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Assignment #18: Great Depression Project


The depression that began with the Stock Market Crash in 1929 shaped a generation.  Many would struggle to find work, food and shelter.  Still more would hope that FDR would show them the way to a brighter future.  Hundreds of thousands would be choked by dust storms bigger than anything ever seen before or since.  Others would leave their families, riding the rails, hoping to send money home someday.  These Americans would fight against hardship and Hitler.  They would rebuild the United States into the most powerful nation on the planet.  They would give birth to the Sixties generation.  They not only shaped a generation; they shaped the American century.  Here is their story 

Note: This is a long assignment, expected to be completed over a period of days.  Each assignment is worth 100 points [300 points total]. 

Part I: 
 

Text Analysis:
Describe 10 Facts & Research a Topic [Read, Describe, Choose, Research, Post & Respond]  Students will 1) read Chapter 24 in The American People (The Great Depression and the New Deal, Part One and Part Two) and AMSCO: Chapter 24: The Great Depression and then 2) describe ten facts (or statistics, events, individuals, issues, etc.) that represent some of the main ideas of your reading.  Students will then 3) choose one topic from their reading to research.  This topic may reflect any of the issues, events or individuals related to the political, economic or cultural aspects to the Great Depression or FDRs New Deal.  Students will then 4) use the Internet to research their topic and then 5) post a descriptive essay concerning their findings (primary sources are encouraged and all sources must be cited).  Finally, students will be asked to 6) respond to another students post by explaining what you learned either a) from their essay or b) from their sources concerning their topic. 

Your 10 facts and research topic will be worth 40 points each [80 total] and your question/comment will be worth 10 points.  Finally, your detailed response to a students post will be worth 10 points. 
 

Part II: 
 

Cast:
 Lewis Andreas | Dorothe Bernstein | Sam Heller | Jerome Zerbe | Robin Langston | Louis Banks | Emma Tiller | Buddy Blankenship | Jim Sheridan | Eileen Barth | Bob Stinson | Evelyn Finn | Dorothy Day | Max Naiman | Oscar Helein | Cesar Chaves | Doc Graham | Peggy Terry | Mike Widman | Arthur Robertson | John Beecher | Jane Yoder | Aaron Barkham | Earl Dickinson | Ed Paulsen | Vincent Murray | Larry Van Dusen

People:
Write a brief (1 page) biography based on your interviews and your understanding of the personal experiences of your character.  You may use artistic license to add information as long as you dont change the historical context of your character or the events/issues of the times. [Example: I am a 25 year old woman living in western Oklahoma whose husband left the farm two months ago in search of work.  The dust blows so hard at night that we have to cover our windows with wet towels] [20 points]

Events
: Describe the historical events that have influenced your life during the Great Depression.  You may write a description in paragraphs or compile a list explaining the connections to your personal experiences.  Connections may be direct (personally experienced) or indirect (affecting the scenario around you). [Example: When the Federal Farm Board was established, we thought we could continue to grow more food to pay our mortgage, but no one was buying.  Prices plummeted.  We overproduced and were left with rotting crops.  Things even got worse when the Farmers Holiday Association tried to sabotage our food from going to market] [20 points]

Issues
: How have any of these issues below affected you?  What is their relationship to the events you are connected to?  Explain in detail by analyzing the relationship between your experiences, historic events and these issues.  Choose a minimum of four of the issues listed here.  Justice | Patriotism | Racism | Politics | Economic Power | Rights | Prejudice | Gender | Equality   [Example: Hoover seems to want to protect the large farmer-owners and not the small ones. (Economic Power) Doesnt everyone deserve to be protected from poverty in this country? (Equality)] [20 points]

Story:
  Randomly select groups.  Introduce yourselves and then create a story involving yourself and two others.  You may decide to either write a short story (4-5 pages) or outline a skit and then act it out in the class (10 minutes).  The objective of the story is to describe and explain the political, economic and social impact of the Great Depression through your collective experiences, but remember to have fun creating and/or acting out your story as well!] as well as adding feedback to each other's stories for accuracy and context. [40 points]

Part III:
  

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt Letters from Children of the Great Depression
Source: http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/index.htm, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/
Assignment: Imagine yourself as Eleanor Roosevelt.  Youve toured most of the country, visiting injured factory workers, climbing down mine shafts, ate dinner with dispossessed sharecroppers and listened to countless stories of unemployed and homeless Americans.  You return to the White House late at night from another trip abroad to a small mountain of letters.  You notice they are all from children.  You begin to imagine the Depression through their eyes as you read their letters Choosing three of the letters available on the website, write a response for each in detail both to the child and to the parent explaining your efforts & feelings. [50 points]

Photo Essay of the Great Depression
Source: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm
Assignment: Imagine yourself a photographer during the Depression.  Youve been given a position working for the government documenting the effects of the economic crisis.  Your supervisor visits you one day completely disheveled and speaks to you in a hurry.  You have been asked to bring your photos to the President himself.  He wishes to know more about your work and how it may help him create policies to help the nation.  You have to select ten of your best photos and explain why they are symbolic of the times.  Visit the website and choose ten images.  Explain what message each image tells and why it is important to remember. [50 points]

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 Assignment #18 Great Depression Project
Part I

 

Ten Facts-

1.) The New Deal lasted from 1933- 1935, focused primarily on helping the United States recover from the Depression as well as help the poor and unemployed find peace.

2.)Hoover tried very hard to slow down the economic collapse in the U.S in the late 1920s, using the power of the federal government and his role as President.

3.) To try to stem economic collapse Hoover met with businessmen and labor leaders, mayors and governors, and encouraged them to speed up public work projects.

4.) After the stock market crack of 1929, and the bank failures in 1930, millions of Americans became unemployed.  

5.) As the economy collapsed the middle class watched their lives spiral downward while the rich just became concerned as the price of their symbol of safety and security, the government bonds, dropped.  

6.) There was never any real danger of revolution. Some farmers organized to dump their milk to protest low prices, and when a neighbors farm was sold, they gathered to hold a penny auction, bidding only a few cents for equipment and returning it to their dispossessed neighbor.

7.) After Roosevelt was elected the main problem he faced was the condition of the banks. His solution was to declare a four-day bank holiday and three days later an emergency session of Congress gave the president broad powers over financial transactions, prohibited the hoarding of gold, and allowed for the reopening of sound banks, sometimes with loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

8.) I have always favored sound money, Roosevelt announced, and I do now, but it is too darned sound when it takes so much of farm products to buy a dollar. He rejected the more extreme inflationary plans supported by many congressmen from the agricultural states, but he did take the country off the gold standard. No longer would paper currency be redeemable in gold.

9.) New Deal programs were going to serve the three Rs- relief for people out of work, recovery for business and the economy, and reform of the American economic institutions.

10.) Immediately after being sworn in Roosevelt called Congress to a session of 100 days where he enacted major legislations to assist the unemployed, make recoveries, and other things.

 

One topic = New legislations Roosevelt proposed to help save the economy at the beginning of his term, as part of his first New Deal, and how they would have helped.

 

 Research on it (Cite it all)=

Source 1- Longman, Pearson.Ch.24. (800)  Pearson Education Inc. 2006

Source 2- Newman, John. Ch. 24 The Great Depression and the New Deal 1929-1939. AMSCO School Publications, Inc. New York, N.Y. 2004.  

