U.S. History 19 November 2015

Warm-up Shantytown Soup kitchen Bread line Dust bowl Direct relief

Objective Summarize hardships faced by the people during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION BEGINS Photos by photographer Dorothea Lange

HARDSHIPS DURING DEPRESSION Chapter 14 SECTION 2

What were the effects of the Great Depression on: Employment Housing Family life Race relations Physical health Mental health

The Depression Devastates Lives The Great Depression brought hardship, homelessness, and hunger to millions Across the country, people lost their jobs, and their homes Some built makeshifts shacks out of scrap material Before long whole shantytowns (sometimes called Hoovervilles in mock reference to the president) sprung up

Direct Relief: Cash or food given directly to poor people by the federal government. Although Direct Relief was needed in the early years of the G.D., it was not made available.

SOUP KITCHENS One of the common features of urban areas during the era were soup kitchens and bread lines Soup kitchens and bread lines offered free or low-cost food for people Unemployed men wait in line for food – this particular soup kitchen was sponsored by Al Capone

“The Party is Over”

New York. Bread line beside the Brooklyn Bridge approach

“The Party is Over”

CONDITIONS FOR MINORITIES Conditions for African Americans and Latinos were especially difficult Unemployment was the highest among minorities and their pay was the lowest Increased violence (24 lynchings in 1933 alone) marred the 1930s Many Mexicans were “encouraged” to return to their homeland As conditions deteriorated, violence against blacks increased

RURAL LIFE DURING THE DEPRESSION While the Depression was difficult for everyone, farmers did have one advantage; they could grow food for their families Thousands of farmers, however, lost their land Many turned to tenant farming and barely scraped out a living Between almost ½ million farmers lost their land

THE DUST BOWL – Causes? A severe drought gripped the Great Plains in the early 1930s Wind scattered the topsoil, exposing sand and grit The resulting dust traveled hundreds of miles One storm in 1934 picked up millions of tons of dust from the Plains an carried it to the East Coast Kansas Farmer, 1933

Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas

Dust Storm in Rolla, Kansas; "05/06/35; Dear Mr. Roosevelt, Darkness came when it hit us. Picture taken from water tower one hundred feet high. Yours Truly, Chas. P. Williams." Photo: Massive Dark cloud approaching village in forefront.

Storm approaching Elkhart, Kansas in 1937

Dust buried cars and wagons in South Dakota in 1936

HARDEST HIT REGIONS Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado were the hardest hit regions during the Dust Bowl Many farmers migrated – Okies- to California and other Pacific Coast states Boy covers his mouth to avoid dust, 1935

Photographer Dorothea Lange captures a family headed west to escape the dust storms

Many families pulled together during the hard time and shared what they earned. Instead of going out for entertainment, parents & children often stayed home to play games (Monopoly) or listen to radio.

Other families broke apart under the strain of poverty & unemployment. Many men felt ashamed b/c they lost their jobs. Some men left their families & wandered the country looking for work.

HOBOES TRAVEL AMERICA The 1930s created the term “hoboes” to describe poor drifters 300,000 transients – or hoboes – hitched rides around the country on trains and slept under bridges (thousands were teenagers) Injuries and death was common on railroad property; over 50,000 people were hurt or killed

Unemployed men vying for jobs at the American Legion Employment Bureau in Los Angeles during the G.D.

Toward Los Angeles, California Photographer: Dorothea Lange. Perhaps 2.5 million people abandoned their homes in the South and the Great Plains during the Great Depression and went on the road.

Women struggle to survive Canned food Sewed clothes Carefully managed household budgets Shared households Too ashamed to admit their hardship and starved to death

Children suffered terribly from poverty & break up of families. Many children had poor diets & no health care. Many children ran away from home, hopping rides aboard freight trains.

X-ray of the legs in a two- year-old child with rickets

EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION Suicide rate rose more than 30% between Alcoholism rose sharply in urban areas Three times as many people were admitted to state mental hospitals as in normal times Many people showed great kindness to strangers Additionally, many people developed habits of savings & thriftiness

Chapter 14 review Complete both sides of the worksheet Write your name on the side entitled The Nations Sick Economy Complete sections B on both sides on a separate sheet of paper Underline all vocabulary words in your paragraphs

This week’s theme The more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you are able to create the future you seek.

This week’s theme It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.

This week’s theme Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is who you are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.