The paper attempts to give a summary of 22 chapters from the book by the author David M. Kennedy, “Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945.” The book explains the struggle of the Americans from economic depression and in the Second World War.

The American people on the eve of depression

On October 1929, there was a Crash on the stock market which affected American lifestyle from the root of its foundation and the future. With Herbert Hoover as the president-elect in 1928, his regime faced a tumult crisis when his government struggled for ten years of economic depression. In an attempt to overcome the downswings in the business cycles, the president encouraged close corporations between the government and the business, supported labor and established controls over the new technology of the radio. In addition, he proposed public work funds in multibillion to offset the crisis. In 1933, the historian scholars published information to the dismissal of Hoover, “the Recent Social Trends”, and a densely packed data that contained all American life aspects. The data revealed an inventory of mineral sources, arts, medical practices, crime analysis and punishment, the status of women, blacks changing labor characteristics, the role of the federal state in relation to the depression era. The Recent social trend data disclosed the massive epoch-making event which included mass immigration, urbanization, race riots, rise of giant US steel industry, the advent of consumer financing, the mass market advertising and aggressive birth control campaigns. The industrial revolution was characterized by religious boundaries such as Jewish, Catholics who settled in New York. When the guns of August announced war in Europe in 1914, the agricultural sector suffered a blade of chronic depression and farmers adopted intensive cultivation to cut down the weights of debts and sustain the economy. Later, there was saturation. As a result, of industrial revolution and formation of labor unions which catered for the rights of workers. Worker’s strikes rose rapidly, and people sought justice for black women, good pay and good working conditions. Consequently, the government implemented policies to control, stock markets, immigration and economic resources (Kennedy, 1999).

Panic

After inauguration of Robert Hoover on March, 4th, 1929, the whole country depended hope was on Washington to solve its problems. On April 15, the presidents ignored a proposal for export subsidies and instead, he funded $500 million and signed Agricultural Marketing Act, to boost agricultural cooperatives. However, the agriculturally stimulated program did not succumb to depression, and the president was persistent to accept the failure due to the rigidity of his commitments in making decisions. From his childhood, Hoover character of withdrawn but conscientious loner reveals his political ambition and principles of his governance. He advanced as an unusual and progressive businessman and later, his tribute towards feeding the starving Belgians crowned him the international reputation for the great humanitarian. Through the economic pillar of the government, Hoover continued to win the eye of the public spirit by combating episodes of unemployment. While in the pulpit of his presidency, he sought to steer head the Agricultural Marketing Act in order to demonstrate his capacity for a progressive era. However, the panic began when he failed to control tariff on flexible agricultural imports and to strengthen the power of the Tariff Commission to alter the import duties on manufactured goods by 50%. As a result, there was a decrease in unemployment caused by the overwhelming competition. The economic status of the United States moved towards beggar-thy-neighbor policies of protection with the other nations, putting US at edge of exploitation. In addition, the banks experienced economic disturbances and had sketchy reports of a worrisome unemployment. The Hoover’s regime encountered fever of panic as banks adopted distasteful sums in small denomination bills, deflation, liquidation of assets, courtesy of the vacuumed leadership of the Hoover’s presidency.

The ordeal of Herbert Hoover

On the eve of December 1930, the claim by president Hoover that the cause of the economic depression was overly premature and defensive. Amid the economic crisis, the president’s words sent a chilling ring of prophesy while the economic shock waves shook the United Stated. His defensive confidence against the crisis became damage control to the nation. The rise of the malign forces set the stage of disaster with the European economy particularly that of the Germany, giving the rise of Adolf Hitler. On September, 1930, the Nazi Party ignited a chain of reactions against America over the economic crisis in Germany. Hitler reacted to the private nominal reparation payments given by the America to the British, which caused instability in the treasury bill of the German’s government. Americans did not want to absorb a great share the war cost debts since forgiving the loan meant the countries in debts would secure their own private loan. On the contrary Hoover ratified the proposal to drop all payments on intergovernmental debt, a move that caused the provocation from the California Republican senator, Hiram Johnson. In 1931, Hoover encouraged gold mining to guarantee the value of the currency of the nation in the international trade. However, the gold standard regime became unreliable due to the competition in the international market and Hoover decided to raise taxes as an alternative for revenue collection. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ideologies gave Hoover competition during his presidency and his framework for industrialization and security paved way for him into the white house.

