I choose Dorothy Day, Jane Yoder,and Earl Dickinson.

i pick...
cesar chaves
john beecher
robin langston

i pick
louis andreas
jerome zerbe
and eileen barth

Bonus Army

                In the summer of 1932, before the election later in the year, out of desperation, many WWI veterans marched to Washington, D.C. to demand their veteran bonuses as they, like many other people, lost their jobs.  Although their bonuses were not due until 1945 they felt they should get it early so they could survive and thus one thousand of them initially marched on Washington even after a bill was passed that would allow them to borrow 50% of what they were owed and were eventually joined by other veterans totaling 17,000 of them living in shantytowns, which was named Bonus City.  The aforementioned bill was later defeated and in mid-June of 1932 many of the thousands of veterans lefts disheartened but several thousand remained determined to get what they came for.  President Hoover refused to talk with their leaders for he thought that the subversive elements of communism and anarchy influenced them greatly and after a clash with police, resulting in two of the marchers death, ordered for them to be driven away and for the destruction of shantytown.  This act created an image of a cold and heartless president for himself as many people related with the unemployed veterans.

FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration)

                When FDR was elected president he called the congress together for an unprecedented Hundred Days session to begin working on and implementing his New Deal.  One of the programs that came out if this was FERA, in 1933,  and it was to provide emergency relief as many people were practically on the verge of death and starvation.   It granted 500 million dollars to cities and states to fund their programs for relief such as soup kitchens to help the jobless and the homeless.  Harry Hopkins, a very close friend and adviser to the president, was the director of this program and also became director to the CWA a few months later. 

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

                The WPA was passed and authorized in 1935 as part of the Second New Deal with the intent to deal with unemployment on a massive scale and with the demoralization is created.  Between the years of 1935 and 1940 the program spent billions of dollars hiring unemployed people to give them jobs and although only one member of a family could qualify and it was usually a man who was picked, eventually 13% of the WPA was made up of women.  All of the money being spent went to hiring people to build buildings, paint murals, write plays and histories, and to keep youth in schools by giving them part-time jobs.  From this was created nearly 6,000 schools, 2,500 hospitals, and 13,000 playgrounds.

Dust Bowl

                Along with the Great Depression came more trouble for the already down-trodden farmers who never fully shared the wealth of the 20s.  The Dust Bowl was one of the worst ecological disasters in American history as the Great Plains were basically destroyed by years poor farming practices and in the 30s by constant drought and dust-storms.  Many people left this area, many being called Okies as they were from Oklahoma, and headed for California to start again.  Over 10,000 homes were abandoned because of the Dust Bowl and millions of pounds of top soil were swept away by the wind to create many problems wherever it landed and covered.  This particular event inspired John Steinbeck to write his novel The Grapes of Wrath which tells the story of a family similar to those who lived on farms in the Great Plains.

Fair Labor Standards Act

                The last significant thing to come out of the New Deal and the final victory for organized labor was the FLS Act passed in June of 1938.  This act created standards which businesses had to follow and abide by such as: a minimum wage of 40 cents per hour, maximum work week of 40 hours and anything over that will be overtime, and a restriction of child labor for child under 16.  While only effecting 20 percent of the labor force and only 14 percent of working women it made a great change as it did not distinguish between male or female and thus ending the need for special legislation for women.

The Scottsboro Case

                Blacks continued to be persecuted and discriminated against even in the 30s.   One case that symbolized their situation was that of the Scottsboro case, where nine black men and two white women were hitching a free ride in a boxcar and the women accused the men of raping them.  A jury of white men had found them guilty and sentenced them to death but the Supreme Court stepped in, in 1933, to make sure they had a fair trial.  The case went on despite the lack of evidence and even when one woman recanted her position because of pressure to protect a white womens honor.  Five of the black men went to jail for a long term imprisonment but were later paroled in 1946 but one of them escaped anyway and the other four black men had the charges against them dropped.   

United Auto Workers Strike & General Motors

                In the 30s as workers fought for better working conditions and benefits a new technique for striking was developed, the sit-in.  One major case of this tactic being used was with General Motors in Flint, Michigan and Atlanta, Georgia.  Here the strike worked when the workers went into work but did not work and waited out the president of GM and the Governor of Michigan until they accepted their demands by recognizing their United Auto Workers union but the organizers were beaten and driven away.

Cinema (aka the Silver Screen)

                Movies were a major event for most families in the 20s and 30s and even more so in the 30s with the introduction of voice to film.  Despite a slump during the beginning of the Depression movie-going was commonplace activity as it was, to most people, almost important as food.  It provided people with a way to escape reality and hardship for a couple of hours and to experience a fantasy world. Many people idolized the actors and tried to emulate them and even Mickey Mouse, the cartoon character, became more popular and recognized than live human actors.

Supreme Court Controversy

                As President Roosevelt was having a hard time getting support for his programs and unable to appoint any justices to the Supreme Court in his first term he decided, after he was elected to a second term, to force more justices into the Supreme Court with a so called Court-packing bill.  This was met with a whole lot of resistance from both parties as they were outraged because it was seen as a way for him to gain more power than he was suppose to have and thus upset the checks and balances system.  For the first time in his presidency a major bill of his was defeated by Congress and his action was seen as the most unpopular action of his presidential career.  He did however win as the Supreme court slowly changed their resistance policy and began supporting his ideas again when they upheld his National Labor Relations Act.

Electricity

                In the 20s focus had been on the bathroom but in the 30s the focus was on the kitchen and electric appliances.  Refrigerators now were selling more so than the iceboxes and the washing-machine and electric iron revolutionized washing and ironing day for women around the country.  Despite these machines making work easier they did not decrease the work load, just more convenient.  Many people also now had lighting instead of candles or oil.

PART III

This image shows the destruction and trouble caused by the Dust Bowl and a Farmer and his sons weathering it.  This image more importantly shows the consequences of bad farming practices and neglect of the land over a period of many unregulated years.  It also tells the plight of many of the farmers of the Great Plains in the 1930s as their livelihoods had been decimated.  It is important to remember because it is important to take care of the land that you work especially for farmers and that in times like these farmers get hit the hardest and thus need support.

This image shows a support and recruit poster of the communist party inside the U.S.   The message it is trying to get across is that the oppressed and downtrodden people of America need to vote communist as they support their cause and are the true voice of the people.  Also, since its membership had increased by three times in the 30s this picture shows how bad the situation had got in the U.S. to the point where people began to lose faith in the government above them and wanted drastic change for drastic times.  It is important to remember because it shows that if a countrys own government cannot or will not help its own people then other groups will step in and try to take charge.