Source 3- Franklin D. Roosevelt. SparkNotes LLC. 2009 <http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/fdr/section8.rhtml>

Source 4- Schoenherr. The New Deal. 4 April 2001. <http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/20th/1930s/newdeal.html>

 

            S 1- After Roosevelt was elected the main problem he faced was the condition of the banks. His solution was to declare a four-day bank holiday and three days later an emergency session of Congress gave the president broad powers over financial transactions, prohibited the hoarding of gold, and allowed for the reopening of sound banks, sometimes with loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

                S1- I have always favored sound money, Roosevelt announced, and I do now, but it is too darned sound when it takes so much of farm products to buy a dollar. He rejected the more extreme inflationary plans supported by many congressmen from the agricultural states, but he did take the country off the gold standard. No longer would paper currency be redeemable in gold.

                S2- New Deal programs were going to serve the three Rs- relief for people out of work, recovery for business and the economy, and reform of the American economic institutions.

                S2- Financial Recovery Programs

·          The Emergency Banking Relief Act- authorized govt. to examine the finances of banks closed during the bank holiday and reopen those judged to be sound.

·          (FDIC) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation- guaranteed individual bank deposits up to $5,000

·          (HOLC) Home Owners Loan Corporation- providing refinancing of homes to prevent foreclosures.

·          Farm Credit Administration- provided low interest farm loans and mortgages to prevent foreclosure on the property of indebted farmers.  

S2- Many programs for relief of the unemployed were made during the hundred days:

·          FERA- Federal Emergency Relief Administration- offered outright grants of federal money to states and local governments that were operating soup kitchens and other forms of relief for the jobless and the homeless.

·          Public Works Administration (PWA)- allotted money to state and local governments for building roads, bridges, dams, and other public works. (Thousands of Jobs)

·          Civilian Conservation Corps

·          Tennessee Valley Authority- huge experiment in regional development and public planning. It was a govt. co.  that hired thousands of people in one of the nations poorest regions to build dams, operate electric power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer. The TVA also sold electricity to residents of the region at rates that were well below those previously charged by the private power company.

S2- Industrial Recovery Reform- Key measure to combine immediate relief and long term reform= National Recovery Administration (NRA)

·          An attempt to guarantee reasonable profits for business and fair wages and hours for labor.

·          Gave workers right to organize and bargain collectively.

S2- Farm Production control Program-

·          (AAA)- encouraged farmers to reduce production, boosting prices, by offering to pay government subsidies for every acre they plowed under.

S2-Other First New Deal programs

·          (CWA) Civil Works Administration- agency that hired laborers for temporary construction projects sponsored by the fed. Govt.

·          (SEC)- created to regulate the stock market and to place strict limits on the kind of speculative practices that had led to the Wall Street crash in 1929.

·           (FHA)- gave both the construction industry and homeowners a boost by insuring bank loans for building new houses and repairing old ones.

S3-He declared a nationwide banking holiday from March 610, 1933, and halted all gold transactions in order to open the banks on a sounder basis.

·          President's first order of duty was to end the banking crisis, which had forced many of the banks in the country to close and the rest to face severe bank runs. Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933 giving the president the authority to regulate banking transactions and reopen solvent banks.

·          first of his famous fireside chats. He assured an audience of over thirty-five million Americans in the weekend before the banks were to reopen that it was safer to keep their money in a bank rather than in their homes. 

·          Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to insure individual deposits up to $5,000 This legislation prevented a recurrence of the bank failure epidemic.

·          FDR ordered all private gold to be surrendered to the Treasury for paper, and took the nation off the gold standard. Roosevelt also reduced the value of the gold content of the dollar to sixty cents, theorizing, with the help of various economic advisers, that changing the value of the currency would stimulate business through controlled inflation. 

S3-(AAA)Agricultural Adjustment Act- aimed at restoring farm income and reducing surpluses by using a tax on processors to fund subsidies for farmers who limited their acreage.

S3- On March 21, the Civilian Conservation Corps was created, putting over 250,000 young men to work on conservation projects under the guidance of the Army.

S3- Also on March 21, the (FERA) Federal Emergency Relief Administration was created and put under the able leadership of Harry Hopkins, the former social worker who had been one of Roosevelt's most trusted advisors since his time as governor of New York. Hopkins allotted over three billion dollars in direct dole payments or wages for work to the States.

S3-April 10, 1933 =(TVA) Tennessee Valley Authority, brought low-cost electric power, along with employment, housing, restoration of eroded soil, and reforestation, to a desperately poverty-stricken area.

S3-(NIRA) National Industry Recovery Act, which was meant to help labor, industry, and the unemployed. The bill called for individual industries to write up codes of fair competition, decided maximum hours of labor per person, and introduced minimum wages in order to spread work among the greatest number of people. 

S3- (CWA)The Civil Works Administration was created in late 1933, to help Americans through a difficult winter. Despite Roosevelt's late approval for the plan, Hopkins promised to have four million people working before Christmas. By mid-January he had exceeded his estimate by 300,000.

·          The Civil Works Administration built or improved 500,000 miles of road, 40,000 schools, and 1,000 airports; improved streets; unclogged sewers; and cleaned out parks.

·           In 1935 the scheme was expanded into the Works Progress Administration, thanks to the unanimous approval of the New Deal by voters in the midterm Congressional elections. Over the eight years that the agency ran, over nine million people were put to work, including writers and artists such as John Steinbeck, in work mostly for public display.

S4- The Hundred Days,

 AAA

  • Henry Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, drafted the Agricultural Adjustment Act signed by FDR May 12, 1933 (until 1936) to help farmers
  • wheat and corn farmers paid not to plant; bad weather had already reduced planted acreage
  • by 1936, farm income up 50%, surplus reduced, prices rising
  • AAA administered at county level by farmers themselves, local production control committees, voluntary participation, "planning by incentive rather than command."
  • landowners used government checks to buy tractors, displaced sharecroppers

S4- CCC

  • Civilian Conservation Corps created March 31, paid $30 per month to youth 18-25 from relief families, would total 2 million young people by 1941

S4- The First New Deal

HOLC-Home Owners Loan Corporation was emergency measure to stop foreclosures, allowed temporary moratorium on payments, refinanced mortgages, allowed the 15-year mortgage

FHA- lenders agreed to federal standards of 20% down payment for a 20-year mortgage, construction standards, paid by buyers fees

SEC- Securities and Exchange Commission created June 1934 to regulate the stock market

 

Essay Topic= New legislations Roosevelt proposed to help save the economy at the beginning of his term, as part of his first New Deal, and how they would have helped.

            After the 1932 election Franklin Roosevelt stepped into office. It was the middle of the depression and the nation was anxiously waiting for Roosevelt to fix the economy with this New Deal he had promised during his campaign. This new deal was going to serve three Rs to help the country; relief for the people out of work, recovery for business and the economy, and reform of the American economic institutions. In the first one hundred days alone, and for a few months after, he passed new legislations that helped support these three Rs. These were only the beginning, but this was his beginning.

