A Pre-Study to Of Mice and Men THE GREAT DEPRESSION

WHAT WAS THE GREAT DEPRESSION? The Great Depression was a time between 1929 through the 1930’s when the entire world suffered from a poor economy. (This means that people were having a hard time finding jobs, making money, and paying for the things they needed.)

SO WHAT? LOTS OF PEOPLE DON’T HAVE MONEY TODAY. WHAT MADE THE GREAT DEPRESSION SO DIFFERENT?

THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS MUCH BIGGER! Millions of people in the United States (and around the world) had no jobs. Countless people became homeless. Families were separated as parents and older children tried to find work. The depression lasted for more than a decade.

HERE ARE THE FACTS. In the early years of the depression in the United States, over 250,000 children were homeless. About 90% of these children were malnourished, meaning they were unhealthy because they didn’t have enough food / vitamins. Nearly 3 million children had to drop out of school because their families needed them to work OR because their schools closed down. In some cases, children were paid barely more than 50 cents a week. Wages were as low as 2 cents an hour.

HERE ARE THE FACTS. Families were separated as people tried to find jobs. Many fathers moved to the other side of the country and were away from their families for years. One out of EVERY 4 PEOPLE in the country had no job. The depression lasted for more than a decade.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN? Because of the Great Depression, businesses could not afford to pay their workers, so they had to fire people.

Normally, when people lose a job, they get another one. During the Great Depression, however, there were no other jobs because almost all businesses were firing people, and NO businesses were hiring. Thus, people couldn’t find work, and they couldn’t make money.

Since people didn’t have money, they couldn’t afford to buy things. This made businesses even more broke.

When the businesses became even more broke, they had to fire even more people, so everything started all over again.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COUNTRY?

People lost their homes. Many lived in shacks like this.

Some lived in tents. (Notice that this family is living in their car, as well.)

This is a picture of New York. Look at the make-shift shacks people lived in through the winter. Do you think these shacks had heat?

This is a REAL school during the depression. Notice the students are sitting on logs and that a garbage can is helping to support the ceiling.

People without money can’t buy food. Here are some men at a soup kitchen for a free meal. Remember--these men might have owned homes before this.

Here’s another food line picture.

This is another food line. Look at how many people have to rely on free food to survive.

Here’s a picture of people looking for a job. Jobs were rare, and many people would be after the same position. Most would go away empty-handed.

Many people left their hometowns to try and find work. Many traveled across the country.

Here’s a family that couldn’t afford a car, so they walked from town to town looking for work.

Some people hopped on freight trains to get from town to town--a terribly dangerous way to travel.

Look at this billboard. Many towns would not allow travelers to stay because they didn’t even have enough jobs for their own citizens.

Here’s a picture of a homeless man resting. Remember--this man might have been living in his own house only months earlier.

Here are three homeless children. You should note that children often tried to find work during the Great Depression, too. Many traveled across the country and away from their families.

Here is another picture of some young children during the depression. Look at how dirty they are.

AS IF THINGS WEREN’T BAD ENOUGH, ALONG CAME THE GREAT DUST BOWL. WHAT WAS THE DUST BOWL? The Dust Bowl was a group of dust storms in the central United States and Canada from 1934 to (A dust storm occurs when huge amounts of dust and sand rise into the air, blocking out the sun.)dust storms The Dust Bowl storms were so big that they stretched from Oklahoma to Texas, to Arkansas, to Illinois.

WHY WAS THE DUST BOWL SUCH A BIG DEAL? Since the dust storms of the Dust Bowl were so huge--and since they lasted so long--they destroyed many plants and crops. Lots of farmers lost their farms, causing EVEN MORE people to be out of work during the Great Depression. Many of these farmers moved west in search of jobs--just like everyone else--but there weren’t many jobs to be found.

Here’s a picture of a dust storm approaching a small town in Texas. Look at how big it is.

Here’s another picture--this time in South Dakota. Look at the size of the storm! Imagine the damage it would cause!

FINALLY--A TURNING POINT - THE NEW DEAL When did things finally start to get better? How did America survive the Great Depression? The New Deal was a bunch of government programs started in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. These programs were made to give people jobs and to help improve the economy. Some New Deal programs were as follows: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the National Youth Administration (NYA), and above all, the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Here are some men who were given jobs by one of these government programs--the WPA.

The WPA employed workers in construction projects across the country. Workers built and fixed highways, streets, public buildings, airports, utilities, small dams, sewers, parks, libraries, and recreational fields. Many of the structures you see today were built by the WPA. For example, they created 650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 125,000 buildings, and seven hundred miles of airport runways. In addition to building things, they also created art. They had 225,000 concerts to audiences totaling 150 million people, and they produced almost 475,000 artworks. They employed artists, musicians, photographers, and writers on smaller-scale projects, and they even ran a circus.

This picture shows WPA workers fixing a canal.

This picture shows WPA workers building an airport.

This picture shows artwork created by a WPA artist.

The CCC was another New Deal program. Like the WPA, this one focused on hard, physical labor. In this picture, two men are moving a boulder to help create a park.

In this picture, two CCC men are cutting down a tree.

Here, a group of CCC men are putting plants and shrubs along the roadside to beautify the highways.

In this picture, several CCC men are fighting a forest fire.

HOW DID THE NEW DEAL HELP AMERICA GET BETTER? ~ There were lots of factors, but for one thing, the New Deal gave people jobs again. ~ Of course, this meant money for people--money they could spend on food, clothes, medicine, and shelter. ~ Since people were spending more money, businesses became more successful, and they started hiring more people. ~ However, it took years and years for the country to get back on its feet again. That’s why the Great Depression was such a difficult time for the country and the world.

Is the American Dream a myth? To whom does this dream apply? Does the American Dream mean different things to different people? Explain What factors could destroy this dream? Which of these factors can/cannot be controlled? What happens to those who no longer believe in the American Dream?

The Great Depression This event challenged many Americans; belief in the American Dream. What is challenging Americans’ belief in the American Dream today? Take a look at the following Depression Era photos. Write down three details about each photo (people, emotions, places, etc.)

Depression voices & Narrative Response  Think about how people were affected by the depression.  Choose one of the photos from the slide show  Choose one of the characters from the photo and write a brief (one to two paragraph) 1st person response that includes...  This character’s name (I am...)  Background (I came here from...I was born in...)  Dreams  Current situation  Outlook on American Dream (still believe, lost faith, frustrated, etc.)