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Chapter 6
Responding to Liberalism
Is Going to the Left, Right?
As explored in Chapter 5, classical liberal policies during the Industrial
Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries resulted in the
accumulation of wealth for the small group of business owners, and
increased poverty and created poor living and working conditions for the
majority of the population. In response, many people in Europe and North
America began to questions some of the practices in their political and
economic systems, especially laissez-faire capitalism.
Bourgeoisie:
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Proletariat:
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Socialism:
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Marxism:
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Democratic Socialism:
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Read Robert Owen and Utopian Socialism (page 143)
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Complete the Chart from page 147

Values of Socialism

Values of
Classical Liberalism

(Collectivist)
(Individualist)
Collective Interest:

Self Interest:

Humans should be co-operative, helpful and

Compassionate.

Collective Responsibility:
Responsibilities/Freedoms:

Individuality Rights/

Society, through govt, should be responsible

for the well-being of its members.

Economic Equality:

Economic Freedom:

Lots of govt involvement. High taxes of individuals

and companies to spread wealth around.

Public Property:

Private Property:

The govt should own and run major industries. All

profits are redistributed back to society.

Co-operation

Competition

People should cooperate to achieve collective goals.

Adherence to Collective Norms:

Rule of Law:

People should follow rules and norms that benefit society.

There should be equality among the people.

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Early Democratic Socialism (page 149)

1. When did democratic socialism begin?

2. Democratic socialist wanted more of this to address the collective

interests of society.

3. How did Social Democrats differ from Karl Marx?

4. Democratic socialist embraced certain classical liberal values such as:

5. Under democratic socialism, this would happen to most industries:

The Great Depression (page 152)

October 29, 1929, marked the start of the Great _______________. It began with the
crash of stock markets in New York and in all the major financial centres around the
world. In Canada, the early years of the Depression brought ______________
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hardships when companies went bankrupt, investors in businesses watched the

value of their stocks disappear, and unemployment reached 27 per cent of the
_______________ population.
Many historians and ______________, regardless of their political orientation
conservative, liberal, or socialist share the opinion that the stock market crash of
1929 and the Depression were the result of an _______________economy. During the
1920s, investors had bought stocks and built companies thinking that the economy
had no limits and could continue only in an upward and _______________direction. But
they learned that what goes up may also come down.
Recall what you know about the hardships that many people suffered during the
early years of __________________: poor working conditions, low wages, and unsanitary
slums. Consequently, the prospect of a more equal and fair society was
_______________to many people. Throughout many places in the world, socialism and
increased government intervention were _______________ as part of a political and
economic ideology.
During the Depression, many Canadian _______________and businesses came to a
standstill, and there was mass unemployment. Some Canadian went through their
_________ savings trying to survive, and others had nothing to live on, nowhere to
live, and little to feed their ___________. More and more Canadians began to believe
that their _______________ needed to do something to support them.
Formation of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
The CCF was founded in _____________ in 1932 during the Depression. The effects
of the Depression were particularly harsh on people living on the _______________.
There, the economy depended on ranching, farming, and mining, which were hit hard
during the Great Depression. Some people did not have enough money to pay their
bills. They had to _______________ their farms, businesses, and homes to find what
work they could elsewhere. In 1933, CCF members met in Regina and wrote the
Regina _______________, Which set out the partys goals and its plans for achieving
them:
Shelters for jobless and _______________
Job creation programs
_______________for those people who had worked for their lifetimes but could
not be cared for by their impoverished children
Healthcare that would be _______________by the government
The power of the CCF peaked in 1944 when Tommy Douglas was elected premier of
__________________ by an overwhelming margin. Douglas and the CCF formed
_______________ Americas first democratic socialist government and began a social
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_______________ movement that influenced the entire country. The CCF eventually
became the New _______________ Party (NDP). Although the CCF had little
_______________ in federal elections, they policies it proposed, such as social
programs, job creations programs, and union support are reflected in many Canadian
government _______________ today.

Historical Importance of the Great Depression

The Great Depression, an immense tragedy that placed millions of people out of
work, was the beginning of government involvement in the economy and in society
as a whole.

The Stock Market Crash

After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States was
thrown into despair on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market
crashed and the official beginning of the Great Depression. As stock prices
plummeted with no hope of recovery, panic struck. Masses and masses of people
tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying. The stock market, which had
appeared to be the surest way to become rich, quickly became the path to
bankruptcy.
And yet, the stock market was just the beginning. Since many banks had also
invested large portions of their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks
were forced to close when the stock market crashed. Seeing a few banks
close caused another panic across the country. Afraid they would lose
their own savings, people rushed to banks that were still open to
withdraw their money. This massive withdrawal of cash caused additional
banks to close. Since there was no way for a bank's clients to recover
any of their savings once the bank had closed, those who didn't reach
the bank in time also became bankrupt.
Businesses and industry were also affected. Having lost much of
their own capital in either the Stock Market Crash or the bank closures,
many businesses started cutting back their workers' hours or wages. In
turn, consumers began to curb their spending, refraining from
purchasing such things as luxury goods. This lack of consumer spending caused
additional businesses to cut back wages or, more drastically, to lay off some of their
workers. Some businesses couldn't stay open even with these cuts and soon closed
their doors, leaving all their workers unemployed.