            His first act concerned the recovery of business and economy as well as reform of the American economic institutions, and helped end the banking crisis. He declared a nationwide banking holiday from March 6-10 1933, during which he reassured Americans that it was safer to keep their money in a bank than in their homes. He also halted gold transactions in order to open the banks on a sounder basis, ordering all private gold to be surrendered to the Treasury for paper and took the nation off the gold standard. He theorized that the change in the value of the currency would lead to controlled inflation to help stimulate business. The Emergency Banking relief Act authorized the government to examine the finances of banks closed during the bank holiday and reopen those judged to be sound. Following this were a few other legislations concentrated on helping the financial recovery; the FDIC or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that help to prevent a recurrence of the bank failure, and two different legislatures to help with the economy like the HOLC or Home Owners Loan Corporation that provided refinancing of small homes to prevent foreclosures, and the FCA or Farm Credit Administration that provided low interest farm loans and mortgages to prevent foreclosures on the property of indebted farmers . Then there were legislations to help with the recovery of business, such as the National Recovery Administration. The NRA was formed under the National Industry Recovery Act, and was meant to help labor, industry and the unemployed and combined immediate relief and long term reform. It helped to guarantee profit for business and fair wages and hours for labor, as well as giving workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. Together these administrations and acts helped begin the recovery of business and economy.

            As well as helping the financial recovery and the industrial recovery was relief for the people out of work, or the unemployed. To do this certain administrations were established; the FERA, the PWA, the CCC, the CWA and the TVA. The FERA of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration offered grants to state and local governments that were helping the jobless and the homeless through forms of relief like soup kitchens. Then there was the PWA of the Public Works Administration that created thousands of jobs through allotting money to state and local governments for building roads, bridges, dams and other public works. Later the CWA or the Civil Works Administration would be added to the PWA to hire laborers for temporary construction projects, sponsored by the federal government. Then there was the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps created for Americans ages 18-25, and it was an administration that helped the U.S by building or improving roads, schools and airports. They also improved streets, unclogged sewers, and cleaned out parks, all of this for $30 per month, $25 of which would be sent to their family. In this way 2 million young people, by 1941, would have a job and be able to help support their family. An experiment in regional development and public planning was the TVA or the Tennessee Valley Authority. This was a government corporation that was centered on one of the poorest regions of the nation. It created jobs as people were hired to build dams, operate electric power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer. All of these administrations created new jobs and helped those who were homeless and/or unemployed.

            These dont even name all of the administrations and acts established by Roosevelt, but all these helped the United States during the beginning of Roosevelts first term as President, under his first New Deal.   

 




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Sry, my first post wouldn't allow me to edit it, so I had to repost my edited essay. 

Essay Topic= New legislations Roosevelt proposed to help save the economy at the beginning of his term, as part of his first New Deal, and how they would have helped.

            After the 1932 election Franklin Roosevelt stepped into office. It was the middle of the depression and the nation was anxiously waiting for Roosevelt to fix the economy with this New Deal he had promised during his campaign. This new deal was going to serve three Rs to help the country; relief for the people out of work, recovery for business and the economy, and reform of the American economic institutions. These three Rs were based on short-range goals of relief and immediate recovery as well as long-range goals of permanent recovery and reform. In the first one hundred days alone, and for a few months after, he passed new legislations that helped support these three Rs.

            His first acts concerned the recovery of business and economy as well as reform of the American economic institutions, and helped end the banking crisis. He declared a nationwide banking holiday from March 6-10 1933, during which he reassured Americans that it was safer to keep their money in a bank than in their homes. He also halted gold transactions in order to open the banks on a sounder basis, ordering all private gold to be surrendered to the Treasury for paper and took the nation off the gold standard. He theorized that the change in the value of the currency would lead to controlled inflation to help stimulate business. The Emergency Banking relief Act authorized the government to examine the finances of banks closed during the bank holiday and reopen those judged to be sound. Following this were a few other legislations concentrated on helping the financial recovery; the FDIC or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that help to prevent a recurrence of the bank failure, and two different legislatures to help with the economy like the HOLC or Home Owners Loan Corporation that provided refinancing of small homes to prevent foreclosures, and the FCA or Farm Credit Administration that provided low interest farm loans and mortgages to prevent foreclosures on the property of indebted farmers . Then there were legislations to help with the recovery of business, such as the National Recovery Administration. The NRA was formed under the National Industry Recovery Act, and was meant to help labor, industry and the unemployed and combined immediate relief and long term reform. It helped to guarantee profit for business and fair wages and hours for labor, as well as giving workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. Together these administrations and acts helped begin the recovery of business and economy.

            As well as helping the financial recovery and the industrial recovery was relief for the people out of work, or the unemployed. To do this certain administrations were established; the FERA, the PWA, the CCC, the CWA and the TVA. The FERA of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration offered grants to state and local governments that were helping the jobless and the homeless through forms of relief like soup kitchens. Then there was the PWA of the Public Works Administration that created thousands of jobs through allotting money to state and local governments for building roads, bridges, dams and other public works. Later the CWA or the Civil Works Administration would be added to the PWA to hire laborers for temporary construction projects, sponsored by the federal government. Then there was the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps created for Americans ages 18-25, and it was an administration that helped the U.S by building or improving roads, schools and airports. They also improved streets, unclogged sewers, and cleaned out parks, all of this for $30 per month, $25 of which would be sent to their family. In this way 2 million young people, by 1941, would have a job and be able to help support their family. An experiment in regional development and public planning was the TVA or the Tennessee Valley Authority. This was a government corporation that was centered on one of the poorest regions of the nation. It created jobs as people were hired to build dams, operate electric power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer. All of these administrations created new jobs and helped those who were homeless and/or unemployed.

            These dont even name all of the administrations and acts established by Roosevelt, but all these helped the United States during the beginning of Roosevelts first term as President, under his first New Deal. Each of these were supported under the three Rs of relief recovery and reform. Under the relief lay the CCC, WPA, PWA, FERA, and the NYA that were all extensions of the executive branch of government. Then there was the recovery under which the NRA, EBRA, and the AAA, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration that increased the government ability to set wage control by introducing subsidies for crops. Lastly were the reform programs like the SSA, FDIC, Wagner Act, TVA, FHA, SEC, REA, Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Indian Reorganization act. Most of the reform programs were introduced later in Roosevelts presidency. Most of these reform programs are still in used today.  



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Doc Graham.

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My name is Earl.

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My name is Vincent Murray. I am a dirty cop. Not really but I am a cop. My hero is Dirty Harry. =]


Part I:

1)      Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected president in 1932. He defeated Hoover by a count of 472-59.

2)      Roosevelt enacted many new work programs to help boost the economy, and reduce the unemployment rate.

3)      The Republican Congress declared many of his projects unconstitutional.

4)      Accused of trying to control the supreme court, and tried to fire justices for not agreeing with his programs.

5)      Tuesday October 29th 1929 is also known as Black Tuesday. The Stock Market crashed.

6)      Hawley-Smoot Act was passed which raised tariffs to a record high.

7)      High tariffs helped lead to depression with foreign retaliatory tariffs.

8)      Andrew W. Mellon instated major tax cuts for the wealthy Americans.

9)      Government became business rivals to monopolies.

10)   Teapot Dome Scandal took place in 1921.



-- Edited by Walter at 13:26, 2009-02-06

-- Edited by Walter at 13:49, 2009-02-06

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5 Facts-

  1. 12 million people were out of work by 1932.
  2. By 1931, the American economic failure caused a global depression, with countries like Austrias economy.
  3. General McArthur ordered the veterans in the bonus army to be dispersed, using tanks, guns, and tear gas to stop them.
  4. Roosevelt had unique advisors, including James A. Farley, who was a boxing commissioner.
  5. Francis Perkins was the first woman to be appointed to a cabinet position.