This picture shows the state many people were in during the depression where people had basically lost everything, even family members.  It shows how people had to live destitute and impoverished lives as they lost their jobs and had to give everything up just for food and how they had to move from place to place just to try and find help.  The important thing to remember here is that people always need help and that someone would be willing to step in to help, especially on a national level such as this.

This picture shows just two of the millions of people and farmers living on the Great Plains who just left their homes and migrated elsewhere, mainly California and neighboring states.  It shows how people just gave up due to the horrible condition of their properties and took what they had that was useful with them.  The important message here is that the government should be prepared for national crises and should help people restore their property to prevent mass migration.

This picture shows how the people who lost their jobs and most of their land had to live.  They lived, or maybe even wasted away, on pieces of land that looked like dumps and looked completely unsanitary.  They basically had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a semi-suitable place to live and survive.  The message or lesson that should be remembered is that temporary homes should be set up for people to live in until they can get back on their feet.

This picture shows how many people became unemployed during the depression and had to live with each other in shacks around in basically all the major cities in the U.S. These people here cant even celebrate a decent Christmas with their poor excuse for a Christmas tree.  From this we should remember that people cant eat or live well if they dont have jobs to make money and a crisis like this should be avoided at almost any cost.

This image shows how the depression affected everyone no matter your race.  Here we see women and men, white and latino, standing here in this relief line for commodities as the depression took a lot, if not everything, from many people and caused them to need the government support desperately.  The thing to be remembered here is that no one is safe from a nation-wide problem like this and that everybody lost during the great depression and in turn most needed to call on the government for help.

Here we see two boys waiting to be given soup for their families by a city service, and for many millions like themselves this was the only food they would be able to get.  The message this picture is trying to convey is that people were going hungry and got whatever they could so as not to starve to death.  What should be remembered from this is that in a time of depression there will be many needy people who, for no fault of their own, will be unable to sufficiently support themselves and will need intervention.

Here we see a lone farm house on many acres of farmed land.  This is the result of power farming or farming done by machines and businesses in which they take away a lot of jobs for increased profit.  This did not help the farmers situation at all as they had to migrate elsewhere to find factory jobs which were few if any.  The message to remembered from this is that while power farming can be good as it increases efficiency and the number of produce produced it takes away many jobs and those jobs should be created elsewhere to balance things out.

While the Great Depression did hit many people hard it did not take away the majority of the jobs but more so the quality and pay of the jobs.  Here we see workers using a new strike tactic called a sit-in in which they go to work but do not do work and force the plant to not produce or manufacture anything.  At this time many workers were fighting to get their unions recognized so that in the future they could legally and efficiently bargain for better benefits and pay.  The lesson to be remembered here is that workers have a right to work in a safe place and to be paid according to the economy so they can keep up with riding prices.

Part 1 (Continued)

The Dust Bowl

 The Dust Bowl was caused by several dust storms that occured between the years of 1930 and 1940. More than 50 storms devastate areas between the Oklahoma panhandle and Kansas. After these storms, more than 500,000 people would be left homeless. Many occupants of the dust bowl states would perish due to dust pneumonia and malnutrition. It was the ecological cause of the Great Depression. Many of these Americans would migrate to California in search of a new and better life.
 One of the worst known storms of the dust bowl occured on May 11, 1934. It removed tons of topsoil from the Great Plains. Chicago was affected by this dust storm as weel, when dust clouds blew all the way there. Days later, the effects reached New York City and Boston.
 The Dust Bowl caused the largest migration in history. By the end of the storms in 1940, more than 2.5 million people had left the affected states. The experiences of the people who had migrated were illustrated fictionally in "The Grapes of Wrath." One account of how some people felt is given in Chapter 25 of the book,  "Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot create a system whereby their fruits may be eaten. And the failure hangs over the State like a great sorrow . . . . [A]nd in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."
 More than 200000 of the almost 3 million people who had left their land ventured to California. Once there, fear was very much in their hearts, as illustrated by this passage from "The Grapes of Wrath", "Here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep those two squatting men apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other. Here is the anlage of the thing you fear. This is the zygote. For here "I lost my land" is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you hate-"We lost our land." The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one."
  After the series of storms haulted, the government needed to find a response to the problems. President Roosevelt formed the Soil Conservation Service. Nowadays, this organization still exists, and is known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
 

Sources: Wikipedia, Google

http://www.novelguide.com/TheGrapesofWrath/toptenquotes.html
(Ch. 14 & 25)

Additional Quotes from "The Grapes of Wrath"
"The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it." Chapter 5

"Ma cleared her throat. "It ain't kin we? It's will we?" she said firmly. "As far as 'kin,' we can't do nothin', not go to California or nothin'; but as far as 'will,' why, we'll do what we will. An' as far as 'will'-it's a long time our folks been here and east before, an' I never heerd tell of no Joads or no Hazletts, neither, ever refusin' food an' shelter or a lift on the road to anybody that asked. They's been mean Joads, but never that mean." Ma Joad," Chapter 10

"It ain't that big. The whole United States ain't that big. It ain't that big. It ain't big enough. There ain't room enough for you an' me, for your kind an' my kind, for rich and poor together all in one country, for thieves and honest men. For hunger and fat." Chapter 12

This is a picture of the stock market crash. It shows the number of people whose jobs and lives were at stake when it happened. This is important because as President, you must keep in mind the small people whose lives were so greatly impacted before you make decisions regarding how you're going to "fix" the country. It is important to note that when some of these people went to book hotel rooms, the clerks asked them whether they wanted it for sleeping, or for jumping.


This picture that I took is at an umemployment registry. As a result of the stockmarket crash, millions of people lost their jobs, and also thousands of former veterans lost their bonuses. It is important you view how many people go to one registry looking for work, and remember that there are thousands of these places all over the country.


This is a picture of the Bonus Army marched. They marched when they stopped receiving their bonuses they earned after fighting in the war. I took this picture to show the number of people who fought for our country and are now experiencing heartache because they are getting nothing for the years of their lives they gave in the war.


This picture was taken of a family shortly before the dust storms began. As you can see Mr. President they look as though they have nothing. This was pre-dust storm. I feel you should keep this in mind when you set up foundations to aid these poor families. They have suffered greatly, and lost the small amount of things they had before they storms began.



This picture is of a father and his two sons. I took this in 1936. This parent had lost all of his land in the dust storm. Even his small house had been crippled. To help these people, huge relief efforts will have to be made. He has lost his life earnings, because of his depression, and will not be able to make any more money because he no longer has land.


