Chapter 14 Part 2 Pages

Terms to Know Shantytown Soup Kitchen Bread Line Dust Bowl Direct Relief

The Depression in the Cities People lost: Jobs Their homes (evictions) Lived in Boxes, rusted out cars, tin shacks Slept on park benches or in sewer pipes Used newspaper to keep warm

Shantytowns Often in parks or on public land Little towns of shacks As time went on and people blamed Hoover for the depression the shantytowns were called… Hoovervilles

Relief Soup kitchens Bread lines Provided free food Through charities, churches and public agencies

Most went hungry Many tried to find food in dumpsters Many ate out of garbage cans

Minorities Were paid less to begin with Were often the first to be let go Competition for jobs caused racial tension and often violence Blacks sometimes lynched Mexicans sometimes deported

In the Countryside If a farmer could hang on to his land he could at least feed his family But falling prices and rising debt Many lost their land Between over 400,000 foreclosures Often resorted to tenant farming

The Dust Bowl Between land in the Plains had been exhausted by overproduction In the early 30’s drought Then winds There were no roots to hold the soil down 10 tons of top soil blew to the East coast

BowlThe Dust Texas Kansas Oklahoma New Mexico Colorado

Many went to California To find work They were called Okies

The American Family Rarely went out Stayed home with the radio, board games No waste Saved and reused foil, wrapping paper, etc. Divorce rate fell Men who could not find jobs could not face their families and often just left No one could afford divorce

Hobos Men who traveled the country looking for work Often hitched rides on freight trains

No federal relief Sometimes cities or churches or charities did hand out money but not nearly enough

Women Often sold baked goods or home canned goods Sometimes found jobs Women were poorly paid Women were seen as unpatriotic if they worked as many believed they took jobs away from the head of a household

Children Poor diets, milk consumption down Many malnourished (during WWII the draft will turn many away due to prolonged malnourishment and its effects) Poor diets made them more vulnerable to disease but few could afford doctors or dentists

Schools Most supported by taxes so not much money coming in Many schools shortened the school year Some schools closed By schools had closed Those that remained opened would nothire women

Youth Many young men (11-17) and some young women left home They sometimes felt guilty about eating the family’s food when the younger kids were hungry Some, though, left to find jobs or to travel the country like hobos and have an adventure Was pretty dangerous

High School Graduation Rates Dropped Often young people left school to find jobs to help their families

Social and Psychological impact Some lost the will to live Between the suicide rate was up 30% Admission to mental hospitals was 3 times the normal rate

Many gave up On marriage On having children