 By 1933, over 12 million were unemployed  ¼ of the workforce  Bread line and Soup Kitchen – receive free food

Soup Kitchen

Circa Bread line in New York City near the Brooklyn Bridge

 People who couldn’t pay rent, evicted and kicked out by bailiffs  Hooverville – blaming President Hoover for their situation  Built shacks in unused or public land ▪ Central Park in NYC

 Farmers have more problems  1932 – Drought  No crops planted to keep topsoil down  No rain, soil turned to dust  Mortgage farms and turn over to banks  Migrate west  Okies to California

Feb/Mar 1936 Migrant Mother, 32 years old, seven children. Had just sold her car tires to buy food.

 Movies  See rich, happy, successful people ▪ release from worry  Cartoons ▪ Walt Disney – Snow White (1937) ▪ The Wizard of Oz (1939)

 Radio  News reports  Comedy Acts – Jack Benny, George Burns  Adventure stories – The Green Hornet; The Lone Ranger  Daytime radio – soap operas – sponsored by laundry soap

 Public Works – government-financed building projects  How do you get funding for them?  Help replace lost jobs  Urged state and local gov’t to do the same  Doesn’t replace enough jobs

 Gov’t needed to increase spending dramatically  Need tax revenue – who does that hurt?  Or increase the debt, deficit spending ▪ Take loans from banks, less money for people

 Banks did not have the money to loan  Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)  Loans to banks, railroads, agriculture  Didn’t meet needs

 Emergency Relief and Construction Act  July 21, 1932  $1.5 bil for public works  $300 mil for direct relief  Too little, too late

 Hunger Marches  Farmers Revolting  Foreclosed on mortgaged farms  Destroy their crops to raise prices

 Bonus Marchers  1924 – Congress passed $1000 bonus for WWI vets  1932 – bill proposing early pay  Vets marched, road rails to Washington  Stayed in Hoovervilles, abandoned buildings in D.C. for weeks  Bill was voted down in Senate   Brother Can You Spare a Dime? Hoover Spurns the Bonus Army  ure=kp ure=kp