Interregnum

Roosevelt became the president-elect while Hoover remained in power to a period of about four months. However, the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment of the constitution took effect in 1933, and that is when inauguration of Roosevelt followed and became the president of the America. During the period between his inauguration and election, America fell into drastic economic depression, and most banks closed completely. On the other hand, Adolf Hitler waged war against Nazi gang, causing death to a lot of people in Germany and increased rates of unemployment. Hoover wanted the international debt question reviewed so as to maintain the foreign relations. Academic economists, the Wall Street Financial community and the European agreed to the cancellation of the war debts. Furthermore, Hoover later isolated for the cancellation meetings and advised Roosevelt to consider using the war debts as bargaining lever for prying the Europeans economic as well as to gain control of the markets for the farm and labor products. Later Hoover sent a mail to Roosevelt explaining the worsening state of the economic depression. The gold was getting shipped out in large quantities, and the people withdrew their money to keep them at home; however, Roosevelt dismissed the call of alarm as the president-elect kept his own council. During his inaugural ceremonies, people feared the historical era was coming to an end since the crisis deepened, and the banks were barred shut. Herbert Hoover was conservative on his goals whereas Theodore Roosevelt welcomed opinion from everyone, a character which his advisor, Tugwell, thought was not right. To beset the forced political constellation those were taking place in Washington, Roosevelt replaced all official in the government bureaus and departments with his new entourage, putting an end to Hoover’s administration.

A hundred years

In 1933, Washington had a few building extensions and unfinished columns, the effect of which was due problem in the department of labor emanating from the marks of the World War. On a Saturday morning of the inauguration of the president, the entire nation was anxious, hoping to awaken from the economic crisis to a hopeful moment. The sickening manner of depression continues to an extent that followed the bank of Michigan to close down for eighty days banking holiday. After three years of economic depression, the Americans carted away their deposits in haste and desperation, shipping them out of the country. The prices in the stock exchange plummeted while banks closed under the executive orders such as the banks of Maryland, Chicago Board of Trade. The latter followed lack of jobs for thirteen million people, and they idled for three years desperately gathering in prayers, while America lay intense economic devastation. In his speech to save the nation, Roosevelt made measures such as regulating key industries, strict supervision of banking credit, priority on domestic currency against the international currency and inflationary measures. He convened a meeting with the legislation and later, signed a bill on capitalism system. Focusing of the banking system, he imposed strict supervision on credit financing and addressed the nation on the radio to deposit their savings at the banks by assuring them a new change. Many people had faith in his words and banks filled again with gold and money. Meanwhile, the four years’ proposal by Herbert Hoover dominated the Congress and the agricultural organization, inflicting pressure on Roosevelt to revisit the strategy. The America refused to play the part in supporting economic nationalism with Japanese, Nazism and Fascism, and chose to combat the economic depression alone.

The ordeal of the American people

As the depression reached he fourth year, Harry Hopkins advised Lorena Hickok to spread out a message of relief and encourage people to express their reactions as ordinary citizens. Despair loomed among millions of people, and they lookup to Washington with a ray of hope that depression would end. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration flowed with reports of the agonizing depression. Touched by the fear of hunger of the unemployed, Hopkins dispatched Lorena to collect information about the public outcry and deliver an insightful report. Hopkins sketched an outline of the grim circumstances surrounding the stockholders whose three-quarter of their value of assets simply vanished since 1929. The financial meltdown affected the struggling neighborhood banks, notoriously idle rich and universities and colleges endowments. On March 1933, the New Deal Rescue operation speeded up foreclosure on defaulted mortgages causing many people to lose their properties; the menace spread to several municipalities and states that crushed, as a result, of shrinking tax revenues and the gross domestic product reduced by half. Surprisingly, the shoe and cigarette manufacturers suffered only minor economic bumps. There was a slump fall in employment especially to the most predictable vulnerable, the elderly, the very young and the unskilled. The demise compounded heavily on blacks, Mexican-Americans and the immigrants. The crisis of the depression seeped insofar as to the number of child’s people would have, declined marriage rates and increased divorce. There was conflict in the division of labor, and the labor unions, and Johnson criticized the government was perpetrating centralization and dictatorship in control of the economy of the America. The NRA worked towards resolving the degradation of the labor standards and after few years there was a dramatic improvement of the living standards of the American people.

