1. American History Chapter 21-2
Americans Face Hard Times

2. Effects of the Stock Market Crash
Great Depression: A severe economic crisis.
Runs on banks caused thousands of banks to shut down.

3. Effects on farmers:
Increased poverty meant Americans were buying less food.
High supply/low demand led to lower prices.
Hundreds of thousands of farm foreclosures occurred.
unemployment
foreclosures

4. Unemployment rose dramatically.
25% of American workers were unemployed by 1933.
Places like Harlem were at 50% unemployment.
Irony?

5. Impact on Those Hit Hardest
Increased poverty due to lost jobs.
People begged, went to soup kitchens, or went without.
Hoovervilles: The homeless developed shantytowns.

6. People coped in different ways:
Hoboes: Jobless wanderers hopping trains looking for work.
Millions were teenagers.

7. Emotional stress: Many felt personal failure & shame. Total despair.
Anger.
Suicide rates increased.

8. Nature & carelessness add to the problems.
Great Plains was hit by a severe drought or dry period.
The careless practice of plowing up all of the land led to catastrophic dust storms.
Hardest hit area known as the Dust Bowl.
People, known as Okies, fled the Great Plains to seek out jobs elsewhere.
Woody Guthrie wrote songs about the Dust Bowl.

9. The Dust Bowl

10. Bye Bye Birdie