History of Labor and Work in US

Name
Course
Professor
Date
History of Labor and Work
The labor sector has undergone drastic changes globally since the pre-colonial period. In the United States, workers went through various faces of discrimination and fights for better working conditions. The Great Depression period worsened the plight of employees because many people lost their jobs. The non-Americans, the black race, and women suffered the most because they were discriminated against. However, the communists, socialists, and other radical groups championed the formation of workers' unions, which championed better working conditions, better pay and pressured the government to create employment. This piece discusses the effects of the Great Depression and the history of labor and works from the onset Great Depression in 1928 to 1938.
The Great Depression in the United States significantly affected the country's economy, workers, and families. The US economy collapsed by half during the first five years of the depression. The country's GDP fell drastically during the Great Depression leading to the collapse of most banks by the end of the year. The Great Depression shook capitalism's confidence, which President Herbert Hoover advocated but failed (Chapter 8, 404). This led to the election of President Franklin Roosevelt, whose economic manifesto rescued the economy, making it grow by 17% in 1943.
Another impact is that the Great Depression led to massive unemployment. The unemployment gradually increased from 1928 to 1933. Over 15 million people were unemployed during this period, the highest unemployment rate witnessed in the US. Unemployment affected the family welfares, with most people lacking money to finance their basic needs (Chapter 8, 395-396). It meant that the Great Depression also jeopardized the families' health during the process.
Banks closed down due to a lack of robust economic activities. Investors also withdrew their deposits from the banks, fearing using their money to rescue their operations. This move affected the stable banks at the time.
However, different people felt the effect of the Great Depression differently. The black race and non-Americans had the worst experience. The blacks and immigrants from South American states were the primary sources of labor, but the Great Depression rendered them jobless and hopeless. The few who secured jobs were not paid, further worsening the problem. The women also faced massive job losses and discrimination, which extended to racism and ethnicity (Chapter 8, 398). The native employers prioritized and preferred the native for work and paid them higher than the foreigners and those from those other races.
President Herbert Hoover implemented measures in six sectors to curb the effects of the Great Depression; federal spending, agricultural sector, immigration, wage policy, international trade, and tax policy. President Hoover gradually increased federal spending throughout his four years in office. He inherited a $3.1 budget when he took over the leadership in 1929 but left it at $4.7, a 48% increase when he left office in 1933 (Chapter 8, 406). This was during the deflation period meaning that the rise in spending was high. Hoover did not consider cutting the budget to address the Great Depression.
The stock market crashed in 1929, prompting Hoover to invoke federal control over the agricultural sector. He expanded the reach of the Federal Farm Board (FFB), which was mandated to provide government loans to corporations to maintain farm prices up and deal with the surplus. The FFB funded farmers, subsequently subsidizing farming to keep costs high. The plan failed because the farmers practiced extensive agriculture leading to more surplus that led to the eventual collapse of the sector due to too much surplus and lack of market for the surplus. The prices eventually went down. Hoover later opted to pay farmers not to farm, further worsening the situation.
President Hoover summoned all the prominent business leaders to the White House trying to control the wage policy. He asked them not to reduce the minimum wage in the rise of unemployment. Hoover believed that high salaries would enable the people to afford their basic needs. Hoover also halted any immigration into the country. He argued that this step would protect the local jobs to ensure that the natives do not lose more jobs (Chapter 8, 405). This move also extended to international trade, where the surplus was only supposed to be availed to the native Americans to ensure everybody's basic needs.
The president also enforced a tax increase to mitigate the Great Depression. The tax increase led to a collapse of several sectors because it meant that they would pay more when the income was diminishing. In the end,...