Chasing the phantom of recovery

Lorena Hickok observed the ten years depression made people and animals to suffer, and most of the farm buildings remained painted for a long time. However, the NRA stabilized the industrial products for all those sectors that agreed to work within its code of agreement. Hickok wrote the plight of the workers ranged from milk cows dying out of starvation, horses dropped in the harness and even found a group of farmers clad in shattered clothes had locked themselves in her car for warm in cold winter. During the winter of 1933 to 1934, she came across some Whites and Blacks who were half-starved in Dakotas who struggled to eat in a competition food scraps that she admitted it was less than what her dog got at home. On the lands of Texas and Oklahoma, both the man and the nature brought about a catastrophic event known as Dust Bowl. Farmers ploughed the land deeply, causing large earth cracks which made the land prone to soil erosion, forming a towering eight thousand waves referred to as “black blizzards”. The impact of their poor farming led to poor yields, and the cruel nature filled their lands with dust. Many farmers moved out to another town while more thousands flocked in from Kansas, Colorado and Texas with intent to grab the land with greed. The disaster of the farm sector prompted Roosevelt to revise inflation policies through purchase of gold. However, the devaluation of gold in the international market brought more financial turmoil on the trade. Despite the attempt by Hoover to advise farmers to produce orderly products, the other nations sought refuge by protectionism policy. America shifted its attention to chemical, assembly and steel industry as the main effort of recovering its vitality.

The rumble of discontent

Supported by Katherine Philips Edson who was an early feminist and suffragette, Hiram W. Johnson was the California candidate in 1910 and a nominee for the vice president under the Progressive Party in 1912. In 1914, he was reelected as the California governor and later on in 1916, won a seat for the Progressive to the United States Senator. He continued his associations with the state party throughout the decade winning the Republican simultaneously. Although Johnson had a personal close relation with Theodore Roosevelt, he supported the ideologies of Robert La Follette. Johnson lost the Republican nomination seat in 1924 to the president’s Coolidge after challenging him unsuccessfully. In spite of the fact that Johnson disliked La Follette, he resentfully admired his third-party bid and accepted his 1924 platform. In 1934, La Follette ran seven seats under Wisconsin Progressive Party but lost to California Progressive Party, which had a ballot line in California. All except for Raymond L. Haight secures a position for the governor by getting 13% of the California vote counts, against democratic and socialist nominee- Upton Sinclair. In 1936, Franck R. Avenger became the congressman-elect for California fourth congressional District and also received significant votes in other places. When La Follette created the progressive group inside the Progressive Wisconsin Party and later on lost to Theodore Roosevelt, they became bitter enemies.

A season for reform

The congress consented enactment of Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, which was a bill that facilitated funding of Works Progress Administration (WPA). Started by President Franklin Roosevelt to combat the economic hardships during the depression period, 8.5 million people got jobs on a project worth 1.4 million dollars before breaking up in 1943. The WPA provided employment to both the unskilled and people workers in public work projects such as building roads and bridges creating park, building schools and other public structures. The Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) as part of the various projects in WPA was responsible for employing people who had skills in the arts such as the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) and Federal Music Project (FMP). Some of the well known employees employed by the FWP were Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, May Swenson, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright and Nelson Algren. In 1930s, the Writers Project kept a record of life history of more that 10, 000 people, both men and women, and from the variety of regions, ethnic groups and occupations for the Folklore project. The people seeking for employment included children under the age of sixteen, incapacitated persons, students from schools and housewives. The program considers the assumption that only one person per family was allowed to work, reducing the number of workers in the program to about 3.55 million workers. In addition, the WPA funded publicly owned utilities and welfare projects such as sewing projects for women, and lunch projects. In 1935, the WPA prioritized on improving infrastructure, rural electricity extension, sanitation, flood control and sanitation. The latter followed agricultural improvements such as eradication of fungi, pests and supply of marl fertilizers.

