Jennie Thorp Chapter 16 Notes Chapter 16 Notes 1 Assess the economic views of James Couzens in the late 1920s pp 274 75 a Secretary of Ford Motor Company before being elected Mayor of Detroit Understood problems caused when the auto plants closed each summer to prepare to build the new models Starvation Vacation No unemployment compensation to tide them over until they returned to work Couzens believed that in a democracy a man had a right to preserve himself and his family from suffering and want He proposed that in times of economic depression the federal government should create public works programs for the unemployed 2 Explain the peculiar severity of the Great Depression in Michigan pp 274 276 a Produced demagogues and threats of revolution pitted Americans against each other and led many to wonder when or if the economic turmoil would end Few Americans escaped the effects of the Depression 3 Compare and contract the views of political leaders and the wealthy who urged actions to relieve poverty with those who deplored such action pp 276 78 a Senator Couzens proposed creating a 10 Million private relief fund and offered to contribute the first 1 million Well heeled Detroiters responded with a resounding not interested and even expressed displeasure at how Couzens had embarrassed them Frank Murphy earned a reputation as one of Michigan s most active public servants Born in Sand Beach in 1890 Murphy followed in his father s footsteps becoming a lawyer after graduating from the University of Michigan Law School Joined the U S Army and earned a commission as a lieutenant and served in France Murphy spent six years on the court establishing a reputation as a a consistent advocate of the view that ajudge should tailor the punishment to fit the criminal He also received nation attention as a fair judge most notably in the racially charged Jennie Thorp Chapter 16 Notes 4 Describe the consequences of the Depression in Michigan including a Ford Motor Company s cancellation of airplane manufacture and b the radical advocacy of Father Charles Coughlin pp Ossian Sweet trials 278 282 a Ford Motor Company s efforts to build airplanes Vocal minority advocated revolution Believed Henry Ford could turn things around if only he would b One of the nation s most colorful and recognizable figures of the 1930 s He arrived in Michigan in the early 1920 s serving as a preist in churchs in several communities In 1926 he was assigned to bild a Catholic Church in Detroit suburb of Royal Oak He broadcasted a radio sermon Developed a loyal following that rivaled anyone in America Moved from Religion to political Radio Priest Reputation as a supporter of the suffering working people who atributed the Depression to the failure of capitalism 5 Evaluate efforts to relieve the effect of the Great Depression a in Michigan and b nationally pp 282 86 a Loaned money to stressed banks but a congressional requirement that these loans be publicized accelerated the depositors decision to withdraw their holding Banking fiasco only worsened the unemployed situation President Roosevelt s New Deal moved to relieve the pressure b Autoworkers sought relief from the worsening situation Largest automaker spent a million dollars between 1934 and mid 1936 employing 14 private detective and security agencies and creating what a congressional committee 6 Explain the labor management struggles of the Great Depression including a the distinction between skilled trades unions and unskilled labor unions b federal legislation on labor management c the Flint Sit Down Strike and d management recognition of the United Auto Jennie Thorp Chapter 16 Notes Workers union pp 286 293 a Before the Depression Michigan enjoyed an open shop reputation During the boom years of the 1920s autoworkers earned higher wages than workers in most other industries and saw little need for unions Labor grievances also were neutralized by welfare capitalism Furthermore the nation s largest union the American Federation of Labor was craft minded and not interested in industrial unionism As autoworkers sought relief from the worsening situation the 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act which allowed workers the right to bargain collectively offered hope b After the U S Supreme Court struck down the NIRA the 1935 National Labor Relations Act reasserted a worker s right to belong to a union without management s interference Automakers ignored the Wagner Act confident that it would meet the same fate as the NIRA They also employed brutal tactics to crush union sentiment especially at the Ford Motor Company c The United Auto Workers secretly enrolled about 10 percent of the 47 000 General Motors workers in Flint by December 1936 Conceding that a strike against the world s largest automaker lay in the future UAW leaders identified GM s most essential plants They determined that closing Flint s Fisher Body plants No 1 and No 2 would immediately cripple GM Realizing its paltry Flint membership could not sustain a conventional picket line strike the UAW chose a sit down strike Advantages of a sit down strike were that it permits the strikers to remain in comfort even if somewhat bored instead of trampeling about on the picket line in the heat cold wind and wet It also stopped production prevented management from employing strikebreakers and lessened the chance for violence The sit down violated sacred property rights Jennie Thorp Chapter 16 Notes d The Battle of the Overpass received national exposure thanks to Detroit News photographer James Kilpatrick who successfully prevented Bennett s thugs from seizing his camera or film That attention greatly aided the labor movement and set in motion a campaign that finally led the UAW to organize Ford workers in May 1941 7 Describe the golden age of Detroit sports in the 1930s including the exploits of a the Detroit Tigers b the Detroit Lions c the Detroit Red Wings and d boxer Joe Louis pp 293 96 a Detroiters loved their Tigers that they represented 25 percent of professional baseball s customers during the mid 1930 s In 1934 the Tigers won their first pennant since 1909 b In the Detroit Lions second year as a franchise they won the team s first National Football League title by defeating the New York Giants c The Detroit Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup beating the Toronto Maple Leafs the following year the Wings repeated as champs stopping the New York Rangers Both championship victories came at the heralded Olympia