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Part I: Facts 
  1. By 1932, the median income had plunged to half of what it had been in 1929.
  2. The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified on December 5, 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended the Prohibition experiment.
  3. In 1933, the unemployment rate of nonagricultural workers spiked to about 38%.
  4. Most Americans (the 98% that did not own stock) hardly noticed the stock market crash at all.
  5. The marriage rate, divorce rate, and birth rate all dropped during the Great Depression.
  6. Hoover blamed the Great Depression on international economic problems.
  7. More public works projects were built during Hoovers administration than in previous 30 years.
  8. In May of 1932, 17,000 veterans marched on Washington as the bonus army.
  9. Roosevelt won the 1932 election by carrying more than 57% of the popular vote.
  10. The Banking Act of 1933, which strengthened the Federal Reserve System, established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and insured individual deposits up to $5,000.


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part one:
1. Socialists and extreme liberals criticized the first New Deal as focusing too much on business and not enough on social needs.
2. The Twentieth Amendment was passed in 1933 as a result of the ineffective four months between Roosevelt's first election and his inauguration.
3. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by Roosevelt to follow campaign promises and secure tax money.
4. In 1935, workers' right to join unions and negotiate as a group were guaranteed by the Wagner Act.
5. Father Charles E. Coughlin spread opposition to the New Deal through his radio show, proposing instead nationalizing all banks and causing intentional inflation.
6. Senator Huey Long of Louisiana called for a $5,000 minimum income for all families, paid for by taxes on the rich.
7. Long was a Democratic candidate for the presidency before his assassination.
8. The Native American Re-Organization Act (Wheeler-Howard) largely reversed the Dawes Severalty Act, and restored tribal ownership of lands as well as allowing tribal customs.
9.  A minimum wage was established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, at $.40.
10. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration was established to try to regulate farming, but it was struck down as unconstitutional.
-- Edited by G. Larsen at 13:47, 2009-02-06

-- Edited by G. Larsen at 13:59, 2009-02-06

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10 Facts About The Great Depression: 

1.During the first five hours of trading on the  Tuesday after the market crashed, $33 million in market value disappeared every minute, totaling an astonishing $10 billion something approaching $95 billion in todays dollars.

 

2.Throughout the depression, First Lady Mrs. Roosevelt received thousands of letters from children begging for money, clothes, books, food, and other things for their families. Segregation prevented them from finding many options for housing.

 

3. Many farmers could not pay off their loan they had taken out so the bank would take their belongings and auction them off. In order to protect each other friends and neighbors would go to the auctions and pay low prices for the property and give it back to the original owner. They would refuse to pay very much money. These auctions are referred to as penny auctions.

 

4. People did not have money for necessities so there was no way they were going out and buying things they did need. Companies that sold items such as cars and other appliances that were selling before the depression were no longer able to. Production factories stopped making money so more people lost jobs.

 

5. By spring of 1933, when FDR took the oath of office, unemployment had risen from 8 to 15 million (roughly 1/3 of the non-farmer workforce) and the gross national product had decreased from $103.8 billion to $55.7 billion.

 

6. In 1932, only 1.5 percent of all government funds were spent on relief and averaged about $1.67 per citizen.

 

7. The suicide rates increased from 14 to 17 per 100,000.

 

8. In 1932, four members of the Dearborn hunger march were shot and killed when 1,000 soldiers accompanied by tanks and machine guns evicted veterans living in the Bonus Army camp in Washington, D.C.

 

9. By the 1930s money was scarce because of the depression, so people did what they could to make their lives happy.  Movies were hot, parlor games and board games were popular.  People gathered around radios to listen to the Yankees.  Young people danced to the big bands. 

 

10. Only when the federal government imposed rationing, recruited 6 million defense workers (including women and African Americans), drafted 6 million soldiers, and ran massive deficits to fight World War II did the Great Depression finally end.

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1. After the stock market crashed in 1929, the entire economy fell.

2. President Hoover used the federal government to try and stop the depression by forming agencies and boards like the National Credit Corporation and the Emergency Committee for Employment.

3. In 1930 1, 300 banks failed, and by 1933 11,00 had failed.

4. By 1930 more than four million Americans were out of work, and at least 12 million were out of work by 1932.

5. Hoover believed that the gold standard was the only successful form of currency.

6. Hoover tried to organize an effort to restore banks and businesses that were failing, but he was not successful. Instead, Congress passed a bill, which created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which was allowed to make loans to banks, farm mortgage companies, insurance companies, and railroads.

7. On cause of the Great Depression was Americas ability to produce goods, but not consume.

8. Hoover entered the White House only six months before the stock market crashed.

9. The Civilian Conservation Corps was created to aid men aged 18-25 and gave them jobs around the country working for $30 a month.

10. The Agricultural Adjustment Act was created to aid farmers, by raising crop prices and pay the farmers to make up for voluntary cutbacks in production.


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I
1.The top five percent of the wealthiest Americans received more than 33 percent of all income. An uneven distribution of wealth added to the problems of the Great Depression.
2.Roosevelt and his advisers placed the price of gold at $35 dollars per ounce, which raised the value of the dollar 40%.
3.The Great Depression affected most of the Industrialized world.
4.The Agricultural Adjustment Act was created to stem the overproduction of farm goods.
5.The Civilian Conservation Corps had over 3 million members by 1941.
6.Roosevelt believed in conservation and promoted projects that involved it.
7.In 1932 17,000 veterans marched in Washington in hope of receiving their overdue bonuses.
8.Hoover tried to organize a pool of money to rescue failing banks and businesses.
9.The AAA ordered 6 million young pigs to be slaughtered and 10 million acres of cotton to be plowed up.
10.During the 1920s 7000 banks failed.


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R. Krupa wrote:

 

6. In 1932, only 1.5 percent of all government funds were spent on relief and averaged about $1.67 per citizen.

 
Wow, only 1.5 percent? What were the other 98.5 percent of government funds being used on?



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The Great Depression Facts
1.People who did have jobs made barely enough to survive. Hired farm hands only made $216.00 a year. A doctor made $3,382.99 a year.
2.Some people would go into restaurants and pretend they were going to order when the waitress went back into the kitchen they would poor all the stuff on the table like ketchup, salt, pepper, etc into their water. They would drink it down before the waitress came back and then they would tell her that they changed their minds and they didn't see anything on the menu they wanted. This drink mixture was called "Hoover soup."
3.Many people fled their homes to get away from the dust. They had little food and no place to stay. They lived in old cars, boxcars, and some on the streets.
4.According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, 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.
5.The Federal Reserve Bank of the U.S. raises its key interest rate, the discount rate a full percentage point to 6% from 5% (where it had been since mid 1928).
6.Roger Babson, a popular economic forecaster of the day, makes a bearish prediction. He won his nickname as "the Prophet of Loss" this day, and unjustly received some of the blame for the crash. The exact phrase he used was "riding to a fall".
7.One Arkansas man walked 900 miles looking for work.
8.New York social workers reported that 25% of all schoolchildren were malnourished. In the mining counties of West Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, the proportion of malnourished children was perhaps as high as 90%
9.In September 1931 the Bank of England ceased exchanging pound notes for gold and the pound was floated on foreign exchange markets.
10.Over 3 million unemployed young men were taken out of the cities and placed into 2600+ work camps managed by the CCC.

enjoy joel the not so brave


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joel the not so brave wrote:

The Great Depression Facts
1.People who did have jobs made barely enough to survive. Hired farm hands only made $216.00 a year. A doctor made $3,382.99 a year.