This is a photo of a sharecropper's land. The sharecropper in question had had a huge farm in Oklahoma before the dust storms devastated it. He had to leave the land with his family, and went to California. In my opinion, I think an area of land, larger and cleaner than this, should be cultivated by an organization that could offer jobs for hundreds, should be given to migrators.


The face of the woman in this photo from my collection, in my opinion, sums up the feelings of the thousands of people affected by the terrible dust storms. She is heartbroken and lost. She feels as if she has no one to support her, and she can't even do anything for her children. She is one of thousands who need the country's help now, more than ever.


This poster illustrates how much of our country feels. It is extremely important to keep this image in mind when you began to create new policies for the country. It shows that there are enough people to form a party against the president. But if you do something to help them, they will feel there is no need for a communist party.



This is a very ironic photo. It shows 2 people walking, probably in search of a new home after the dust storms ravaged our country. In the foreground there is a picture of someone sitting in an armchair, stating, "Next time take the train." It is ironic because these people can probably not even afford new shoes, nevermind take the train, and probably don't even have a set destination anywhere.


This is a picture of a man who has found a home in an abandoned warehouse. He lost his home in Kansas because of the dust storms. Many of his family members were killed because of dust pneumonia. He barely has anything, but this man actually has more than the typical American family right now.

Main Causes of the Depression:

By: Christopher Amaral

Many Americans blame the stock market crash of 1929 for the overall decline of the American (and subsequently the worlds) economy in the Great Depression, however many other factors lead to the U.S.s downward spiral.

It is true that the Great Depression as we know it was initially triggered by the drastic decline in stock prices and the panic and frantic selling that soon followed. However many Americans, especially farmers, saw a period of financial struggle even before the crash, during the period of economic boom and affluence of the 20s. During World War I the federal government had subsidized farms, and paid absurdly high prices for wheat and other grains and had encouraged farmers to produce more food to feed the starving Europeans as well as Americans. However after the Federal government stopped paying $2 a bushel and prices dropped to 67 cents and lower. As a result farmers all across the country were being thrown into massive debt as food prices continued to dip.

Two other large causes of the Depression came from a misdistribution of wealth and and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The vast economic imbalance and misdistribution of wealth between the wealthy and the middle-class was staggering. In 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%. That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all. Most middle-class Americans at the time had an annual income of about $2,500 per year and spent almost all of it on consumer goods like food, clothes and luxury products, whereas the top 25% of the population would only spend a small percent of their money on the same goods. The way the lower and middle classes stood afloat was to buy things on credit.

By buying goods on credit many Americans went out and bought all sorts of goods that they would not normally be able to afford and created an increased demand for consumer goods. However, by the time of the great depression many people had already bought much of what they needed and wanted on credit and were preoccupied with paying their debts, so the demand for goods dropped dramatically putting many businesses in a pinch. Without the demand for goods many companies slowed and sometimes even stopped production, laying off workers and closing altogether which left thousands without jobs or a way to survive, let alone pay their debts.

Those with money and power (the top 25%) invested a lot of their fortunes into the stock market with the idea that the wealth and prosperity of the 20s would last forever. As a result, many wealthy investors who put up most of their fortunes gambling lost it all when the common people could no longer afford the goods they were selling, bringing sales and stock prices crashing. As you can see, the depression actually started much earlier than the actual stock market crash, unfortunately power, money, and roaring good times blinded them from seeing what was just around the corner.

Sources:

Gusmorino, Paul A., III. "Main Causes of the Great Depression." Gusmorino World (May 13, 1996). Online. Internet: http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/great_depression/index.html.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

http://www.amatecon.com/gd/gdcandc.html

            Part 3    
http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/eb0435.htm

                                             May 8, 1935

Dear Miss E.B,

It has come to my attention that you are one of many young students across the nation that is in need of a graduation outfit.

You along with many others, has worked hard to graduate high school and pass all of your classes.

You seem to be an honest, hard working girl. I receive many letters a day asking for an outfit, or for a new pair of shoes, but you are the first who has told me what you have done for others. I am very surprised that you give all of your earnings to your family.

This does not happen often. I will see what I can do to help you out with your graduation attire.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt

To the Parents of Miss B.,

Your lovely daughter wrote me a letter not more than one week ago, asking for an outfit to wear to her high school graduation.

I am writing this letter in regards to a family that has a wonderful child with a large heart. I hope that when I send her a new graduation dress it is given to her. I will also be sending shoes to accompany the new dress.

You may ask why I chose your daughter to help out of so many thousands of little girls across the counry. Well your daughter caught my attention when she mentioned she would like to work for charity just to "get the pleasure of healing people." This touched my heart, as I help with several charities across the world.

I have learned the effects of what one person can do to change the world. I feel your daughter possesses those qualities. You should be very proud.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt



                                                 http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/oc0335.htm

                                                     March 27, 1935

My dear O.C.:

After receiving your letter, and reading the first line, I was pleased to see that you were in good health.

As I read on, I felt sympathy for you, and hope your treatment for your arm went well.

I have decided to send you the $7.50 for your medical bill. Please be aware that I do not do this often, but by hearing your story, and seeing the small amount it took to save your arm I feel that I am able to send you the money.

I will be writing to your parents however, letting them know what the money is for, and what a thoughtful child they both have.

I would very much appreciate a visit from you if I am in when you are on vacation this summer. Stay healthy and take care of yourself.

I will send the money as soon as I am able.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt



                          March 27, 1935

To the Parents of O.C:

A couple of days ago, your daughter wrote me a letter regarding a doctor's appointment she had.

She asked me for $7.50 to pay a medical bill she received after having an infected arm.

I have decided to send her the money by April 5, and I am asking you to be sure the Doctor receives it.

You have a very thoughtful daughter, and this is no great deal for me.

I am happy I could help a young girl, who I hope will go on to do great things in the future.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt



http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/jia0438.htm

                                                    April 25, 1938

My dear J.I.A,

I am sorry to inform you that I cannot comply with your requests.

I have too many wishes a day for similar requests.

After reading your letter, I feel the place you should be is with your sickly mother. She needs you right now. I am not saying that I will never help you, because maybe, one time in the future, if you write back to me when your mother is in good health, I can be of great help.

However, I am going to send you and your mother some money, $25.00 to be exact. I feel this money will help your mother with her heart problem.

I presume the money will get to her safely if I send it back to this address.

Good luck in the future!