Strike

In spite of the Roosevelt pessimism against business and the unstable performance of the AAA and NRA, the economy started showing signs of recovery. The labor output increased in mining shafts of Appalachia, and the bay of San Francisco was looming with winching of cargos. The economic performance and volume of industrial output were accelerating at a pace of improvement. In 1929, there was the increase in the Federal Reserve Board index of 70 and the favorable trends shrunk the unemployment by nearly four million from thirteen million. The economic revival led to the emergence of American labor movement crusade which managed millions of unskilled workers into the mass production sector such as automotive and steel industries. The Wagner National Labor Relation Act created a legal framework that ensured the right of workers such as employment bargains and the right against discrimination. However, the Act did not recognize the appeal of the employers during a dispute and many employers defied its provision. The result of workers’ empowerment led to demand better pay and other necessities which the employers promised on pretext. As a result, workers persisted in their efforts to demand their promises and the government was in favor of their grievances. In California, there was an explosive labor disturbance in the industries and agricultural entities, causing havoc and public unrest. During the wrangles in the labor unions, Roosevelt was a forefront beneficiary of the labor movements for his support, and even the immigrants were swearing to vote for his Democratic Party. The party advocated on evangelizing the rights of workers against the employers’ will. Eventually, worker shunned away the spirit of capitalism that persisted in the employment sectors and sought for American communism.

The ordeal of Frank Roosevelt

Frank Roosevelt had many attributes and landmark reforms that made him feel proud in 1935. In addition, the large margin votes of 1936 that won him the presidency were more than any other record in history. Frank Roosevelt owed credit to himself for the awakening of the countries economy. He addressed the public that the step forward out of depression was obvious. However, the achievements were still unsecure to rely on, and his performance was immature. Due to his ominous and self-assuring character, he implemented many of his reform initiatives but the Supreme Court nullified them as it did not see his myriad innovations being in line with the recovery of the economy. As his second term of service began, Roosevelt planned to assert boldly and protect the New Deal by striking on three fronts; the congress, the judiciary and eventually the factors of his own party especially the southern wing. Fortunately, he decided to attack the most sacred American institution which was the Supreme Court. In so doing, Roosevelt explained that he wanted to promote efficiency in the judiciary system. There were discrepancies in the law making process of the court such as turning down of the New Deal, taking residence of the magnificent structure of the temple in Capitol Hill. In the reflection of the courts on cancellations of over one hundred bills, the congress convened in 1936 to redefine the power balance between the judicial and the legislatures arms of the government. In April 1937, there was a case of grisly lynching in the Duck Hill where two black men were halted and killed. The latter followed accusation of racial discrimination and the president needed to sign the anti-lynching bill but declined, marking his limits to challenge the conservative grandees in the southern party.

What the New Deal did

Between 1930 and 1932, there were introduction of several versions of Glass-Steagall Act bill by Senator Carter Glass to prohibit and to control the combination of investment and commercial banking. The senator also established reforms which were parallel to the final provisions of the Banking Act of 1933. President Roosevelt made the bill into law on June, 6th, 1933. Initially, when Glass introduced the bill for the first time, there was a lot of criticism and comments from economists, bankers and the Federal Reverse Board. The first half of the bill included a requirement for the commercial banks to remove the securities of their associates. The house adjourned for further debate and the final Glass-Steagall provisions involved giving the banks five years to remove the associates’ securities. Steagall insisted on securing the small banks while Glass viewed small banks as the main weakness to the banking in United States. In view of the 1933 Banking Act Article, Pecora investigation played a major part in the implementation of the Act and in particular, enactment of the Glass-Steagall Provisions. Nevertheless, the critiques of Glass-Steagall argued that the support to separate investment and commercial banking did not rise from the evidence in Pecora investigation. There was also enactment of Security Act in the aftermath of the crash of the stock market in 1929 and while in the depression period. The requirement of the clause was to ensure the offer or sale of securities by instrumentalities and means of the interstate be under the registration with 1933 SEC pursuant Act. In addition, the Federal National Mortgage Foundation was part of the New Deal founded in 1938. The government sponsored enterprise aimed at giving an opportunity to lenders to reinvest to lend more of their securities and to expand the mortgage market and to minimize reliance on small local loan based and saving associations.