What was the minimum salary needed to survive during that time?



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5 more facts-

  1. Civil Works Administration put more than four million people to work on public works.
  2. National Industrial Recovery Act helped businesses by creating price and production control.
  3. The communications revolution changed the lives of middle class Americans.
  4. In the 1930s, many people became instant celebrities, like Shirley Temple and the Dionne quintuplets due to the technological advances.
  5. The number of radios being bought steadily increased during the 1930s


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joel the not so brave wrote:

2.Some people would go into restaurants and pretend they were going to order when the waitress went back into the kitchen they would poor all the stuff on the table like ketchup, salt, pepper, etc into their water. They would drink it down before the waitress came back and then they would tell her that they changed their minds and they didn't see anything on the menu they wanted. This drink mixture was called "Hoover soup."


that is absolutely disgusting.



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Jessica! wrote:

R. Krupa wrote:

 

6. In 1932, only 1.5 percent of all government funds were spent on relief and averaged about $1.67 per citizen.

 
Wow, only 1.5 percent? What were the other 98.5 percent of government funds being used on?



Good question. You tell me. Although the government can't spend all its funds on relieving the people. not that its not important, but they did have a governmnet to run. in distress. with little to no money.



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Walter wrote:

joel the not so brave wrote:

2.Some people would go into restaurants and pretend they were going to order when the waitress went back into the kitchen they would poor all the stuff on the table like ketchup, salt, pepper, etc into their water. They would drink it down before the waitress came back and then they would tell her that they changed their minds and they didn't see anything on the menu they wanted. This drink mixture was called "Hoover soup."


that is absolutely disgusting.




Eww, I agree. That is nasty.



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Walter wrote:

3)
      The Republican Congress declared many of his projects unconstitutional.

Do tell us, what was so unconstitutional?confuse


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My name is Eileen Barth. I am a 21-year-old woman working for the government. In 1933, I graduated from a University and was hired as a caseworker for my county. I was trained more efficiently with immigrant families and when I was put on the field I had no idea how to deal with massive unemployment. I was overwhelmed with the poverty and unemployment in my area. These people appeared as if they had no hope. They lost their jobs, were evicted from their houses, and were separated from their families. Many did not trust the government and kept what little they had always with them. I saw little boys running around the streets, dirty and starving, shining shoes and selling apples to get what little money they could for their parents. They lived in shacks and cardboard boxes, with little or nothing to wear. Although the depression did not affect my finances it still affected my confidence and security. There were constant layoffs at my job, and I feared looking in the mail because it would be the end of me if I saw a notice from my company saying they no longer needed my services. I do not want to live like the other people live here.

I made about $135 a month, so compared to the majority of this country; you can say I live well off. I have no complaints about my finances, but I am more concerned with my personal safety while doing this job. I work with both blacks and whites, but most blacks said they were used to being poor stricken, and dependent on whites for money and food. But most agreed that if they did not have to come here, then they would not be asking for support. Many whites hated coming to the warehouse to pick up food. Most were too proud to admit that they needed help, and only came when there families were on the brink of starvation. Yet when they came, there were very racist to the blacks in the office. They believed that they should be served first and should be the first to move into the available settlement housing. Most blacks were out of jobs before they started to layoff whites. In 1932, approximately half of black Americans were out of work. Most of this unemployment and desperation caused anger towards the government and especially to my fellow workers and myself.

For my job we are told to go out and see the poverty. So when someone needs clothes were are asked to go and see how much clothes they already have. I hated this part of my job because many people were ashamed. I was ashamed myself, of what I had to do. I remember this old man, who claimed he needed clothes for his family, but before I could give him any I had to inspect his house. As I looked around the shacked I asked him if I could see his closet, and his face turned tomato red. He was so humiliated to show me his closet and I felt terrible making this man feel this way. This man, like many Americans around the US, had but a few pairs of clothes for his whole family. He was kind though toward me and I gave him the clothes he needed. Not all caseworkers are treated with such kindness. In 1934, a caseworker was actually killed while he was at a clients house. The client became so frustrated when the caseworker said he could not get him a job; that he shot him, walked down to the office, shot the secretary and then shot himself and his mother. This man had nothing to loose, and I feared going to clients houses because we were their last hope, and if we could not help them, then they were dangerous. People who had nothing to loose were more dangerous than people in power. These people would do anything to survive, and so that is why I go to my job every morning in fear of what may happen that day. I may loose my job, or I may loose my life, and all because of this government, and capital.

 

noblankstareashamedhmmcryno

 

http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/race/race.html  

 

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761584403/great_depression_in_the_united_states.html



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Jessica! wrote:

Walter wrote:

joel the not so brave wrote:

2.Some people would go into restaurants and pretend they were going to order when the waitress went back into the kitchen they would poor all the stuff on the table like ketchup, salt, pepper, etc into their water. They would drink it down before the waitress came back and then they would tell her that they changed their minds and they didn't see anything on the menu they wanted. This drink mixture was called "Hoover soup."


that is absolutely disgusting.




Eww, I agree. That is nasty.



Well, at least they were "eating" something.



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Jessica! wrote:

joel the not so brave wrote:

The Great Depression Facts
1.People who did have jobs made barely enough to survive. Hired farm hands only made $216.00 a year. A doctor made $3,382.99 a year.



What was the minimum salary needed to survive during that time?



The average salary to barely live would have been $1368.  Clearlymany people did not make even close to that in a year.



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10 Facts

 
  1. During the depression the wealthy upper class began to hoard gold in an attempt to counteract the decrease in government value bonds.
  2. During the depression more than ninety-eight (98) % Americans did not own stock.
  3. Starting in 1931 many other nations began showing extreme signs of depression, such as, Austria, Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil, and Japan, who all had major banks fail.
  4. Roosevelts New Deal from 1933 to 1935, which focused on relief for the poor, borrowed ideas from the Hoover administration.
     5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted polio after falling into a lake while sailing in 1921.

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Ola! Mi nombre es Jose.

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Part II. 
People: 500 words
Source 2- http://www.catholicworker.com/ddaybio.htm

Dorothy Day is a large boned handsome woman of seventy with graying hair, who still acts like a young exhilarated girl. She works in the headquarters of The Catholic Worker on the Lower East Side of New York. Dorothy is a revolutionist as well as a socialist and a communist who believed that things should be changed. Yet she is also highly religious, and she says, Pacifism was very much my whole point of view. Her believe is There is always human suffering, plain human orneriness. But it seemed impossible to me that we should be living with these extremes of wealth and poverty, where people lived like dogs and got nowhere. These views she discovered at various times as she grew up.
Dorothy grew up in Chicago where she discovered Catholicism and literary satire like Upton Sinclairs The Jungle. It was reading novels like these that inspired her to begin talking walks in Chicagos South Side where she lived after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Here was where she began to understand the desolation of the urban developments. After dropping out of college in 1916 she found a job in New York with the only socialist daily called The Call. Then she worked for a magazine that opposed American involvement in the European war. In 1917 she stood in front of the White House to support womans suffrage and was arrested.
By 1922 she was back in Chicago working as a reporter, and roomed with three Catholic women, whose devotion began to encourage her to look more toward religion. By the time she was working her next job in New Orleans she was attending Benediction services. With this new strength in her faith she gladly had her first child, a daughter named Tamar, baptized in the Catholic Church, along with herself a while later.
Each of her jobs and her faith inspired Dorothy to work to help others. To help she participated in strikes such as a hunger march for the Unemployed Councils in Washington in December of 1932, that she covered for two Catholic journals. She also helped start the Catholic Worker paper that publicized Catholic social teaching and promoted steps to bring about the peaceful transformation of society. By 1933 and 1934 the workers for the paper were practicing their written principles by helping evicted families on the East Side move into apartments with the first month paid by the relief stations. The Communist party believed that the Catholic Worker was full of false mysticism but they supported common causes.
Further Dorothy Day personally believed that the whole program of unemployment insurance, Social Security, was a confession of the failure of our whole social order. And confession of failure of Christian principles: that man, in fact, did not look after his brother. She says that The Catholic Worker was against the New Deal, because she believed that people had to do everything they could do, and she the paper did try to help get people on welfare and get their rent taken care of. They werent exactly opposed to the reform measure of the New Deal but she believed that if it could be done by a smaller group, it would be better.