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt


                                          April 25, 1938

To the Mother of J.I.A:

Your daughter wrote me a letter asking for me to pay her way to Hollywood.

I sorry to inform you that I declined.

However, she also informed me of your heart condition. I am sorry to hear that. I have let her know that I will be sending $25.00 to this address sometime in the next week.

I hope you receive it and use it to get well.

Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt

Earl Dickinson

 Earl Dickinson is President of the Supreme Life Insurance Company. He has been president of the Chicago Urban League, as well as of the National Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association and the National Lawyers Guild.
 From the years 1939 to 1941 he was a member of the Chicago City Council as alderman from the Second Ward. He felt the Depression was like a hurricane that was not prejudiced. He argued for better relief treatment for the people in his city. When the mayor of his city chose a newcomer over him to the postion of a candidate for the Democratic party, he never went back to the Council Chambers.

As Earl Dickinson:

I wasn't in great need during the Great Depression. I was doing alright. I was however, trying to help the people who needed jobs in my neighborhood, even though the other councilmen rarely supported me in my efforts. I also fought for equal rights between African American and white children. I didn't find it fair that the white children could transfer out of certain school departments, but the African American ones couldn't. I tried my best with these efforts, but the Mayor of the council never listened to anything I had to say, eventually resulting in my leaving the position of alderman.

I dealt with prejudice, rights problem, justice problems and racism. I was rarely listened to during meetings of the Council and wasn't nominated for any positions even though I knew I deserved them over the newcomers. My thoughts and opinions were overlooked when it came to important matters because of my race. It was very unfair that I was never moved up in the Council. However, after leaving I achieved many high positions in other organizations across the country.

PART III

 

Letters:

 

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/ee0935.htm

 

Dear E.E:

                I appreciate the time and effort you spent writing to me. Regrettably, however, due to the number of similar requests I have received I am unable to help you. I would like to, nevertheless, applaud your efforts to earn the money yourself through these subscriptions.  As you may or may not know we have been trying to begin programs that might help your father to get and keep a steady job where he can make enough money to support your family. Maybe one day youll sell enough subscriptions and he can give you a bit of money to buy that bicycle. Again I send my sincerest apologies for being unable to help you in the manner of which you ask.

 

I hope one day that you write to tell me you have gotten your bicycle.

 

Sincerely,

                Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/cbs0136.htm

 

Dear C.B.S.:

                I would like to thank you for spending the time you did, writing to me. Also I think it is honorable that you wish to help those children in your charge in those rural schools. However, I cannot comply with your wishes at this time as I have already pledged all available funds to other services. I would however like tell you about many work programs my husband has been implementing which may help the parents of your students to receive work which will help them better support their families. I suggest that you may inform them of the Works Progress Administration closest to them so that they may go there to find work. I must again apologize for not being able to fully assist you.

 

I would again like to thank you for your interest in helping these students.

 

Sincerely,

                Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/ac0334.htm

 

Dear N.J.:

                I appreciate that you took the time to write to me. As much as I would wish to help you, due to the number of requests like yours that I have received I am not able to help you in the way that you would like.  There are many people like you that have lost most of what they had during this great Depression. I was sorry to hear of your brother taking all of your money. I would however like to inform you of the Works Progress Administration, where your father could possibly receive steady work in order to better support your family. Again it is with upmost sadness that I cannot comply fully with your request.

 

Sincerely,

                Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

Ashley Baldo

 

10 facts

 

1. about 250,000 young men left school and were drifting around the country looking for work.  But there was no work for them, so the CCC was formed.
2. when the stock market crashed many people did not expect it, but they still did not see that the entire economy would soon crash around it.
3. people who were working to produce goods were not able to buy the goods, because the companies were raising the prices of what they produced, but they were not raising their wages.
4. the first new deal lasted from 1933-1935 and worked to stimulate the economy and relieve the effects of the depression.
5. Roosevelt was almost never photographed in his wheelchair, he did not want to appear paralyzed because he feared that it would make him appear weak.
6. none of the bills that Roosevelt passed in his first one hundred days in office cured the depression, but they did constitute a great a great period of change.
7. John Collier was appointed as commissioner of Indian affairs.  He helped to pass Indian Reorganization act of 1934.
8. More women than ever were occupying high government positions during the 1930s.
9. FDR was president for more than twelve years, more than any other president of past or future, because a restriction is now put on how many terms a president can serve.
10. Eleanor Roosevelt was the most active first lady to date, she helped to push her husband to help minorities and the less fortunate in the country.

Ashley Baldo

2.08

photos

 

 

This is a family that is on relief in Illinois.  They do not have anything as you can see from this photograph, and they are living in destitute conditions, as you can see by the conditions of the walls and the crumbling ceiling they live under, they do not even have pillows under their heads because that is an unaffordable luxury for them.  Remember this photo as not enough help because people do not have enough, and are not getting enough, and this is where they end up.

 

In this picture we see two young boys waiting in a soup kitchen line in Iowa.  They would have had to have waited for most of the day to receive the little amount of soup that they will get.  Some still go away hungry.  This soup that they get is most likely the only food they will eat this day.  Remember this photo as not enough to eat because that is the reality for millions in America just like these little boys, who have to face this reality way too early.

 

This man is living in one of those crowded areas filled with the homeless that some refer to as hobo jungles in Minnesota.  There is just no way for him to afford food if he cant even afford a roof.  So here he has killed a turtle to make soup, the only food he will eat is the kind he can get and make himself now.  Remember this as survival  these people are now doing anything to survive because they do not have any other way.This is a womans home in Texas, or we may not even refer to it as a home because it resembles more of a shack than anything else.  All of her things must fit into the tiny space you see here, with hardly any room for moving.  But she has no other choice because she cannot afford a home.  Remember this as trapped because people are being trapped in the fact that they cannot afford food if they want a house and vice versa, and people are being trapped by this reality.These kids are the members of a picket line outside at the Kind Farm Strike in Pennsylvania.  We can see two specific things in this picture, one that this union is not segregated, which most believe that all or most are, but that is not true, a lot are integrationist.  Second is that these kids must either work here, which is a horrible truth to face.  Or their parents worked there and the causes for the strike are hitting them so hard that they need to go out on strike to help their parents.  Remember this as deaf because unions only go on strike and workers only go on strike when they are unable to receive what they need, and the heads of businesses are turning a deaf ear to the cries of these people.In Tennessee this is the daily lineup for the State Employment Service Office.  All these men are hoping to get work today so that they might be able to feed their families tonight.  Unfortunately many will go home with no job and no money to help them.  So remember this as left because these people are being left behind in the dust with no hope for employment or assistance.  Here is a shack where these poor unemployed men will most likely sleep tonight in the middle of December in New York.  They do not have jobs to get themselves homes or any other things, so they are huddled around the fire in the middle of them trying to stay warm.  Remember this as Merry Christmas because that is a Christmas tree that is poised right by their tiny shack.  They do not have any home for Christmas, and you can pretty much picture that they wont have much food either.In California there are refugees from the drought plaguing the Midwest.  They cannot farm and they have lost their homes because they are unable to work so they have left and gone in search of other places to go.  They are living out of their cars that contain all their belongings and keep moving to find places to live.  Remember this as modern day nomads because that is what these people have been reduced to, moving from place to place trying to find food and shelter.