The Dust Bowl

In previous depressions, farmers were usually safe from the severe effects of
a depression because they could at least feed themselves. Unfortunately, during the
Great Depression, the Great Plains were hit hard with both a drought and
horrendous dust storms. Years and years of overgrazing combined with the effects
of a drought caused the grass to disappear. With just topsoil exposed, high winds
picked up the loose dirt and whirled it for miles. The dust storms destroyed
everything in their paths, leaving farmers without their crops.
Small farmers were hit especially hard. Even before the dust storms hit, the
invention of the tractor drastically cut the need for manpower on farms. These small
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farmers were usually already in debt, borrowing money for seed and paying it back
when their crops came in. When the dust storms damaged the crops, not only could
the small farmer not feed himself and his family, he could not pay back his debt.
Banks would then foreclose on the small farms and the farmer's family would be
both homeless and unemployed.

Riding the Rails

During the Great Depression, millions of people were out

of work across the United States and Canada. Unable to find
another job locally, many unemployed people hit the road,
traveling from place to place, hoping to find some work. A
few of these people had cars, but most hitchhiked or "rode
the rails." A large portion of the people who rode the rails
were teenagers, but there were also older men, women, and
entire families who traveled in this manner. They would
board freight trains and crisscross the country, hoping to find
a job in one of the towns along the way.
When there was a job opening, there were often literally a thousand people
applying for the same job. Those who weren't lucky enough to get the job would
perhaps stay in a shantytown (known as "Hoovervilles") outside of town. Housing in
the shantytown was built out of any material that could be found freely, like
driftwood, cardboard, or even newspapers.
The farmers who had lost their homes and land usually
headed west to California, where they heard rumours of
agricultural jobs. Unfortunately, although there was some
seasonal work, the conditions for these families were
transient and hostile.

Roosevelt and the New Deal

The U.S. economy broke down and entered the Great

Depression during the presidency of Herbert Hoover.
Although President Hoover repeatedly spoke of optimism, the
people blamed him for the Great Depression. Just as the
shantytowns were named Hoovervilles after him, newspapers became known as
"Hoover blankets," pockets of pants turned inside out (to show they were empty)
were called "Hoover flags," and broken-down cars pulled by horses were known as
"Hoover wagons."
During the 1932 presidential election, Hoover did not stand a chance at re-election
and Franklin D. Roosevelt won in a landslide. People of the United States had high
hopes that President Roosevelt would be able to solve all their woes. As soon as
Roosevelt took office, he closed all the banks and only let them reopen once they
were stabilized. Next, Roosevelt began to establish programs that became known as
the New Deal. Roosevelt felt that the country needed three things: Relief, Recovery,
and Reform. The New Deal focused on providing relief to unemployed Americans
and the troubled manufacturing sector while promoting economic recovery and
reforming the American finance system to prevent the recurrence of the Depression.
Roosevelt pushed a number of acts of legislation and policy which came to be
collectively known as the New Deal, a reference to a statement that he made in
his inauguration speech.

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Relief was provided through a number of social programs which created

employment for many Americans. The New Deal was the driving force behind the
construction of dams, state park facilities, and a wide range of other public facilities
throughout the United States. New Deal work crews helped to build homes, pave
roads, and build public structures, among many other things. The New Deal also
established social security and pushed membership in labour unions and
sustainable farming policy.

The End of the Great Depression

To many at the time, President Roosevelt was a hero. They believed that he
cared deeply for the common man and that he was doing his best to end the
Great Depression. Looking back, however, it is uncertain as to how much
Roosevelt's New Deal programs helped to end the Great Depression. By all
accounts, the New Deal programs eased the hardships of the Great Depression;
however, the U.S. economy was still in extremely bad shape by the end of the
1930s.
The major turn-around for the U.S. economy occurred after the bombing
of Pearl Harbour and the entrance of the United States into World War II. Once
the U.S. was involved in the war, both people and industry became essential to
the war effort. Weapons, artillery, ships, and airplanes were needed quickly.
Men were trained to become soldiers and the women were kept on the homefront to keep the factories going. Food needed to be grown for both the homefront and to send overseas. It was ultimately the entrance of
the U.S. into World War II that ended the Great Depression in
the United States.

1. Give three causes of the Great Depression:

2. What were Hoovervilles?

3. What was The New Deal?

4. How did the Great Depression change the way people thought about the role of
government in the economy?

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5. Economically speaking, how can a war help the citizens of a nation?

6. What do you think were the lessons learned from the Great Depression?

CBCs Top Canadian of All Time

It all started with a question: Who is the Greatest Canadian? CBC Television received over
140,000 Greatest Canadian nominations from all corners of the country! And after the
nominations were counted, the final round of the Greatest Canadian debate raged on for the
Top Ten.

10. ____________________________________
9. ____________________________________
8. ____________________________________
7. ____________________________________
6. ____________________________________
5. ____________________________________
4. ____________________________________
3. ____________________________________
2. ____________________________________
1. ____________________________________
Chapter Summary

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