Hardship & Suffering During the Great Depression Module 9 (Lesson 2) Hardship & Suffering During the Great Depression

C. KEY TERMS & PEOPLE

A. SHANTYTOWN As millions of Americans became unemployed during the initial years of the Great Depression, they found themselves homeless and looking for somewhere to live In almost every major American city, tens of thousands of America’s homeless/unemployed, built makeshift shacks out of scrap materials These little towns were found in city parks, near lumberyards, & railyards, and other open public areas

B. SOUP KITCHEN Every day, the poor dug through garbage cans or begged Soup kitchens sprouted up offering free or low-cost food Watered-down soup or broth Coffee Stale bread

C. BREAD LINE Long lines of the homeless/unemployed waiting to receive food provided by charitable organizations & public agencies

D. DUST BOWL 1933 - 1936 Region of the country that was plagued by severe drought, dust storms, farm evictions & foreclosures Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, & Colorado

E. DIRECT RELIEF During the early years of the Great Depression, there wasn’t any federal system of direct relief – cash payments or food the gov’t. provides directly to the poor This didn’t arrive until FDR’s New Deal

D. STUDY QUESTIONS

a. How did many charitable organizations & public agencies help people during the Depression? Local charitable organizations provided soup kitchens for the poor President Hoover, through his belief in ‘rugged individualism’, expected Americans to help themselves, and as a result, the national government didn’t provide direct relief It was up to state & local public agencies to provide this relief and it often times came in the form of only $2.37/week

b. Why were shantytowns often called ‘Hoovervilles’? These makeshift shack cities were called Hoovervilles in honor of President Hoover, who many believed was responsible for their creation in the first place because he wouldn’t provide direct relief to the millions of homeless and unemployed during the Great Depression

c. What factors led to the dust bowl? Farmers overused their land during the 1920’s which subsequently eroded away vital grasses which held the soil down during windy conditions Add to this the severe drought that ravished this part of the country during the early 1930’s and you have a condition where the dry winds easily kicked up the loose soil and then deposited it in huge amounts over large areas of land.

d. Why did minorities often experience an increase in discrimination during the Great Depression? Conditions for African Americans and Latinos were especially difficult Their unemployment rates were higher & they were the lowest paid They also dealt with increasing racial violence from unemployed whites

e. What pressures did the American family experience during the Depression? The economic hardships faced during the Great Depression put severe pressure on family life as making ends meet was a daily struggle and in some cases, families broke apart under the strain