Izzy Staiano, Giovana Guimaraes, Allie Joers, Berenger Garnica

In September 1929, the fall of stock prices marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market crash of October 1929, became worldwide news, and was thereafter named Black Tuesday. In the coming years, the prices of personal income, tax revenue, and profits dropped in various countries. Unemployment rose to 25% in the U.S. and as high as 33% in others.

World War II possibly marked the end of the Great Depression. It’s argued that government spending on the war helped to recover the economy, though some say it did not play a very large role in improving it. However, it did help in creating jobs. When the war U.S. joined the war in 1941, it brought an end to the Great Depression and brought the unemployment rate below 10%. Massive spending on the war doubled economic growth war and eliminated the last remnants of the depression.

Became the thirty-second President of US, serving from March4,1933 until his death. He became president during the Great Depression and created countless programs that jumpstarted our economy and job growth. He expanded government intervention into new areas of social and economic affairs and the creation of more social assistance agencies at the national level. The government took on a greater role in the everyday social and economic lives of the people.

A set of federal programs launched by President Roosevelt, in response to the tragedy of the Great Depression. It had 3 major goals and achievements: I. Economic Recovery- clean up the mess left from the Stock Market crash of 1929, as well as stabilize prices for industry and agriculture. II. Job Creation- created number of special agencies and recognized the right to organize unions. III. Public Works- built hundreds of thousands of highways, bridges, hospitals, schools, theaters, libraries, post offices, airports and parks across America. The New Deal touched every state, city and town improving American lives and reshaping the public sphere.

The Dust Bowl was an area that became dehydrated due to lack of rain falling on the Midwestern and Southern Plains. The soil had started to disintegrate as farmers started to clear, plow, and overplant great stretches of land. Without grasses or trees to hold in moisture, the soil was dry. As the drought grew worse, winds became stronger while they whipped the soil into huge storm of dust.

The Dust Bowl affected the agricultural area and damaged cash crops that most farmers made a living on. Severe droughts were held that affected the land in the Southern Plains. Most farmers became poor and hunger became an everyday challenge. The economy began to decline rapidly.

In 1931, rain ceased to fall on the Midwestern and Southern Plains. The dirt turned to dust and mad farming impossible. In 1933, Alvin Bryan Laird started his own farm in Oklahoma. He recalls, “[I] made a little money in had a good crop.... Then in 1934 I farmed again, but had a drought. If you never lived in that country, you ‘Don't know the trade.’ A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. We got hail in June. It hailed the cotton out, and we had to plant it over and didn't see another drop of rain--not a sprinkle--until September.” The wind often blew the dust and created destructive dust storms that killed crops and people. The biggest dust storm was the Black Blizzard of April 14, Many farmers became impoverished because they didn’t have any crops to sell. Most resorted to selling there belongings and some were forced to move away.

Setting: Midwestern and Southern United States during the Great Depression (1930s-40s). Houses: Old and broken down; weathered. Clothing: Women- long dresses with bonnets Men- Pants and a shirt; similar to today’s clothing. Characters Interactions: More polite than today, however during the Great Depression society was kind of “every man for himself”, therefore they may not be as helpful toward each other. The children might act mean towards scout knowing that her father is a lawyer because most people didn’t have good jobs during this time period.