1. The background Of: ‘Of Mice and Men’
By John Steinbeck
PowerPoint by Katie Dunn

2. The American Dream
The idea of an American Dream is older than the United States, it dates back to the 1600s. This was the time when people began to come up with all sorts of hopes and aspirations for the new and largely unexplored continent. Many of these dreams focused on owning land and establishing prosperous businesses which would theoretically generate happiness, and some people also incorporated ideals of religious freedom into their American Dreams. During the Great Depression, several people wrote about an American Dream, codifying the concept and entrenching it in American society.

3. The Wall Street Crash
When the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 1929, the world economy was plunged into the Great Depression. One way of making money during the 1920s was to buy stocks and shares. Although less than one per cent of the American people actually possessed stocks and shares, the Wall Street Crash was to have a tremendous impact on the whole population. The fall in share prices made it difficult for entrepreneurs to raise the money needed to run their companies. Within a short time, 100,000 American companies were forced to close and consequently many workers became unemployed. As there was no national system of unemployment benefit, the purchasing power of the American people fell dramatically. This in turn led to even more unemployment.

4. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding 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. The number of unemployed people reached upwards of 13 million. Many people lived in primitive conditions close to famine. Many people made shacks out of pieces of scrap metal and boxes, these were called Hoovervilles. Between 1 and 2 million people travelled the country desperately looking for work.
The Great Depression

5. Itinerant farm workers in 1930s America
Migrant farm workers are agricultural workers who move often within a yearly period, for employment purposes.
The families of migrant farm workers move to follow the planting.
These families are usually very poor.
They are not seen, not heard, and not helped.
This lifestyle often begins at birth, and interferes with any hope for a stable education, steady friends, and familiarity with a community.
Seventy percent of migrant farm worker's children do not speak English.
Most migrant farm workers are American citizens, either born in America or have gotten legal residency. They did have trouble becoming American legally because of where they came from before. The average income is 7500 dollars per year and they are expected to pay taxes just like any other American citizen.