1. The Great Depression

2. The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade before World War II.
The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.
It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century.

3. Unemployment
During the Great Depression, many people faced losing their jobs because of various reasons and found it very hard to find a replacement job to support their families
The unemployment rate jumped to a record 24.9% during the Great Depression
This put 1 in 4 Americans out of work, to lose their homes, possessions, and farms.
In the next slide notice how the large crowds of people standing in line to apply for jobs.
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5. The Great Depression
Due to the high level of unemployment, and the impact that the great depression had on the economy, this is often seen as a time when government intervention or help in the economy and society in general became more prominent or important.

6. The Great Depression
What do you think? To what extent do you think the government should intervene in the economy and provide social programs to all citizens to help them in times of need or should people help themselves?

7. The Great Depression
The depression originated in the U.S., starting with the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929
(known as Black Tuesday).
From there, it quickly spread to almost every country in the world.

8. The Great Depression
As stock prices fell with little hope of recovery, panic struck.
Masses of people tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying.
The stock market, which had appeared to be the surest way to become rich, quickly became the path to bankruptcy.

9. The Great Depression The Stock Market Crash was just the beginning.
Since many banks had also invested large portions of their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed.

10. The Great Depression
Seeing a few banks close caused another panic across the country.
Afraid they would lose their own savings, people rushed to banks that were still open to withdraw their money.
This massive withdrawal of cash caused additional banks to close.

11. The Great Depression
Since there was no way for a bank's clients to recover any of their savings once the bank had closed, those who didn't reach the bank in time also became bankrupt.

12. The Great Depression Businesses and industry were also affected.
Having lost much of their own money in either the Stock Market Crash or the bank closures, many businesses started cutting back their workers' hours or wages.

13. The Great Depression
In turn, consumers began to slow down their purchasing of things as luxury goods.
This lack of consumer spending caused additional businesses to cut back wages or, to lay off some of their workers.
Some businesses couldn't stay open even with these cuts and soon closed their doors, leaving all their workers unemployed.

14. The Great Depression
The Great Depression had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich and poor.
Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped while international trade plunged by ½ to ⅔.
Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%.
Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry.

15. The Great Depression resulted in a drastic loss in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Discuss what GDP is with students. (An indication of economic stability and growth). Ask: What do you think the “bump” in the GDP after the Great Depression is from? Answer: building weapons/etc. For WW2.
USA annual real GDP from 1910–60, with the years of the Great Depression (1929–1939) highlighted.
Considering the graph above… What is the significance of the graph in terms of the economic situation before and after the Great Depression?

16. Great Depression led to an increase in unemployment
Great Depression led to an increase in unemployment. It entailed a drastic loss of jobs and the creation of products.
Unemployment rate in the US 1910–1960, with the years of the Great Depression (1929–1939) highlighted.
Considering the graph above… What is the significance of the graph in terms of the economic situation before and after the Great Depression?

17. Great Depression
Considering what you know so far about the Great Depression…
What class of people do you think were hit the hardest by the economic downturn? Why?

18. The Great Depression
During the Great Depression, millions of people were out of work across the United States.
Unable to find another job locally, many unemployed people hit the road, traveling from place to place, hoping to find some work.
A few of these people had cars, but most hitchhiked or "rode the rails."

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21. Train Hoppers
At the height of the Great Depression, there were more than 250,000 hobos roaming around the United States.
To alleviate the hardships on their families, many young teenaged boys would leave their families and become “train hoppers”. With great sadness, many young men left home so the limited food supply could be used for their siblings and parents.
They would illegally ride on the trains so that they could ride to somewhere new that would possibly have an opportunity of a job for them.
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22. Walking to California
During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs and their homes and other possessions.
Many people became homeless and traveled West, trying to find jobs in places like California.
The homeless would live in tent cities, often called shantytowns or Hoovervilles. Or they would live in Squatter’s Shacks.
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23. The Great Depression
Housing in the shantytown was built out of any material that could be found freely, like driftwood, cardboard, or even newspapers.