Dorothy Day herself had her own ways to help during the depression. Working with others of The Catholic Worker they started houses of hospitality where people could stay for a few nights until they found somewhere else to go. Also they had soup and bread lines where they would feed those who came in hungry, and even feed those who came in looking for clothes and furniture for their homes.

 



-- Edited by piracine at 22:05, 2009-02-06

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Facts about the Depression:

  1. Many Asian Americans felt a sense of twoness struggling to be both Chinese or Japanese and American.
  2. 1,300 banks failed in 1930 alone.
  3. Franklin Roosevelt never got less then 400 electoral votes in an election. His opponents never received even 100.
  4. A growing sense of shame and pessimism gripped the nation.
  5. In the 1936 election, Roosevelt carried every state except Maine and Vermont.
  6. In Roosevelts first hundred days, Congress passed a bill creating the Home Owners Loan Corporation, which over the next 2 years saved 5 million homes from foreclosure and gain over 3 billion in low-interest loans.
  7. By 1940, over 32 million cars were registered in the United States. Most families had a car, and tourism was the third largest industry in 1938, behind only steel and automobile.
  8. The 1930s also saw a rise of theater attendance and radio listening, as people strived to find entertainment in a bleak age.
  9. Dr. Francis Townshend proposed a plan in which a 2% sales tax would be used in order to fund a $200 a month payment to retired citizens.
  10. The midterm election of 1934 was one of only two times that the presidents party increased their majority in Congress in a midterm election.


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Tyler W. wrote:

5 more facts-

  1. Civil Works Administration put more than four million people to work on public works.
  2. National Industrial Recovery Act helped businesses by creating price and production control.
  3. The communications revolution changed the lives of middle class Americans.
  4. In the 1930s, many people became instant celebrities, like Shirley Temple and the Dionne quintuplets due to the technological advances.
  5. The number of radios being bought steadily increased during the 1930s


In response to 4.) What types of technological advances???

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Eileen Barth *

               For my job, we worked alongside the CWA (Civil Works Administration). It was known as Boy Scout work because it was just raking leaves, and plowing snow but working for the government. People in great desperation would come to our office and ask for jobs. When this happened the first person we went to was the CWA to see if they had any available positions. Only 3% of Americans were employed by this administration, but it still helped some men in getting them SOME source of income. The CWA helped us with many frustrated and unemployed clients and gave many people hope.

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jose and i have decided to pass in all projects together since he has no internet access and doesnt speak english except when he talks to me telepathically so dont expect anything to be posted by Jose unless you want it all in Spanish

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R. Krupa wrote:

1.During the first five hours of trading on the  Tuesday after the market crashed, $33 million in market value disappeared every minute, totaling an astonishing $10 billion something approaching $95 billion in todays dollars.

 

I didnt realize that much money went missing in that short amount of time.



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                    Part II: Bio
                
My name is Vincent Murray. I was a Sergeant in the Chicago Police force starting there in 1935. I was stationed at the South Side of Chicago. It wasnt as bad then as it is now. Back then Black people kept to themselves and didnt start any trouble. It is alot different now then it was back then. Nowadays people just like to spend spend and spend some more. Back in the 30's people didnt have alot of money to spend so we saved it all at home since no one trusted banks anymore. I was very lucky to have the job i did. I made $2300 a year which is alot of money back then. We needed to pay for uniforms, guns, et cetera. The job of a policemen is different now then it was back in the 30's. We used to patrol the streets on foot and some of us would guard the street cars. Nowadays policemen ride around in their cars that are totally taken care of by the government. Also there is never any cops on the buses anymore. Another big difference is all the corruption of today's cops. Back then there was corruption because everyone was too afraid of losing their jobs. Sure there was corruption among the general population, but with cops it was different. We acted like muscle for our higher ups when necessary. On a positive side I'm very thankful for the luck i had getting a job as a cop. I appreciated not having to do hard labor for 10 hours a day for 10 cents an hour like my father and brother had to do. We were lucky in Chicago. We never had any real problems with strikers during my stint as a cop. I mean there was nothing wrong with what they were doing, and they sure didnt give us any trouble with their protests. The CIO guys all acted accordingly and they never got out of hand.

-- Edited by Walter at 21:46, 2009-02-06


-- Edited by Walter at 21:47, 2009-02-06

-- Edited by Walter at 23:08, 2009-02-06

-- Edited by Walter at 00:14, 2009-02-07

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Part II
Events=
Dorothy Day walked the Hunger March in December of 1932, in Washington of the Unemployed Councils, further influencing her want to help those affected by the depression.
Evictions on the East Side in 1933+ 1934 left Dorothy Day and others determined to help, searching out empty apartments for the evicted people to live in, forcing the relief stations to pay those first months rent, also lead to the making of houses of hospitality.
During the Seamans Strike of 1937 The Catholic Worker began their soup lines and bread lines to help feed the strikers.
The New Deal in particular pushed The Catholic Worker to help, since they were against it, trying to get people on welfare and their rent taken care of.
According to Day the Social Security was a confession of failure of the whole social order. The Federal Government should not be the one protecting against injustices, the State should never take over the functions that could be performed by a smaller body. . She said that the Tennessee Valley Authority had the right idea, concerned with the welfare of many people in many states.

Issues:
The New Deal should have been handled by smaller groups. We see the evils of gigantic associations. Their abuse of power. (Politics/ Economic Power) If it was handled in smaller groups it would be easier to pull the people together, to fill in the gap between the poor and the rich. If everyone had a job, if everyone was making equal pay or working with the same rules at least, then we could improve the lives of everyone. (Equality) The seamen and the blacks shouldnt be forgotten just because they are at the bottom, or because of their jobs or their race. (Prejudice) The basic right of any American is to have freedoms that we dont see much anymore because everyone is floundering to take care of themselves and their family during this depression. (Rights) Any working American should be able to feel secure in their job, to feel that their job wont be taken from them the next day, and the same with their homes. If strikes arent doing anything to ensure these rights of a job and a home, then someone needs to step up and do something. (Justice/ Rights)


-- Edited by piracine at 23:02, 2009-02-06

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Part II: Events:


I suppose I was one of the lucky ones who lived during the Depression. I was never out of a job for very long. The Police always kept me and my family fed and never able to complain. Besides the hours the force kept our family afloat. My wife and kids were able to stay at home and live somewhat normal lives. The Depression did affect my job however. We were constantly arresting conmen, and other criminals who were feeding off of the good people of Chicago. This one time we arrested a man by the name of Parsons. He had conned over 50 people out of $50 or more each. Eventually we ran an under cover op and we were able to arrest him and sent him to jail for 5 years. Other things that affected my life were the CIO. They were for equal rights for unions, and every cop wanted a union, though they would never admit it. Especially after the Police Strike in Boston a few years before. Another streak of luck I had was not owning any stock. Thanks to a strict policy I was raised by my parents with of no stock my family and I didnt lose a penny during the stock market crash in 1929. So all in all my family and I dodged most of the bullet when it came to the Great Depression.



