THE GREAT DEPRESSION the Start of WWII ©2012, TESCCC

CAUSES: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  The Stock Market is a place people buy (invest) money in companies in hopes that they will earn more money.  October 29, 1929 – known as Black Tuesday – the stock market “crashed” (stopped working to make people money).  Banks failed and people lost all their money.  Drought (no rain) conditions in the central U.S. caused agriculture to fail. 2 ©2012, TESCCC

EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  $26 billion that had been invested in the Stock Market was lost!  25% of people in the U.S. were eventually unemployed. 3 ©2012, TESCCC

EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  In 1930 Texans did not feel the impact right away.  Many Texans had farms or worked on farms, so they could grow food and not go hungry.  The oil industry was still flourishing.  Construction was still growing. 4 ©2012, TESCCC

EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  However, in 1931, oil prices fell when the market became “Flooded”.  As the depression worsened across the United States in 1931 and 1932, Texans eventually had to recognize that the Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis. 5 ©2012, TESCCC

EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Banks closed and people lost all their money, and some families found themselves homeless.  People lost their farms and their jobs.  Minorities and women lost their jobs to Anglo Males. htm TESCCC

HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Private charities were set up to help the poor.  In major cities, soup kitchens and bread lines began to spring up where the homeless and starving could be fed. Sometimes this was their daily meal. Source: TESCCC

HOW TO DEAL?  Franklin D. Roosevelt comes up with a plan to fight the Great Depression.  These laws are called “The New Deal.” These programs employed thousands of people through government projects and public works.  Examples include the CCC, PWA,& WPA TESCCC

HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC)  Government funded work relief program for young men  Built recreational parks and worked in forest and soil conservation projects  Workers were given food, shelter, and $30 a month.  Workers lived in barracks much like a military camp.  $25 had to be sent home to their families. TESCCC

HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Public Works Administration (PWA)  Government funded work relief program for unemployed men  Hired to build canals, tunnels, bridges, highways, streets, sewage systems, as well as hospitals, schools, and universities  Housing was built for people in poverty. 10 ©2012, TESCCC

HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Works Progress Administration (WPA)  Government agency that hired workers to build public buildings and roads  Employed artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects  600,000 people in Texas were helped by the WPA. 11 ©2012, TESCCC

THE GREAT DEPRESSION  When World War II began, the effects of The Great Depression began to decline.  Millions of workers were hired to work in the factories that built war materials such as airplanes, guns, tanks, and ammunition.  Due to 17 million people being employed in the war effort, the economy began to improve. 12 ©2012, TESCCC