to be told of the Budget. Queen Elizabeth II has customarily invited the Chancellor to dinner the day before Budget Day, where she is given an outline of the Budget.[9]

text: Presentation to the Cabinet[edit]

text: The Budget is presented to the Cabinet before being presented to Parliament. Formally, the Cabinet has power to amend the Budget. In practice, however, this is made impossible by the fact that the Budget Cabinet meets on the very morning of Budget Day itself, far too late for any but very minor changes to be effected. The Budget is presented to the Cabinet largely as a fait accompli by the Chancellor, the various junior Treasury ministers, and the Prime Minister (in the role of the First Lord of the Treasury).[9]

text: This swiftness is justified on the grounds of secrecy. It is considered essential the budget details not leak before the Chancellor's public speech. (In 1936, James Henry Thomas famously leaked Budget details after the Budget Cabinet, which at the time was being held five days before Budget Day, which had been until that point the traditional period between the Budget Cabinet and Budget Day itself.) Little objection has apparently been raised by the Cabinet to this. The only times that the Budget Cabinet has raised objections causing last-minute amendment to the Budget have been:[9]

text: The Chancellor's Speech and debate[edit]

text: The Chancellor's Speech in the House is given immediately after what is usually a somewhat lacklustre Prime Minister's Question Time, it being largely overshadowed by what is seen as the main Parliamentary event of the day, now usually around 12:30 but previously about 15:30. Nigel Lawson reports that after the press photo-call at 15:15, where like all chancellors he would hold the red dispatch box, purportedly containing the budget speech,N1 aloft; he used to spend time in his room, just behind the Speaker's chair, collecting his thoughts, before entering the house at 15:25, usually to the sound of "a roar from the Government benches".[12][15]

text: It has varied in length over the years. Macmillan remarked that he "would try not to prolong the agony", and once opined of the speech that he did not think it "necessary to start with the usual long review of the events of the last financial year".[14] The longest continuous budget speech was delivered by William Ewart Gladstone on 18 April 1853 and lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. The shortest was given by Benjamin Disraeli in 1867 and lasted 45 minutes.[16]

text: It is also a parliamentary tradition that whilst making the Budget Speech the Chancellor may drink whatever he or she wishes, including alcohol which is otherwise forbidden. Past Chancellors have opted for whisky (Kenneth Clarke), gin and tonic (Geoffrey Howe), brandy and water (Benjamin Disraeli), spritzer (Nigel Lawson) and sherry and beaten egg (William Ewart Gladstone). George Osborne, as well as his two Labour predecessors Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, have opted for water.[17][18]

text: The Speech is followed by a debate, which can last for several days. In theory, the report and the financial proposals that the Chancellor sets out in the speech are immediately considered and debated by the House, with the Chancellor in attendance to respond to arguments and, occasionally, to amend proposals. Young reports one Member of Parliament observing that Chancellors customarily "keep up their sleeves one or two million pounds which they propose to give away in concessions during the course of the Finance Bill debates".[10]

text: In practice, practical concerns dictate otherwise. Nigel Lawson reports, "[as] soon as MPs realise that the tax announcements are over they dash out of the Chamber to get their copies of the Financial Statement and Budget Report — the 'Red Book'".[12]

text: Similarly, there is a rush by the news services to report Budget items. Young observed in the 1960s that newspapers were "on the street, within minutes it seemed, bringing the glad tidings: TUPPENCE OFF BEER. INCOME TAX DOWN.". Since Parliament has been televised, TV news services have broadcast the Chancellor's speech live, as a "Budget special".[10]

text: Evening broadcast[edit]

text:
Between 1952 and 2011, the Chancellor would, in the evening of Budget Day, make a television party political broadcast about the budget. Similar broadcasts were made, in response, by representatives of the major Opposition parties. All broadcasts were arranged through the normal Parliamentary processes for arranging party election broadcasts.[9][19]
This tradition was discontinued, starting with the 2012 budget, as part of wider changes to the scheduling of party political broadcasts.[20]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text: The Finance Bill proper is only itself presented to Parliament some time after Budget Day, and is debated for days or even weeks afterwards. It is common for the bill to be passed, becoming the Finance Act, some time in late July. The Act back-dates its provisions, so that they take effect either from Budget Day itself or from the start of the fiscal year.[21]

text: In the United States[edit]

text: The United States does not have a Budget Day.[22] Instead the legislation that establishes the federal government's budget originates in the Congress,[23] although the executive branch traditionally makes a proposal in advance.

text: Footnotes[edit]

text: ^N1   Famously, on one occasion the budget box of Norman Lamont (Chancellor 1990-1993) did not contain the speech. That was carried in a plastic bag held by his then Parliamentary Private Secretary, William Hague. The budget box contained a bottle of Highland Park whisky.[24]


document_title: Central canal

question_text: what is found in the central canal of the spinal cord

text: Central canal

text: Structure[edit]

text: Clinical significance[edit]

text: Syringomyelia is a disease caused by the occlusion of the central canal. Occlusions of the central canal typically occur at the lower cervical and upper thoracic levels. This typically damages white matter fibers that cross in anterior white commissure, leading to the loss of temperature, pain, and motor function at the affected levels on contralateral sides.

text: Terminal ventricle[edit]

text: The terminal ventricle (ventriculus terminalis, fifth ventricle or ampulla caudalis) is the widest part of the central canal of the spinal cord that is located at or near the conus medullaris.[2] It was described by Stilling in 1859 and Krause in 1875.[3] Krause introduced the term fifth ventricle after observation of normal ependymal cells.[3] The central canal expands as a fusiform terminal ventricle, and approximately 8–10 mm in length in the conus medullaris (or conus terminalis).[4] Although the terminal ventricle is visible in the fetus and children, it is usually absent in adults.[2]

text: Sometimes, the terminal ventricle is observed by MRI or Sonography in children less than 5 years old.[5] An MRI scan can be particularly helpful in its detection.

text: In pathological conditions, an MRI is useful at the level of the conus medullaris. Findings may be related to the following:

text:
Spina bifida
Arnold-Chiari syndrome
Tumors of the conus medullaris
Myelomeningocele
Syringomyelia
Hydromyelia. In hydromyelia, a dilation of the central canal of the spinal cord is caused by an increase of cerebrospinal fluid.[6]
Syringohydromyelia (i.e., both Syringomyelia and Hydromyelia)[6]
Tethered cord

text: In some cases, the terminal ventricle may cause clinical symptoms due to its expansion.

text: Central gelatinous substance[edit]

text:
Central gelatinous substance of spinal cord

Substantia gelatinosa centralis is Rexed lamina X, labeled at center.

Details

Identifiers

Latin
substantia gelatinosa centralis medullae spinalis

MeSH
A08.186.854.610.800

Dorlands
/Elsevier
s_27/12766744

TA
A14.1.02.019

FMA
78497

Anatomical terminology
[edit on Wikidata]

text: Throughout the cervical and thoracic regions the central canal is situated in the anterior third of the spinal cord; in the lumbar enlargement it is near the middle, and in the conus medullaris it approaches the posterior surface. It is filled with cerebrospinal fluid, and lined by ciliated, columnar epithelium, outside of which is an encircling band of gelatinous substance, the substantia gelatinosa centralis (or central gelatinous substance of spinal cord). This gelatinous substance consists mainly of neuroglia, but contains a few nerve cells and fibers; it is traversed by processes from the deep ends of the columnar ciliated cells which line the central canal.

text: It should not be confused with the Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, which is located more dorsally.