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Part II: Issues:


 

Four issues did affect my life during the Depression and my work during the Depression. Justice, Patriotism, Racism, and Politics all had a profound effect on my life. Justice; that is the obvious one for sure. I mean come on Im a cop. Justice is what I worked to defend for most of my life as a cop. Without Justice the whole world will end. Patriotism is another obvious one. I am a cop I have a great patriotic love for this country, and great passion for the good of this country. That is part of the reason I became a cop in the first place. Racism had an impact on my life because I lived and worked on the South side of Chicago. I lived within a close proximity of blacks, and growing up in an Italian family I was bread to hate them. I primarily had no quarrel with blacks because they mostly kept to themselves. But if there ever was any trouble with them us cops made sure to put them back in their place. That is what we did back then. Before all the civil rights crap of today. Politics. That was another profound factor in how I did my work. I mean come on its Chicago for goodness sake. If there wasnt any politics then it wasnt Chicago. Chicago is the city of dirty deals and political corruption. Its what makes Chicago  Chicago. Sure once in a while I would do something I wouldnt do in front of my grandmother for someone high up, but its what you did to survive. It sure was better than losing your job.



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Part III: Photos

1)       The first picture I chose was a picture of the New York Stock Exchange on Black Tuesday. This picture is very symbolic because it is a picture of the Stock Market the very day that it crashed. This crash is what threw the country into the great depression.

2)      The second picture I chose was a picture of a farmer and his sons who lived in Cimarron County Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. It is a picture of their home which is almost completely covered in sand. The picture shows how bad people who lived out on the plains had it with the dust storms.

3)      The third picture I chose is now famously known as the Migrant Mother. It is a picture of a mother and her 4 children who are all living in a lean-to the size of a small pantry. More evidence of the vast poverty that engulfed our country.

4)      The fourth picture I chose was a picture of an impoverished family of nine stranded on an Arizonan highway. The family has traveled all the way from Iowa to get financial aid, but now must sell their belonging for money for food. The father and a 4 month old baby are sick.

5)      The 5th picture I chose to show the president is a picture of workers at a GM plant in Michigan instituting a sit down strike. They were striking against the sped up assembly line. This is how bad it was for someone to work. They are overworked by their employers.

6)      The next picture I chose was a picture of a drought refugee camp. In it are two tents, two broken down automobiles, and a pile of trash that the refugees cannot get rid of.

7)      The next picture I chose was a picture of the Rex Theatre for Colored People. I chose this, because this once thriving business has been abandoned by its owners, and is now rundown and abandoned. Another attestation to the poverty and trouble of the economy.

8)      The 8th picture I chose was a picture of 7 homeless unemployed men who all shared a shack that was smaller than the lean-to from picture number 3. Another sign of the great poverty and struggle that the American people are going through.

9)      Another picture I chose to show is a picture of a line of unemployed people lined outside of the State Employment Service Office in Memphis Tennessee. This large line is proof of just how many Americans were unemployed.

10)   The final picture I chose is a picture of two young strikers, a man and a woman. The man holds a sign that says We the youth of today Speak. The woman holds a sign that says strike on the top. The moving part of this picture is that the man is black and the woman is white. More proof that the country is in such bad shape that racial tensions have been thrown aside to achieve the goal of saving the country from this truly great depression.



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Part II

People:

    My name is Evelyn Finn. I am a 27 year old seamstress living in St. Louis who weighs about 115 pounds and has brown hair. My work is more like my hobby though, and I enjoy it as much as I enjoy reading a good book. I have a four year old daughter named Audrey who means the world to me. She is very intelligent since she already knows how to read pretty well and can count to over 100. She has the same personality as her father, my husband, who died about two years ago. I miss him very much.
    Every day is pretty much the same when you are a seamstress. I have worked at quite a few different shops in the city though, because I have a tendency to get fired for speaking my mind. I have even worked with colored girls, and let me tell you, they were some of the nicest girls I ever met. And they worked fast. I remember this one shop, a straw boss wanted the girls and I to speed up our work. The girls were so tired after a week that one of them collapsed. The next day when the boss went through the shop he asked, Is everybody happy today? and I told him no. I said that we cannot work faster anymore because it is making the girls too tired and it might hurt them. He did not care however, because all he wanted was more money for himself. Another girl named Clara sided with me, and that infuriated him. He told us to be quite and go back to our work but we refused. He then called us both troublemakers and fired us the same minute. Poor Clara was crying and the boss had the nerve to say that he would write us a recommendation! Had he no compassion? Clara was a young girl who still lived with her family. They had no money because of the depression so she was forced to work as a seamstress to help feed her younger brothers. I couldnt believe he would fire her so I said, Id be ashamed to show anything youd write on paper. I wouldnt want anyone to know I worked for a person like you. And then we walked out. As you can see, I dont need a union to upset the shop.
    At another shop I worked at, we had a union that I started, and I was the chairlady. The boss there made us work faster and faster with longer hours but we had no increase in pay. Since I wasnt going to put up with that, we had a sit-in. The girls had always trusted me, so they agreed to it. For hours, all we did was sit and talk. It was so much fun, and the boss was going crazy! That just made us laugh more. Then some union officials came down and called us a bunch of Communists for having a strike. The girls did not know what that meant as they were still young, but I did, and I am definitely not a Communist. They were being childish in calling us names so I decided to leave. I told all of them, Girls, its a nice day. Lets all go for a walk. And we left. When we returned to the shop, the boss had calmed down enough to negotiate, and we got what we wanted. Folks were afraid of the whole idea of a union though, and did not even want to talk to us. I remember this girl and I went to a home once to talk to the husband about joining the union, and they threw buckets of water on us! I didnt understand why everyone was afraid, because if you dont have a penny, what is there to lose?
    The one thing that I hated the most was how the bosses would want you to go out with them. They never stopped bothering you, and I would tell them off constantly. That got me fired from three different shops. This one boss was horrible though. So in order to teach him a lesson, I said alright to his begging one day and we got in his car. Boy, he sure was excited. He asked if we were going to my house and I simply said, No, we are going to your house. For supper. You should have seen the look on his face! We went to his house and his wife was sure glad to see me. I knew her, you see, as I used to fix and sew her clothes. She was such a sweet little woman, and her and my boss had two grown sons together. He learned his lesson that day, and he never asked me again.

