1. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?

2. The stock market crash of 1929:
The 1920’s were a time of peace and great prosperity. After World War I, the “Roaring Twenties” was fueled by increased industrialization and new technologies, such as the radio and the automobile. Air flight was also becoming widespread, as well. The economy benefited greatly from the new life changing technologies.

3. The stock market crash of 1929:
From 1921 to 1929, the Dow Jones rocketed from 60 to 400! Millionaires were created instantly. Soon stock market trading became America’s favorite pastime. Investors mortgaged their homes, and foolishly invested their life savings in hot stocks, such as Ford and RCA. Few people actually studied the fundamentals of the companies they invested in. Most investors never even thought a crash was possible. To them, the stock market “always went up”.

4. The stock market crash of 1929:
But in 1929, the bubble burst. In 1932 and 1933, they hit bottom, down about 80% from their highs in the late 1920s. This had sharp effects on the economy. Demand for goods declined because people lost so much money in the stock market.
But perhaps the most important effect was chaos in the banking system as banks tried to collect on loans made to stock market investors who no longer had the money to pay back the loans.

5. The stock market crash of 1929:

6. The stock market crash of 1929:
Worse, many banks had themselves invested money in the stock market. When word spread that banks' assets contained worthless stocks, people rushed to withdraw their savings. Unable to raise funds banks closed by the hundreds in 1932 and 1933. 

7. The Great Depression:
The Great Depression began in October 1929, when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of investors lost large sums of money and many were wiped out, lost everything. The 'crash' led us into the Great Depression.

8. The Great Depression:
This period ranked as the longest and worst period of high unemployment and low business activity in modern times. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless, homeless, and penniless. Many people came to depend on the government or charity to provide them with food.

9. The Great Depression: Soup kitchens in America started around 1929
when the effects of a
growing depression
began to be felt. The
need for soup
kitchens was felt
even more keenly
when the economy
worsened in 1932, and
12 million Americans — about 25 percent of the normal labor force — were out of work.

10. The Great Depression:
When soup kitchens first appeared, they were run by churches or private charities.
By the mid-1930s, state and federal governments also were operating them.
Soup kitchens served mostly soup and bread. Soup was economical
because water
could be added
to serve more
people, if
necessary.

11. The Great Depression: The Dust Bowl:
For eight years dust blew on the southern plains. It came in a yellowish-brown haze from the South and in rolling walls of black from the North. The simplest acts of life — breathing, eating a meal, taking a walk — were no longer simple. Children wore dust masks to and from school, women hung wet sheets over windows in a futile attempt to stop the dirt, farmers watched helplessly as their crops blew away.

12. The Great Depression:
The Dust Bowl:

13. The Great Depression: The Dust Bowl:
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted about a decade. Its primary area of impact was on the southern Plains. The agricultural devastation helped to lengthen the Depression whose effects were felt worldwide.

14. The Great Depression:
Poor agricultural practices and years of sustained drought caused the Dust Bowl. Plains grasslands had been deeply plowed and planted to wheat. During the years when there was adequate rainfall, the land produced bountiful crops. But as the droughts of the early 1930s deepened, the farmers kept plowing and planting and nothing would grow. The ground cover that held the soil in place was gone. The Plains winds whipped across the fields raising billowing clouds of dust to the sky. The sky could darken for days, and even the most well sealed homes could have a thick layer of dust on furniture. In some places the dust would drift like snow, covering farmsteads.

15. Watch “Arrival of the Dust Storms” first 10 minutes:
The Great Depression:
Watch “Arrival of the Dust Storms” first 10 minutes:

16. The Great Depression:
Herbert Hoover has been accused of being a do-nothing president who allowed the country to continue to slide into its worst depression ever.  Some will grudgingly admit that Hoover did take some action, but that it was too little, too late.  But the truth is far more complex. 