The gathering storm

The American Congress passed the Neutrality Act in 1930, in response to the growing tension between Asia and Europe that led to the World War II. The US commitment not to entangle in future conflicts and its growing non-interventionism and isolationism from War World I, spurred Europe and Asia into the World War II. The Neutrality Act brought an image of negativity since America made no differentiation between the victim and the aggressors. In addition, the Act limited the ability of the US government to back up France and Britain against Nazi Germany. However, the US revoked the Acts when Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor and Germans attacked a submarine belonging to the US. Consequently, on 11th, December, 1941, the US made a declaration to got to war. On 7th, March 1936, the German Army entered the Rhineland because of its violation of Locarno Treaties and the terms of the Treaties of Versailles. The Locarno Treaties was an agreement by France, Britain, Italy and Germany with the aim to demilitarize Rhine completely. Under the terms of Locarno, Italy and Britain guaranteed demilitarization of the Rhineland on the basis of fragrant violation although they did not clarify what the fragrant violation meant. In an attempt to sanction Germans breach of Treaties in Rhineland, the League of Nations met in London but their efforts proved futile. Furthermore, there were Axis powers which consisted of nations that colluded to fight against the Allied forces in the Second World War. The Empire of Japan and the Nazi Germany concluded on Anti-Comintern Pact; an anti-communist pact against the communist international. Also, there was Spanish Civil War on 17th, 1936, led by General Francisco Franco for the rebels, against the loyal Republicans. The Japanese invaded Manchuria on 19th, September, 1931, and used Manchukuo as a puppet state that lasted until the end of Word War II.

The agony of neutrality

The President Franklin D. Roosevelt of US and Winston Churchill, who was the British Prime Minister has close working relationships, and friendship and the establishment led to efforts to deal with the axis power in a unified cord. The joint agreements and working relationships fostered planning for successful peace after victory. Later in December 1941, shortly before America started the war, Roosevelt and Churchill made the First Washington Conference with the code name Arcadia, and they delivered Christmas greetings to the nation. In July 1940, the newly appointed Prime Minister sought aide from the FDR since Britain had lost 11 destroyers under the attack of the German Navy. Roosevelt gave out fifty destroyers for ninety-nine years leases on the bases of the Britain. However, America’s involvement in the war provoked other nations since the state had sworn to maintain neutrality. Henry L. Stimson, who was the secretary of war, told the Senate of the Foreign Relations during the debate that they were not lending but buying since the Germans caught them unprepared, and they were in dire need for defense. The name of the Battle of the Britain came from a speech delivered by the Prime Minister Winston Churchill when he was in the House of Commons. The Battle of Britain involved the air forces and the Germans aimed to gain air superiority at the expense of the Royal Air Forces. Despite Hitler threatened that he would release Operation Sea Lion, and airborne and amphibious invasion of Britain, Germans proceeded with the bombing operations in Britain known as the Blitz. Although the British Army was heavily surrounded, they managed to stage a fierce battle and drove away the enemies.

To the Brink

Franklin D. Roosevelt used the slogan, “Arsenal of the Democracy” in World War II to in radio broadcast on which was delivered on 29th, December 1940. Roosevelt supported the United Kingdom to fight the Nazi Germany through supply of military weapons while at the same time America stayed out of the war. Italy and Japan allied with Germany while at the time, signed Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, non-aggression Treaty after invading Poland in year 1939. The arsenal of Democracy involved not one city but a collective effort by all the industrial centers such as Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh and many other countries. There was lend lease policy which was enacted on 11th, March, 1941, a program that enables the United States to supply USSR, the Great Britain, the Republic of China, the Free France and other nation allies with material for war. The US shipped a total of $50 billion worth of supplies with a condition for them to use the war machines until the war ended. The program brought an end to the pretext of US neutrality as a decisive walk away from the non-interventionism. When Nazi Germany brought invasion to the Soviet Union, the Committee to Defend America by Aiding Allies (CDAAA) came to an end, and they commenced a Committee to Defend America (CDA). The United States considered the Soviet as beneficiary fighters against fascism and Hitler. During the World War II, the Germany used the code name Operation Barbarossa to refer to the invasion in Soviet Union. The Axis powers sent four million soldiers to invade USSR at an approximate of 2900km in length. Apart from the troops, there were 625, 000 horses and 600, 000-motor vehicles in use.