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25. Squatter’s Shack
Many people migrating to find jobs settled in squatter camps.
A squatter shack is on land that did not belong to the people who lived in the shack.
Often times, squatters lived in abandoned warehouses or buildings.
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29. Migrant Mother
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30. Migrant Mother
This is one of the most famous of the depression era photographs.
The “Migrant Mother” photo captures the hopelessness of the Great Depression.
Other words to describe this scene may be:
Hopeless
Discouraged
Depressed
Dejected
Demoralized
Despondent
Desperate
Down-hearted
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31. Migrant Workers
A large portion of migrants were from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Once they traveled across the United States, they would find themselves settling in little towns made up of others who had migrated.
In this picture on the next slide, a woman is standing in one of these towns with her two young children as her husband is out trying to find a job.
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33. “Okies” Travel to California
During the Great Depression, there was a large migration of Oklahomans to the Western states.
Oklahoma was drastically affected by the Dust Bowl – in addition to the depression.
A common destination for Oklahomans was California and Arizona.
Those states then coined the phrase “Okie” denoting any poor person who came to their state looking for a job.
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35. The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl intensified problems during the Great Depression for farms in the Southern Plains ( ).
The land was left bare and dusty due to the overgrazing, excessive farming, and drought.
When the drought came, the over farmed and overgrazed land began to blow away because of strong winds through the region.
The dust storms were so heavy that sometimes families would look through the windows of their homes and only see black dust clouds.
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36. The Great Depression
In previous economic depressions, farmers were usually safe from the severe effects of a depression because they could at least feed themselves.
Unfortunately, during the Great Depression, the Great Plains were hit hard with both a drought and horrendous dust storms, creating what became known as the Dust Bowl.

37. The Great Depression
Years of overgrazing combined with the effects of a drought caused the grass to disappear.
With just topsoil exposed, high winds picked up the loose dirt and whirled it for miles.
The dust storms destroyed everything in their paths, leaving farmers without their crops.

38. Discuss “dust bowl” in the mid-west.

39. The Great Depression

40. The Great Depression Small farmers were hit especially hard.
Even before the dust storms hit, the invention of the tractor drastically cut the need for manpower on farms.
These small farmers were usually already in debt, borrowing money for seed and paying it back when their crops came in.
When the dust storms damaged the crops, not only could the small farmer not feed himself and his family, he could not pay back his debt.
Banks would then foreclose on the small farms and the farmer's family would be both homeless and unemployed.

41. The Great Depression
The farmers who had lost their homes and land usually headed west to California, where they heard rumors of agricultural jobs.
Unfortunately, although there was some seasonal work, the conditions for these families were transient and hostile.
Since many of these farmers came from Oklahoma and Arkansas, they were called the derogatory names of "Okies" and "Arkies.“
The stories of these migrants to California were immortalized in the fictional book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

42. Farm Foreclosure Sales
During the 1920’s, many farmers borrowed money from banks to purchase land or equipment
During the Great Depression, many farmers couldn’t make their payments to the banks and eventually had their land taken away from them.
The banks would then try to sell the farms to others at a very low, discounted rate.
In the image on the next slide, there are many townspeople out to watch the foreclosure sale. Many of them were unable to purchase the farm, even though it was at such a low price.
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44. Political Cartoons: “The Philanthropist”
The Great Depression had affected many people, causing up to 25% of the job force to lose their jobs.
During this time, many people turned to other ways to make money.
One way that people were able to make money was to sell apples on the street, often trying to sell the items to those who seemed “better off” than they were.
Some people who weren’t in that predicament felt pity for apple sellers and would sometimes spend their money just so they could “feel a little bit better about themselves”.
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46. Donations for the Unemployed
In the next slide people are standing outside of a food bank offering free doughnuts and coffee to the unemployed
Many types of food kitchens and food banks popped up to help
This particular soup kitchen was sponsored by the Chicago gangster, Al Capone.
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47. Donations for the Unemployed
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49. Soup Kitchens
Soup kitchens were set up for people who were unable to afford food.
Many times, soup kitchens were established by philanthropists (a generous person who donates to promote human welfare) who wanted to donate and help out the needy.
The easiest and least expensive food to make was soup – which became a staple in these food lines for people to get.
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50. Schools During the Great Depression
Children were finding it hard to stay in school, usually dropping out to sell newspapers on the street or shine shoes.
Many rural school teachers didn’t have much education – usually only a high school diploma.
During this time, salaries of school teachers were also cut drastically, making it hard for some school teachers to live comfortably. Many school teachers would actually live in the school house.
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53. Christmas During the Great Depression
Since people were worrying about serious things, such as being able to feed their families, Christmas gifts became less important.
The most some families got for Christmas was a freshly-baked cake. And maybe, if they were lucky, a small Christmas tree.
Just being able to eat a decent dinner was what many families had as a Christmas present.
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54. The Great Depression
This economic hardship led to many great changes in economic thinking at the time, and led to a greater government involvement in the economy.