There is a new strike tactic that has been developed in the country.  Here in Michigan is an example of a sit down strike  where workers do not leave the plant and stay outside, but instead stay indoors where they can actively prevent work being done while they are on strike because the heads of corporation cant hire scabs or strike breakers because all the workers are inside.  Remember this as cooperation because it requires a lot of cooperation to have a strike such as this one.  Also while they are on strike they organize different activities and work together towards the same goals.

Here we see a man and his two sons in the Midwest during the approach of a dust storm in Oklahoma.  Tons and tons of dust was torn from the ground by winds because the grasses that once held the dirt down are no longer there because the farmers took it out to grow wheat, which has smaller roots, and cant hold the soil.  These storms are highly destructive and even deadly.  Remember this is buried because houses and lands could be buried by the dirt in the air from a dust storm, and this of course is devastating to lands and the people in them.

Ashley Baldo

 

Lewis Andreas-

            He was a doctor during a time when a lot of strikes grew violent.  He was called from his hospital to attend to workers who had had force used upon them, so he had to treat anything from tear gas exposure to bullet wounds to the back.  This he didnt understand because people should not be getting shot when they are trying to run away.

            He also talks about the time when people did not really have any money to pay for medical care.  So they would receive free medical care.  He told about this one woman who drove a Cadillac but would park it a ways away because she wanted to appear affluent but she really wasnt, and when the people saw her driving in that car they wouldnt extend to her the free medical care that she needed.

            So through his life he was affected by the strikes that happened in the cities because he had to treat the patients and the cops that would become a part of them after a while.  He was also greatly affected by the depression, not necessarily personally, but he saw the people that it affected as his job, and that would affect him.  Also new advances in medical technology and medicine, which happen all the time, also affected him.  Because he would often prolong the life of a seemingly terminal patient to the greatest extent in the hope that soon a cure would be available.

            The issues faced would first have to include justice.  He did not see the justice in shooting strikers as they ran away from you to retreat.  Then he would have to include economic power.  He was an affluent standing man with money, so that he did not much have to deal with loss of money, but he saw those without money and without any hope on a daily basis.  Then we would have to include rights, like the right to medical care by professionals, which he provided free to those who qualified for it.  Then finally he saw equality, in people who appeared affluent but werent and how they deserved the same treatment as others, and how gradually the more and more affluent were unable to pay for their health care and how they too would require the equality in receiving health care for no charge.

I tried to but the pictures wouldn't post with the text.

Kelby Kim

Assignment # 21: The Great Depression

Part 1 Text Analysis

 

1. Herbert Hoover was elected President of the United States in 1928, winning by a landslide.  He had only been President for 6 months when the stock market crash of 1929 occurred. At the time of the crash, he thought that the downward slide would only be for a short while and that the economy would soon prosper again.  He urged businesses not to cut wages and private charities to increase effort to help the needy and the jobless.  He realized the need for more government action as the Depression got worse but he believed that assistance should come from the state and local governments and not the federal government.
2. Bonus March of 1932 was a march on WashingtonDC by a group of unemployed World War I veterans. They were there to demand a payment of the bonuses that were promised to them at a later date.  They didnt want to wait for the bonus payment in 1945 because they needed it immediately in order to support their families.  Some of the veterans brought there wives and children and thousands of these people set up camp in shacks near the Capitol.  Congress did not pass the bonus bill that the veterans were marching and two veterans were killed in a clash with police.  Hoover ordered the break up of the camp by the army and the army used tanks and tear gas to destroy the camp and drive the veterans away. This incident made Hoover very unpopular with the American people.
3. Twentieth Amendment was passed in 1933.  This amendment shortened the amount of time between the presidential election and the inauguration.  Prior to this amendment being passed the inauguration took place in March after the presidential election.  The twentieth amendment change the inauguration date to January 20^th.  This amendment is known as the lame-duck amendment because for four months after Roosevelt was elected President in 1932 he had to wait to be inaugurated.  During the four months Hoover remained in the office but and he was powerless to do anything about the depression which was getting worse.  He wanted to work with Roosevelt but Roosevelt did not want to be tied to any of Hoovers ideas.  Hoover became known as the lame duck President.
4. Roosevelt Administration was responsible for the Repeal of Prohibition.  In 1933, Roosevelt kept a campaign promise and enacted the repeal of Prohibition.  In 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was passed repealing the Eighteenth Amendment, ending Prohibition.  In addition to repealing prohibition that year, Congress passed the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, which legalized the sale of beer and wine and levied a tax on both.  
5. Fireside chats were used to assure the American people.  Roosevelt used the radio to talk to the American people. He went on the radio for the first time on March 12, 1933 to give the first of his many fireside chats.  In his chats, he would inform the American people of the things that he was doing to solve the nations problems. These chats became reassuring to the American people.  He used these chats to communicate important information to the people such as information relative to the reopening of the banks after the bank holiday.  In his talk about the banks, he was able to convince people that the banks were now safe and people began to deposit their money in the reopened bank at a greater rate than withdrawals.
6. The Banking Crisis was one of the immediate problems that Roosevelt faced when he took office in 1933.  When Roosevelt took office, banks were failing at a very high rate.  Many banks had closed and Americans had lost trust in the banks. People were withdrawing all of their money from the banks and they were hoarding money and putting their assets into gold.  To restore confidence in the banks that were still functional Roosevelt declared a four-day bank holiday.  The government reorganized the banking system and when they were sound Roosevelt allowed them to reopen and he went on the radio to advise the people that the banks were now safe and that the people should feel comfortable putting their money in the bank.
7. Father Charles E. Coughlin was a Catholic priest from a Detroit suburb who was opposed to the New Deal. Father Coughlin had a radio program and he attracted 30 to 45 million listeners to his show.  He believed that the New Deal was pro business.  Father Coughlin founded the National Union for Social Justice, which called for nationalizing all banks.  His attacks on the New Deal became anti-Semitic and Fascist.  He was later ordered by his superiors in the Catholic Church to stop his broadcasts.
8. Dr. Francis Townsend was a retired physician from Long Beach, California.  He proposed a simple plan for guaranteeing a secure income to senior citizens. His plan was called the Townsend Old Age Revolving Pension Plan and it promised $200.00 a month to all unemployed citizens over the age of 60 on the condition that they spend it in the same month that they received it.  He proposed a special tax to fund the Act. He believed that this would stimulate the economy.  His plan gave President Roosevelt the idea for a similar plan that became the basis for the Social Security Act.
9. Roosevelts New Deal Gave Rise to Unions.  Two acts supported by the Roosevelt administration were beneficial to organized labor.  The National Recovery Act of 1933 and the Wagner Act of 1935 created a change in labor management by legalizing labor unions giving labor the right to organize and bargain collectively.  Under Roosevelt, union membership increased from less than 3 million in 1933 to 4.5 million in 1935. 
10. The Fair Labor Standards Act was the final political victory for organized labor in the 1930s and the last major reform of the New Deal.  It was passed by Congress in 1938.  It established a minimum wage, which at the time was 40 cents an hour.  It created a maximum workweek of 40 hours a week with time and a half for overtime.  It also place restriction on child labor for individuals under 16 years of age. The passage of this Act was the only major reform of Roosevelts second term. 

