1. What were people’s experiences during the Great Depression?

2. Many people were jobless and lacked adequate food, shelter, or clothing.

3. Farmers were forced to migrate west when the Great Plains experienced a severe drought (becoming the Dust Bowl).
“The Dust Bowl”

4. People turned to movies, the radio, or literature to distract themselves from their situations.

5. President Herbert Hoover
President Herbert Hoover believed the economy would recover on its own and refused to provide direct relief.
President Herbert Hoover
(Rep.) (1929 – 1933)

6. As a result, many people became unhappy with President Hoover.

7. This unhappiness was seen in the “Bonus Army” march and referring to shantytowns as “Hoovervilles”.

8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hoover lost the presidency in 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), who promised government intervention.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
(Dem.) (1933 – 1944)

9. FDR’s election showed that many people wanted the government to take an active role in solving the economy.