55. The Great Depression
The U.S. economy broke down and entered the Great Depression during the presidency of Herbert Hoover.
Although President Hoover repeatedly spoke of optimism, the people blamed him for the Great Depression.

56. The Great Depression
During the 1932 presidential election, Hoover did not stand a chance at re-election and Franklin D. Roosevelt won in a landslide.
People of the United States had high hopes that President Roosevelt would be able to solve all their woes.
As soon as Roosevelt took office, he closed all the banks and only let them reopen once they were stabilized.
Next, Roosevelt began to establish programs that became known as the New Deal.

57. Political Cartoons: “Helping Uncle Fish”
Many politicians were trying to find ways to help fix the Great Depression.
During this time, there were many radical ideas that were new to the time, such as pensions to citizens over the age of 65, to giving monthly payments to families to help relieve their hardships.
President FDR decided on something more moderate, called the New Deal, which focused on the “Three R’s”: Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
In this political cartoon, it shows Uncle Sam trying to grab onto the New Deal while others are trying to distract him with the other radical ideas of reform.
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59. The Great Depression
From 1933 to 1936 President Roosevelt argued a reconstruction of the economy would be needed to prevent another, or avoid prolonging, the current depression.

60. The Great Depression
These New Deal programs were most commonly known by their initials, which reminded some people of alphabet soup.
Some of these programs were aimed at helping farmers, like the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration).
While other programs, such as the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and the WPA (Works Progress Administration), attempted to help curb unemployment by hiring people for various projects.

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62. Civilian Conservation Corps. – Planting Trees
The New Deal established the Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC)
This organization focused primarily on conservation of natural resources
The CCC helped by providing jobs for the unemployed.
In this image, men were employed by the CCC to plant trees.
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64. Civilian Conservation Corps. – Brick Laying
Members of the CCC lived in camps under a quasi-military environment.
Common projects including building roads, hospitals, government buildings, etc.
Here, men are being paid to build a brick road.
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66. Resettlement Administration: Rural Rehabilitation
Between 1935 and 1936, another organization was created called the Resettlement Administration.
Their main priority was to relocate struggling families to communities created by the federal government.
In this image, it shows one of the projects funded through the administration -- making weaved baskets.
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67. The Great Depression
What brought the world out of the Great Depression?
WW2 put many people to work building weapons and fighting.

68. The Great Depression
The major turn-around for the U.S. economy occurred after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the United States into World War II.
Once the U.S. was involved in the war, both people and industry became essential to the war effort.
Weapons, artillery, ships, and airplanes were needed quickly. Men were trained to become soldiers and the women were kept on the home front to keep the factories going.
It was ultimately the entrance of the U.S. into World War II that ended the Great Depression in the United States.

69. The Great Depression
To many at the time, President Roosevelt was a hero.
They believed that he cared deeply for the common man and that he was doing his best to end the Great Depression.
Looking back, however, it is uncertain as to how much Roosevelt's New Deal programs helped to end the Great Depression.
By all accounts, the New Deal programs eased the hardships of the Great Depression; however, the U.S. economy was still extremely bad by the end of the 1930s.

70. Summary
The Great Depression was the most serious economic period of modern times.
The economic recession of 2009 has many parallels with the Great Depression.
The faces, sights, and feelings of the Great Depression were captured in photography.
The effects of the Great Depression were intensified by the Dust Bowl.
With no jobs and no home, many people migrated for other areas in search of prosperity.