                                                                                   

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/db0238.htm

 

Dear D.B.

 

            I am sorry to hear of your difficulties during these troubling times.  I hope that this letter finds both of your parents feeling better and that your search for work will be successful.   I regret that I am unable to fulfill your request for a loan as I receive many similar appeals on a daily basis.

 

            I have traveled around the country and I have seen many youngsters experiencing the same difficulties as you and I am troubled that I cannot do more to help.  As part of the Presidents New Deal, there are some programs that may be helpful in your search for employment. I recommend that you contact the National Youth Administration and the United States Employment Service, Department of Labor, as they may be able to offer some assistance in your search for employment.

 

 

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Dear Parents of D.B.

 

            I recently received a letter from your daughter.  I was impressed with her caring attitude and the dedication for her family that she exhibited in her letter.   I was sorry to hear that you are both not feeling well and I hope that this letter finds you both in better health.

           

I understand that these are very trying times for many as I have traveled around the Country and seen so many families who are experiences the troubles that your daughter has outlined in her letter.

           

I am very sorry that I cannot provide the loan of $35.00 to $50.00 that your daughter has requested but I have provided her with a few contacts to assist her in her own search for a job. 

 

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/jia0438.htm

 

Dear J.I.A.

 

            Thank you for your letter and your complimentary words about President Roosevelt.  I can see that you are very enthusiastic about a career in acting but I do not think that this is a good time for you to run off to Hollywood.   Hollywood is a long way from Rhode Island and girl your age should not be off living on her own in an unfamiliar place.  I have met other girls while traveling around this Country who have similar dreams of being on the Silver Screen and I must admit that it does seem like a glamorous life but it is much more difficult that you can probably imagine.  My advice is to stay in school and put your acting talent to use in school plays.  This would give you the opportunity to perform in front of an audience and more important it would allow you to remain in school to further your education.

 

            I am so sorry to hear about the poor health of your parents and I find it very noble of you to want to earn money to get better health care for your mother.  I am certain that you can do as much to help your mother by staying close to home and being with her and assisting her with whatever she needs. I truly believe that both of your parents will find greater comfort with you at home rather than in Hollywood. 

 

            I hope that you understand that I am unable to help you with this request.  Best wishes for success in school.

 

 

Very Truly Yours

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Dear Parents of J.I.A.

 

            I recently received a letter from your daughter, requesting my assistance to pay her way to Hollywood. Her reason for wanting to go to Hollywood is to work as an actress so that she can make enough money to send her mother to the best Doctors to care for your heart condition.  You should be so proud to have such a caring daughter.

           

I informed your daughter that I am not able to fulfill her request and I told her that I believed that she was very young to be thinking of leaving home to go to an unknown place.  I advised her to remain in school in order to further her education because I believe that education is so important. 

 

Best wishes

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

             

 

 

http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/ck0334.htm

 

Dear C.K.

 

  I have traveled around the Country and have met so many young men like you, who are faced with similar difficulties.  You should not feel awkward asking for things that you need, if you had not asked your friend for help you would be without all of the equipment needed to try out for the team. I am impressed with your determination and perseverance during these very difficult times. I am happy to hear that you have been able to continue in school and able to purchase needed school supplies. 

 

I am very sorry that I am unable to fulfill your request for a pair of football shoes. I receive many requests for help, but as much as I wish that I could, I am unable to meet everyones request.  There is a new program that I think may be helpful to you that I am enthusiastic about and that is the National Youth Administration Program.  This program assists young men and women between the ages of 16 and 25, find work so that they may contribute to their family income and stay in school.  This may be something that you would benefit from. 

 

Again, I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful with your specific need but I hope that this letter provides some encouragement. Best of luck in school.

 

 

Very sincerely yours,

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Dear Parents of C.K.

 

            I recently received a letter from your son.  He seems like a fine young man with great spirit and determination.  He wrote to me asking for my help in securing a pair of football shoes. I explained to him that I am very sorry but I am unable to fulfill his request, as I receive many requests from other young men and women every day.  All I can offer is kind words and encouragement.

           

            I was very happy to hear that is conscientious about his studies and that he elected to buy the needed school supplies over the football shoes.  I wish him great success during this school year and in the future.  You should be very proud of your son.

 

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.

Kelby wrote:

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Kelby Kim

Great Depression Assignment #21 Part 1 Research Topic

Huey Long

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I found Kelby's essay to be very informative on the life and achievements of Huey Long.  From what I read on his proposals for the Share Our Wealth program i'm surprised that, either he wasn't or kelby didn't mention it, he wasn't accused of being a communist or a socialist and that he became so popular with such a plan very fast despite creating opposition from corporate America at the time.

Part II

 

Emma Tiller:

                I am a Negro woman living in western Texas during the Great Depression. My husband and I are sharecroppers and last year we had to give the landowner our entire crop to pay our lease. I have, however, lived through worse conditions as a child, when we didnt have the services that Mr. Roosevelt is offering today. There are a lot more people worse off than my family, because I could find work in private homes where they give us old clothes and shoes. 