17. The Great Depression:
During the Great Depression, many families lost their homes because they could not pay their mortgages. These people had no choice but to seek alternative forms of shelter. Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, who was blamed for the problems that led to the depression, sprung up throughout the United States. The following photos provide a glimpse of some Hoovervilles. In what ways do you think life changed for people who lost their jobs, life savings, and homes, and ended up living in Hoovervilles? Do you think most Hooverville residents had a choice about how they lived?

18. The Great Depression:

22. FDR, after assuming the presidency, promoted a wide variety of federally funded programs aimed at restoring the American economy. However, only when the federal government imposed rationing, recruited 6 million defense workers (including women and African Americans), drafted 6 million soldiers, and ran massive deficits to fight World War II did the Great Depression finally end.

23. The New Deal CCC - Civilian Conservation Corps:
The Civilian Conservation Corps was created to combat unemployment. This work relief program provided jobs for many Americans during the Great Depression. The CCC was responsible for building many public works and created structures and trails in parks across the nation.

24. The New Deal TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority was established to develop the economy in the Tennessee Valley region which had been hit extremely hard by the Great Depression.

25. The New Deal WPA - Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration created millions of jobs for Americans. Americans built roads, buildings, and other public projects.

26. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
During the Stock Market ____________ of __________ , stocks went down about ________ from their highs in the late 1920s. Demand for goods ________________ because people had lost money in the _________ ___market. _____________ closed when people went to get out their money, only to find that the banks had also lost money in the stock market. People lost their ______________. ________________ of people lost their ___________ and their ____________. ___________ kitchens were opened by charities and the government.

27. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
During the Stock Market ___Crash____ of ___1929___ , stocks went down about ___80%__ from their highs in the late 1920s. Demand for goods _____declined___ because people had lost money in the ____stock ___market. ____Banks____ closed when people went to get out their money, only to find that the banks had also lost money in the stock market. People lost their ___savings____. ____Millions____ of people lost their ____jobs___ and their ____homes___. ____Soup___ kitchens were opened by charities and the government.

28. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
Poor farming ________________ and ______________ caused the Great Plains to become a “____________________”. This helped to prolong the Depression. The dust storms lasted for a _______________. Many people blamed Herbert ________________ for the Great Depression and thought that he did not do enough. People who lost their homes made _______________ out of wood scraps and cardboard. These shacks became towns called _______________________.

29. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
Poor farming _____practices___ and _____drought__ caused the Great Plains to become a “____Dust Bowl_______”. This helped to prolong the Depression. The dust storms lasted for a _____decade____. Many people blamed Herbert _____Hoover_____ for the Great Depression and thought that he did not do enough. People who lost their homes made _____shacks____ out of wood scraps and cardboard. These shacks became towns called _____Hoovervilles_______.

30. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
___________ was elected President after Herbert ____________. He enacted many government programs known as the ________________. These included the ______________________________ ______(CCC) which was created to combat unemployment by hiring people to build public works ________________ and create structures and trails in ____________ across the country. The ________________________________ _____ (TVA) was established to develop the ____________ in the Tennessee Valley region. The ____________________________________
_____________________created millions of jobs for Americans. Americans built _____________, ________________, and other ____________________.

31. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
____FDR____ was elected President after Herbert ____Hoover__. He enacted many government programs known as the _____New Deal___. These included the ___Civilian Conservation Corps ______(CCC) which was created to combat unemployment by hiring people to build public works _____projects___ and create structures and trails in ____parks___ across the country. The _____Tennessee Valley Authority _____ (TVA) was established to develop the ____economy_ in the Tennessee Valley region. The ______Works Progress Administration_________ created millions of jobs for Americans. Americans built _____roads___, ____buildings___, and other ______projects______.

32. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
The _______________________________ did not end until government recruited _____ million defense workers (including _____________ and __________________________), drafted 6 million ___________________, and spent massive amounts of money to fight ____________________________.

33. How did the Depression and New Deal change the lives of millions of Americans?
The ________Great Depression________ did not end until government recruited __6__ million defense workers (including ____women___ and ______African Americans____), drafted 6 million _____soldiers_______, and spent massive amounts of money to fight ______World War II__________.