1. Social Effects of the Great Depression

2.  Severe Drought  Extremely hot weather  Grasshopper Invasions  Dust Storms  Called the “Dust Bowl”  Thousands abandoned their farms

11.  Thousands of people were laid off and finding work became almost impossible  As banks called back loans, people lost everything  Those who worked had to accept wage reductions  Most people didn’t have enough to live  By 1933, Canada had a 27% unemployment rate  However, because prices went down, those who kept good jobs could live very well

16.  Thousands of people (mostly young men but some families) wandered the country in search of work  To get around, they would “ride the rods” (illegally riding on trains)  These homeless travelers were called hobos or transients  They were unwelcome wherever they went  They were often harassed or arrested when they entered town (vagrancy)  Many lived in “Shanty Towns” that formed on the outskirts of most cities  People survived doing odd jobs, hustling, stealing and eating whatever they could find (garbage, rats, gophers etc.)

31.  Racism was at an all- time high during the depression  New Immigrants were deported if they could not find work  Immigration was severely restricted  Massive increases in racial violence and intolerance