                One day the government gave us slips so we can go and get some food. There were only a few Negroes in line, and we didnt get waited on for days. When someone finally did wait on us, they gave us rotten and spoiled meat. One day it changed though, these three white men came into the place with shotguns, and demanded them to serve everyone in line and to make sure the food was decent. Sometimes people would say they werent going to come back to the place because they had jobs now so they did all they could to make sure they didnt.  

                Roosevelts ideas were sometimes bad though, because he made us get rid of a lot of our cotton crop and he killed a lot of cattle. I didnt like the way the killed the cattle, because they seemed almost human. One day it was so bad that I just ran back up to my house and cried.

 

Sharecropping

Stock Market Crash

WPA

Farm Subsidies

Cattle Slaughters

 

Racism: When the Negroes stood in line for food, those distributing it gave us rotten meat.

Gender: As a woman, I am not able to always be involved in many of the things that came about after the Depression.

Economic Power: As a sharecropper I dont have any sort of economic power. I have to try and make a living off of land that I can never seem to pay off.

Equality: As the only Negroes in line, we got rotten food instead of decent food like the whites.

PART II (MAD LATE, but more to come in the next two days, k?)

Max Naiman

                I was a lawyer in my late 20s and early thirties in the 1930s.  In my youth I had a really interesting life working as a farmer as I traveled a lot to the western states and did my part by working on the engines of the train when it got to the station.  During my journeying I had met very interesting people, the wobblies, and learned basic facts of life and how to survive when I lived in the jungles.  I was all good and fun until it got time to be paid where I usually got beat for my money or got stiffed and I couldnt defend myself without a lawyer, but whod want to represent me, a lowly teen worker.  This is when I got the resolve to go to law school and become one of those Good Samaritan lawyers who would help those lowly people.  When I graduated I took on many jobs and my clients taught me many things as I waited usually many hours for the courts to let us in.  This was one of the many rewarding parts of my job.  In those days a whole bunch of the cases I handled were about evictions, many people were victims of the system,  but there were unemployment councils, the Robin Hoods of those days, to help them out by putting their house back together with all their displaced furniture.  In some bad situations I had to step in and defend the people who had fought back against the sheriffs, and who rightfully did so out of necessity, and I would always try to get a jury trial because many of the judges could not be trusted in a bench trial.  And I would always get many genuine and heartfelt thanks after I had won the case for them, which was the best part of the job for me, seeing such happy and grateful faces.  All throughout my care I did my best not to discriminate against my clients when defending them, never really mattered to me who they were, I just knew they were in a bind and needed defendin.  And so I defended five people who were communists, and who were wrongly jailed, and got them out using the most holy writ of habeus corpus to get them out.  I was not paid for cases like these during my first four years.  I borrowed a lot, and made money here and there on different cases, if I was lucky.  Many times I had to sleep outside with nothin but a blanket and the stars.  Nowadays people are less focused on helping other people and more on themselves.

                Stock Market Crash/Relief Lines When the Stock Market crashed many banks closed and many people lost their money in investments, which led to many foreclosures and evictions.  I had to handle many cases of evictions and heard many stories from the people I defended, giving me a greater perspective of the people facing the worst of the Depression.  From this I also saw many people stand in relief lines and how some were arrested when they began to get rowdy and in=impatient when they werent getting what they needed when they needed it.

                Movies I too went to see movies when I could for fun and leanred a thing or two from them. Like one time I was passing by the Director of Relief, who did not care for me much AT ALL, and he made a rude antagonizing remark which I ignored until he grabbed me, turned me around, and hit me and I retaliated quickly with three direct punches, like I learned from the movie Call of the Wild, because one must swiftly take down a man of his large stature.

                Labor Unions During my career I also defended many labor leaders who were arrested and beaten by the police. Many were communists.  I cared little what their political affiliation was, I cared more about delivering justice.

                Memorial Day Massacre of 1937 I had a hint of what the mood of the police was the day before this event as I could tell they did not like protestors at all.

                Spanish Civil War I had many people to deal with, going over their wills and insurance policies when they signed up as volunteers for the Lincoln Brigade to go over and help the Spanish Republican forces, since the U.S. would not go officially.  One of them was a member of the International Labor Defense like myself and I got letters from him until one day when he died, killed by a sniper.  I was sad to hear this.

                Justice I have been since my youth very devoted to serving and maintaining justice in a time when desperation made many people take drastic or otherwise unnecessary actions.  When people were evicted or were beat by the police I felt compelled to get a fair trial for them and help them through their hardship as best I could.   

                Politics While I did not really care about politics I did support the many changes, especially the Social Security Act, that Roosevelt and his administration were putting for, reflecting on it now because it has done a lot of good.  Again even though I did support these ideas, politics did not influence my career as I did not mind defending a communist. 

                Rights Of course as a defense lawyer it is my job to protect the rights of my clients, and I did so with no regrets.  For instance when I was sent to Washington i made sure my clients got back their rights when I enforce the writ of habeus corpus for they were jailed without being able to communicate to anyone. 

                Equality I, hopefully and not to my knowledge, ever discriminated when taking a client and always fought hard for them when they struggled.  I too had once been in their situation and was doing what I felt led to do.  During these times, especially these times,  I felt it necessary to help all in need and that feeling was further emphasized after I won a case for someone and they graciously thanked me.

