1. Life During the Great Depression
Chapter 9, Section 2

2. 1933: The Great Depression Worsens
12 million people are out of jobs- that’s one fourth of the work force
9,000 banks had failed
Average family income drops by one-third
Many lose their homes, businesses, belongings
Migrant families and hobos

3. People literally go hungry and line up at soup kitchens

4. Families who could no longer pay rent or mortgage lost their homes
Families who could no longer pay rent or mortgage lost their homes. Those who refused to move out were evicted by their landlords.

5. Evicted and homeless, many people began to set up shacks and makeshift homes on unused land.
These communities were called shantytowns. They later began to call them Hoovervilles.

6. The Dust Bowl
, a drought occurs in the Great Plains region

7. The Great Plains
The Great Plains has always been an unpredictable farming region
Before European American people had settled there, Indians adapted to weather changes by constantly moving
Climates were always changing
Rain, snow, drought affected the area on a whim

8. In the 1860’s, settlers adapted to the region and began to grow crops that suited the rough and rugged environment
They grew corn, oats, barley, and primarily wheat. Wheat is the most resistant to harsh weather.

9. Review
1910’s - The agricultural industry flourished before and during WW1
Mechanized Farming- plows, refrigerated railroad cars, irrigation systems
1920’s- Surplus of crops and low demand for produce created the farm crisis
Farmers either sold off their farms or simply abandoned them

10. Wheat Belt Farmers Learn a Lesson from Mother Nature
Farmers messed up the crop rotation
Constant wheat farming was bad for the soil
Mechanized farming is bad for nature
Heavy plowing uprooted the grass that once locked the moisture into the soil
Abandoned farms left soil to dry up to dust

11. Farm Foreclosure Sale
Circa 1933

12. Beginning in 1932 Heavy winds, drought, and dried up soil created the worst ecological disaster to ever occur in U.S. history

13. Dust Storm in Oklahoma circa 1935

14. People were forced to leave behind their farms and migrate toward urban areas to look for jobs.
During this time, many important writers and photographers documented this massive migration and destitution
Photography taken in 1935 by Dorothea Lange

15. “Okies”
Many migrant farmers from Oklahoma and Kansas fled the Dust Bowl region to California in hopes of finding better jobs
Americans called them “Okies”
Family en route to California via Route 66

16. These migrant farmers were unwelcome in California.
Californians were also suffering from the Great Depression and they did not want these “Okies” to steal their jobs and government grants.

17. Okies Create Their Own Culture
Plain folk
Country-western
Woodie Guthrie
Gene Autry
Bob Willis
Rough and Rugged
Didn’t care that city folk hated them
They believed in the power of “kinfolk”

18. On a lighter note… =)
People try to escape hard times by watching movies, listening to music, and finding other cheap forms of recreation
In 1937, Walt Disney releases the first feature length cartoon Snow White
Production companies release dozens of westerns, and light-hearted movies
Radio programs and soap operas gave people something other than the depression to talk about

19. Depression Inspires Art
Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood become famous for their depictions of Heartland resilience
American Gothic, 1930

20. Photojournalism
Dorothea Lange’s photos of the Dust Bowl Migration and poverty capture the hearts of Americans
Henry Luce introduces Life magazine- weekly photojournalism

21. A Writer Emerges
John Steinbeck writes about the social injustice and plight of migrant farmers
The Grapes of Wrath
Harvest Gypsies
William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury