March 23, 2017 U.S. History Agenda: DO NOW: Term Matching DOCUMENT ANALYSIS: Experiences of the Great Depression NOTES #47: What were the experiences of Americans during the Great Depression?

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3. “In Harlan County there were whole towns whose people had not a cent of income. They lived on dandelions and blackberries. Dysentery bloated the stomachs of starving babies. Children were reported so famished they were chewing up their own hands. Miners tried to plant vegetables, but they were so hungry that they ate them before they were ripe. On her first trip to the mountains, Eleanor Roosevelt saw a little boy trying to hide his pet rabbit. ‘He thinks we are not going to eat it,’ his sister told her, ‘but we are.’”

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5. President Hebert Hoover (1929 – 1933) 

What were the experiences of Americans during the Great Depression What were the experiences of Americans during the Great Depression? Notes #47

The Great Depression left many Americans jobless and lacking adequate food, shelter, or clothing.

Farmers in the Great Plains were forced to migrate west when the area experienced a severe drought (becoming known as the “Dust Bowl”).

Movies, the radio, or literature were used by Americans to distract themselves from their situations.

President Herbert Hoover When the Great Depression began, President Herbert Hoover believed the U.S. economy would recover on its own and refused to provide direct relief. President Herbert Hoover (1929 – 1933)

As a result, many Americans became unhappy with Hoover.

March of the “Bonus Army” (1932) This unhappiness was seen in the “Bonus Army” march and referring to shantytowns as “Hoovervilles”. March of the “Bonus Army” (1932) “Hoovervilles”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Hoover lost the presidency in 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), who promised government intervention. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945)

FDR’s election showed that many Americans wanted to have government take an active role in solving economic problems.