War in the Pacific

The attack on the Pearl Harbor was a conspiracy to allow America to go to the war through the back door. Since the attack by the Japanese on the harbor, there has been a debate wanting to establish how America was caught unprepared for the attack. Robert A. Theobald, who was US, retired navy argued in one of the US conferences that both the US and the Britain knew in advance about the plot to attack the Pearl Harbor. The United State government constructed nine inquiries between the year 1941 and 1946 and produced the Dorn Report. The report revealed underestimation, incompetence and misapprehension of the capabilities of Japanese. The report also revealed problems emanating from excessive secrecy concerning the cryptography and lack of enough manpower for intelligence. Later, the Dutch (NIE) intelligence sent a decrypted message to the US according to the code agreement by other allies to share information about cryptographic load. However, with the increasing desire of Roosevelt to force Japan into engaging the first overt war, the United States declined to share for security reasons. There were claims that the US marine heard signal transmission from Hawaii of an imminent plot to attack US through a Morse code. There was contention that the Japanese Deception of the radio was origination from Kyushu, which was transmitting at the same frequency as during the training period. The default transmission was accounted to the low-battery power on radio calls and Japanese deception operation to lag radio stations behind the actual military schedules. The Japanese air force launched the first attack on the Pearl Harbor and in addition, declared war on Britain. Frank D. Roosevelt in turn retaliated by mobilizing all his force to go to the war. The reports show that two US aircraft carriers sunk four submarines and destroyed six Japanese planes.

Unready ally, the uneasy alliance

Using the code name Quadrant, the first highly secret military conference known as Quebec conference took place in 1943 among United States, Canada and British government in view of the World War II. Held in Quebec City on 17th, August, 1943, the conference consisted of chief representatives; Frank D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and William Lyon Mackenzie King, as Canada Prime Minister and the host. There was an agreement among the allies to discuss how to invade France using the codename Overload, from the secret report of combined chiefs of staff. There were also concerns to increase the bombings on Germany and to support of the Britain with the US army force against invasion of France. Later, Churchill while at the Mediterranean conference concentrated in an effort to remove Italy from the Axis of powers and locate it along Corsica. The result of the coordination of efforts by Canada, Britain and America, was the development an atomic bomb. They also limited Balkan to supply guerillas to Japanese and increased attacks to exhaust Japanese of its resources. At the end of the conference, Roosevelt and Churchill and secretly accepted to sign the Quebec agreement on sharing the nuclear technology. The United States built military troops in Britain during the World War II using the code name Operation Bolero. The round up operation consisted of 3,649 aircrafts, Eighth Air force with 800 heavy bombers, 345-light bombers, 600 medium bombers and 960 fighters. The raid started when the troops set off in Royal Navy ship and at the beach of Dieppe, there were continuous bombardments by guns place a the top of the cliffs while the British in the Air fierce fully confronted with the Luftwaffe. In a single day, most of the low-flying aircrafts were gunned down by Germans, and they celebrated success for their devastating defeat.

The war of machines

The Boy Scouts distributed OLW posters to shops across all the shops in America. Led by the president of the Scouts of America, Walter W. Head, he telegraphed Roosevelt on 8th, December, 1941, offering to corporate fully towards the declaration of war. The Boys Scouts popular jobs included offering messenger services in the Office of the Civilian Defense. The other functions of the organization were to persuade the American people not to reveal the secrets of the war, conservation of vital resources and to collect any scrap metals that could be used during the war. During the Battle of Stalingrad, and which occurred between 23rd, August, 1942 and 2nd, February 1943, involved the Nazi Germany and its allies uniting to fight Union Soviet in Stalingrad, resulting to civilian casualties and a record of the bloodiest battle in the warfare history. The Germans aggression to capture Stalingrad started in the late summer of 1942, after which the intensive bombings reduced the city to rubbles. Nevertheless, the Red Army staged Operation Uranus on 19th, November, 1942, with a target to weaken Hungar