PART II !!!!! AHHHHHHH......em.  Excuse me

Louis Banks

                I was born in 1915 and lived in a town called McGehee, Arkansas on a cotton farm where my father eventually worked himself to death and a white man came and drove a tractor around.  I was black.  When I was a little boy and came to Chicago I used to fight for money, a prize-fighter, until I was fourteen when I became a vagabond.  Then I worked on the Great Lakes as a chef and earned $41.50 a month and dreamed of being a great chef one day, but the 1930s were tougher than I was.  I had to work extremely hard every day working from five to seven doing all the work.  Eventually I left and became a hobo again and started to travel around looking for a job being careful where I went because people back then would kill you for fifty cents and others would kill themselves because they had nothing.  Back then it didnt matter if you were black or white because everybody was poor but it didnt help being black because the white guys always got the jobs over the blacks.  I use to ride the trains around all over the country looking for jobs with other hobos.  When I wasnt on the train I usually slept in the jungle with the other hobos because we were all friendly enough to group together for a while and make a camp and eat.  None of the hobos had hardly any family so we stuck together for a while until we found jobs and left each other.  Back on the train many hobos would die by either falling off the train or getting shot off by ruthless authorities.  Many times I went to jail for being a vagabond and was jailed for thirty to ninety days at a time, although I was only suppose to get five or ten days.  They did this because it was free labor and made me and others pick cotton or fruits all day long everyday.  I was in jail all other the country and it was the same everywhere I went.  Every time I mentioned o was a vagabond to someone, it was off to the big house for me.  In those days when the men left to find jobs they left what family they had to help pay for them.  I was worried about supporting my mother so I would just send her a letter of how good I was doing, being in Los Angeles and all and I knew she would be proud that I had gotten that far. I never included a picture because I didnt want to show my true self to her.  But anyways I had many jobs, like fifteen or twenty, and they were always hard as hell, like throwing a ball one way and then running to go catch it yourself, and the worst part was that the white chefs would get twice as much as me for doing less work.  The poor had it hard and the rich were enjoying themselves.  Then my next job was as a bellhop for a hotel in Chicago during the Worlds Fair, though not at one of the exclusive hotels where all the white boys got hired.  Times and jobs were better after the Worlds Fair in 35 where people like me could get jobs like dishwashin and porters.  Then I got a job on the WPA for $27.50 a month and this was good for many people for it made you feel useful again, even rich.  You could now buy some new clothes for yourself but it was still a struggle raising my kids during the Depression, they had to have hand-me-downs.  Everyone, at least that I met, throughout most of the Depression was evil to each other because they had nothing and if you or someone else did then their was a target on your back.  I knew that at anytime I could get killed.  I was actually glad that war came because it provided me with a steady job, security, and pride.  I was more afraid of starving to death or getting killed on a train than a rifle and I knew I had a gang to protect me, my friends, the soldiers.

               

                Worlds Fair While I myself have not expeience the expos I did feel greatful for them attracting many people for a short time which provided me with an opportunity to work and make money, especially for a black man like me.

                WPA- When the WPA was set up again like the fairs it provided me with a jobs, but for much longer than the fairs, and allowed me to feel good about working again.  It made me feel useful once again and a whole lot wealthier than what I had been.

                WWII When World War 2 came around I was happy for myself because I knew there would be a job for me in the army.  A very steady and possibly permanent job.   I didnt so much care about fighting as much as actually working and for something I was deeply proud of, fighting for my country.

                Patriotism I felt a great sense of patriotism when WWII rolled around as I was serving my country who gave me a job in its army and it gave me a group to belong to, one that would be my friend and protect me, unlike the hobos I traveled around with who would kill me if I had anything good.

                Racism I was a victim of racism for most of my life.  Whenever I went to get a job, if a white man was there, he would get is solely for the fact that he was white.  This fact hurt me.  If me and another white man had the same job, I would get paid less.  If I was arrested I would get a whole lot of time while if a white man did the same thing he would only get a couple of days.

                Equality There wasnt much equality in the Depression era for whites always had the advantage in basically everything.  However when no one had a job and was poor, then all of us hobos and homeless were equal.  WE all traveled around on trains and slept in the jungle together, under the stars.

                Justice There wasnt much justice for me, especially when I got arrested.  Since I am black I always got treated worse than the white man, always had to do the more demeaning and menial tasks and jobs.

Part I:

10 facts
1. More than 4 million Americans were out of work in 1930, and by 1932 the number increased to 12 million.
2. The marriage rate, divorce rate, and the birth rate, all dropped during the decade.
3. In May 1931, the leading Austrian bank collapsed, the world was following the United States going into depressions.
4. The General Electric stock went from selling 396 stocks in 1929 to going down to 34 in 1932.
5. By 1932 almost one out of every four American was out of work and almost half of industry had come down to a halt.
6. Many farmers didnt have enough money to buy the goods that they made. Prices didnt go down during this Depression.
7. During the 1920s, over 7,000 banks had failed.
8. Also during this time, America and Europe hardly traded with one another had which affected both countries in a great way.
9. Not all everyone was affected by the Depression. William Danforth and Joseph Kennedy were two men who even during the Depression were making millions by slowly selling their stocks.
10. Roosevelt talked to the public through the radio, these were called fireside chats.

Research on the Dust Bowl.

The dust bowl was a chain of dust storms over the central part of the United States. The dust bowl occurred over a period of time between 1931 to 1939. These dust storms were caused by bad farming techniques. When removing the grass during plowing the soil dried out during the drought and the soil turned to dust and it blew eastwards. The drought was at its peak between 1934 to 1936. Once in the air dust formed large black clouds, causing day to look like night. The clouds traveled soil as far as Chicago and much of it flew into the Atlantic Ocean. Over 500,000 Americans who lived in or the surrounding areas of the Great Plains migrated west in hope for work. After the dust bowl farmers were smarter and aware of the consequences of poor farming. People now soil conservation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl

Part 1

10 Statistics, Individuals, Facts, and Events

Statistic: By 1932, at least one of every four American breadwinners was out of work, and industrial production was at a halt.

Individual: Herbert Hoover was the President of the United States at the time of the first half of the Depression. Many people blamed the Depression on him.

Fact: Farmers were the first group to suffer from the depression.

Event: The Dust Bowl occurred between 1932 and 1939 in Oklahoma where dust covered everything and got into houses and cars. It blacked out the sun at times and got into peoples eyes, ears, mouth, and nose along with their respiratory tract. Many people died from dust pneumonia. This natural disaster damaged over 10,000 homes and 9 million acres of farmland before it was over.

Statistic: During the New Deal era, the wealthiest two fifths of Americas population got 72.6% of the wealth that was being distributed throughout the country. The middle one fifth got 14.1% of the wealth and poorest two fifths got 13.3%. These statistics show that even though the president was trying to help out the poor as well as the wealthy, much of the wealth really wasnt distributed among the lower classes.

Individual: Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the United States towards the end of the Depression and into the first World War. He came up with the New Deal Program as a way to help the countrys economy up and running again.

Fact: The Workers Progress Administration (WPA) was one of the early attempts to attack the unemployment problem in the United States during the Depression. They helped writers, artists, musicians, and actors get jobs so they could get back on their feet.

Event: The Scottsboro Case was a court case were 2 young white women accused nine black men of raping them while they were hitching a ride in Scottsboro, Alabama. An all white jury sentenced the nine men to death.

Statistic: In the Civilian Conservation Corps, out of 3 million participants, only 8,000 of them were women.

Fact: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to restore forests, plants, and animals while giving people jobs that were destitute.

I am going to research The Scottsboro Case

grades updated 4.1.08