The Great Depression Effects of the Depression and New Deal- 25.3

Dynamite Garland’s father had worked for the railroad Dynamite Garland’s father had worked for the railroad. When the Great Depression struck, Dynamite’s father lost his job and her family had to move into a rent-free garage. “We had a coal stove, and we had to each take turns, the three of us kids, to warm our legs. It was awfully cold when you opened those garage doors…. In the morning, we’d get out and get some snow and put it on the stove and melt it and wash around our faces.” -Dynamite garland, quoted in Hard Times

Farms Many farm families could not pay their bills. Prices of crops were high, and people could not afford to buy them. Many farms were sold at auction by the banks. In protest, many farmers destroyed their crops. This further hurt the millions of people starving for food.

The Dust Bowl Between 1934 and 1940, a drought and no vegetation, created large areas of soil and dirt. So much soil blew out of the Great Plains region that it became known as the Dust Bowl. Severe dust storm were known as “black blizzards.” Tons of dirt was swept up and dropped on cities and states. This caused more families to lose their farms. Many traveled from the dust bowl to California. These people were called “Okies’. Pg 794

Dust Bowl Handout after video https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo9bMwydXpg8AYEAsnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=The+dust+bowl&vid=454a0f5191bd0f6ef1f866bab5d6e535&turl=http%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.Vb55e28bd68ede0061635a490601ead0a%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D225%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCM3ZHMBhP2k&tit=Dust+Bowl+-+A+1950s+Documentary&c=0&h=225&w=300&l=1372&sigr=11bjql6s9&sigt=10va9pch4&sigi=131qe4mga&age=1323815180&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla&tt=b Handout after video

The Unemployed Not just the Dust Bowl, but all over the US Even with the New Deal, unemployment remained high 1936- 9 million people did not have jobs Without work, families couldn’t buy food. Many had to depend on bread lines. 1931, New York bread lines averaged 85,000 meals a day Many families became homeless Ended up in shanty town

Impact The Great Depression effected women and children the greatest. Children had to grow up faster and find ways to help their families. Many children dropped out of schools to find jobs or stay home and help with other siblings. Some even went out and begged for money. Many families were separated, either by those looking for work or many teens were kicked out because they were seen as being too expensive

1930s Culture Americans sough relief from the Great Depression in many different ways. literature- stories and poetry photography painting Escaping through movies and radio was wide spread.

1930s Culture Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped writers find employment. Most famous- Novel- John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) tells of Okies evicted from their farms. Motion picture- Gone with the Wind (1939) Musicals- The Wizard of Oz (1939) Came to be known as the “the golden age of cinema”

1930s Culture Radio’s were popular too- mostly because entertainment on the radio was free Comedy shows Family programing Roosevelt’s fireside chats http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/money_25.html

Opportunities for Minorities/ Women Most new opportunities were for women First lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, acted as her husband’s “eyes and ears” often traveling on his behalf to mines, work camps, hospitals to see how the new ideas were working and what needed to still be done. In 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt began to hold her own press conferences to report women’s progress.

Opportunities for Minorities/ Women During Roosevelt’s presidency, more women began to hold official offices. 1933- appointed Frances Perkins to secretary of labor- she was the first female cabinet member. African Americans held a large role in government. Roosevelt had a “black cabinet” which were African American advisors. Roosevelt never passed a civil rights bill

Opportunities for Minorities/ Women Many Mexican Americans were affected by FDR’s economic reforms. Some people blamed Mexican immigrants for taking their jobs. As a result, the federal government deported some immigrants back to Mexico, many of whom were legal US citizens.

Unions Gain Strength Some minorities joined a new union- Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Previously, the largest labor organization was the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which was only open to skilled labors CIO was open to all workers, including women and minorities

Unions Gain Strength To improve working conditions, some labor organization started using sit-down strikes as bargaining tactics. In 1935, Congress passed the Wagner Act which gave unions the ability to negotiate better working conditions Pg 797

Legacies of the New Deal Besides stronger union laws, the New Deal transformed American society. Stronger role of President- proposed more bills rather than waiting for Congress to act Expanded the federal government- established many government agencies and organizations to promote social programs: social security Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Pg 798

Legacies of the New Deal Many of these changes effect our country today Liberals- Democrats- favors government action to bring about social and economic reform Conservative- Republican- favors fewer government controls and more individual freedoms https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=difference+between+republican+and+democrat&vid=41074ba786f798daad65e7ceb43759ab&turl=http%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.V2425e4c8431cdbf2acb080632b52 c7e3%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D168%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtOUNMmdk7W0&tit=Yes+%2F+No%3A+Democrats+and+Republicans&c=27&h=168&w=300&l=180&sig r=11b1bd6ao&sigt=113lofi7n&sigi=131s2q3sf&ct=p&age=1445968320&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&hsimp=yhs-002&hspart=mozilla&tt=b