-- Edited by Jessica! at 00:11, 2009-02-08

-- Edited by Jessica! at 16:17, 2009-02-08

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People

     My name is Earl Dickerson. I was born in Canton, Mississippi, June 23, 1891. Times were rough growing up down there, with the KKK running about. In Mississippi, I saw a lot of racial intolerance and horrible things done to my kind. I saw my own brother-in-law shot and crippled for life by the chief of police, whom he had touched accidentally. Even though slavery was banish so long ago, some white people still hate us black folk.
My mom always told me how smart I was, but I knew that as a mom it was her job to keep me doing work to keep out of trouble and not to get down on myself. But anyway, I guess I was smarter and luckier than I thought. After my ninth grade year in a Canton school, my mom somehow was able to send me to the preparatory school of New Orleans University. Somehow, and I dont really understand how, I did really well in school. There was a white teacher there, and she was working for her Masters Degree at the University of Chicago. I seemed to impress her, and she wrote to my mother. She offered to pay for my tuition at the University of Chicago. However, she forgot to pay for my transport there, so I ran away from New Orleans University and snuck onto trains going up to Chicago. In June of 1907, I was riding with the luggage on the Illinois Central Railroad.
      I arrived at the Laboratory School of the University of Chicago, and attended only part-time that summer and into the next semester. By then, however, my tuition money ran out. I had no idea what to do. Eventually, I ended up at Evanston Academy and then at Northwestern University, and finally graduated by the University of Illinois in the fall of 1913.
      My education at University of Chicago Law School was interrupted, however. World War I had been knocking on Americas doors, and we answered. I was sent and became a commissioned officer. I finally came home and received my Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1920. I was the first African American to receive a law degree from the University of Chicago.
        Beginning in 1927, only seven years after I graduated, white residents in Chicago had found a better way to keep blacks from owning and renting in threatened areas (areas infested with us Negroes) than violence to keep blacks from owning and renting in threatened areas. That was the law permitting the use of restrictive housing covenants.
      The first case to challenge this new law for a restrictive covenant was Hansberry and Others v. Lee in 1940. Carl Hansberry was the father of Lorraine Hansberry, who later wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun, just in case you were curious. In 1937, he had rightfully and legally bought property at 6140 S. Rhodes, which was a little south of Washington Park. It was an area that was just dripping with racism and prejudices against my kind. The Others that were with Hansberry included the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company. I, being the head of this company, had a huge role in the events concerning Hyde Park (the area of Chicago in question). Many consider me to be the leader in this endeavor to create interracial neighborhoods with equal rights in Hyde Park, but thats for them to decide. Anyway, my company had loaned Hansberry money to buy his apartment. C. Francis Stradford, one of my workers, represented Hansberry. The case went to the Supreme Court, and on November 12,1940, the court decided for Hansberry with no objections. The vote was unanimous. The immediate effect of the Hansberry decision was to open up to blacks all properties between 60th and 63rd Streets and between King Drive and Cottage Grove Avenue. This caused panic among whites in Hyde Park and southeast Chicago. But it didnt matter. We had won.
   The one, the only...........joelhead




-- Edited by joel the not so brave at 01:17, 2009-02-08

-- Edited by joel the not so brave at 01:46, 2009-02-08

-- Edited by joel the not so brave at 02:59, 2009-02-08

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Events

Opportunities for African Americans were difficult during the Great Depression. All businesses that they tried to set up failed. African Americans had very small amounts of money, even less than most immigrants and middle class whites. White bankers refused to loan money to black businesses. African Americans did what ever they could with what they had, which was not much. Businesses that were set up by African Americans were mainly for black people, and white people would not even come close to walking into one. They had better to spend their few pennies on. During the great Depression, the popularity of the KKK was declining, but racism was still strong in the US, especially in the Deep South where Earl Dickerson came from.

Still, Joelhead

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Issues (i got plenty of 'em)

I suppose if I had to choose four issues that affected my life during the Great Depression were racism, prejudice, justice and equality. Racism and prejudice go together it seems, in all cases. During my life, I had to deal with much racism and prejudice. For example, when I still lived in Mississippi, a police officer shot my brother-in-law just for accidentally touching him. For accidentally touching him?!?!?! Whats wrong with him? So if he had purposefully nudged him to get his attention, perhaps to alert him to the fact his shoe was untied, then the officer would have shot to kill? There is something seriously wrong with that. Racism and prejudice followed me no matter where I went; when I went to Chicago, there were still black and white sections of town; almost no interracial neighborhoods. And those that were interracial were full of crime and violence, mostly whites onto blacks out of fear. Justice, it seems, played its role in the Great Depression as well as in my life. During the Hansberry and Others v. Lee trial, justice was achieved when we as blacks gained the right to at least the beginning of an equal, interracial community. Equality may not have begun in the Great Depression, but in my life time it had made substantial leaps and bounds toward total equality between races. My actions and witnesses of Hyde Park seemed to start the stone rolling into the movement that took place later in the mid 20th century, during the Civil Rights Movements. By the time I die (oh, I dont know, around 1986) I hope that there will be an equality of all races, and walks of life.

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Part II

Events:

1. Frances Perkins was the first woman to be appointed to a cabinet post. She was appointed as the secretary of labor by President Roosevelt. Finally, a woman in the cabinet! Hopefully she will help working women and men in the country. It's hard being a single working parent.

2. Section 7a of the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) included at the insistence of organized labor, guaranteed labors right to organize and to bargain collectively and established the National Labor Board to see that their rights were respected. This is what gave me my right to organize my own union in St. Louis. I'm glad that I was protected.

3. Labor provisions of the NIRA were picked up later by the National Labor Relations Act after the NIRA was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.

4. The Roosevelt administrations friendly attitude toward organized labor helped increase union membership from less than 3 million in 1933 to 4.5 million by 1935. Many groups, however, were left out, including farm laborers, unskilled workers, and women. This explains why a lot of people never wanted to join the union when I asked them. A lot of the houses we went to were working women or unskilled laborers.

-- Edited by Jessica! at 23:49, 2009-02-08

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Part I:   
Essay topic: Causes and effects of the Great Depression.

-- Edited by Walter at 16:39, 2009-02-08

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Causes and Effects of the Great Depression

 


             Some of the main causes for the Great Depression were tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, huge tax cuts, and over production. These were all direct causes of the Great Depression. It all started when a man named Andrew Mellon he had this grand idea of huge tax cuts for the rich. He proposed huge tax cuts, and debt forgiveness to the upper class of America. This forced the tax load to shift onto the backs of the middle class. This forced many middle class Americans to get loans they couldnt pay back to try and keep up with their taxes. This also forced thousands of Americans into bankruptcy and started the Great Depression.

             Overproduction was running rampart in America. Farmers all over were growing more than necessary to try and counter the new taxes, and the falling prices of grain. Overproduction then led to an even greater drop in prices, and farmers were making no money. This was greatly hurting the American economy, because a large percent of Americans still owned and worked farms. 
             
This caused the government to try and protect American business by raising tariffs. A tariff is a tax put on goods that are imported into a country. So the government implemented several tariffs such as the Fordney-McCumber Tariff, the Underwood Tariff, the and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. This raised tariff duties from 27%, to 38.5%, to as high as nearly 60%. This angered many foreign nations, and many instituted retaliatory tariffs against American made goods. This great loss in money from overseas trading threw the U.S. into an economic tail-spin.


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Part II : People


          My name is Emma Tiller. I lived my life in a small town out in western Texas. It was mostly an all white town, with only around ten or fifteen African American families, including mine. Like any other farmer during my time, my life was categorized by the great economic troubles that occurred during the 1930's. As a child on my father's farm there was never much success either. There was a worm problem which wiped out our cotton field. In 1927, I married a man by the name of Arthur Tiller. We both became sharecroppers in 1929. During that first year of tedious work, the owner took our entire crop. I also picked cotton, even though its price less than desirable. For a while I worked in the homes of others, cleaning and whatnot. The whites would always need me to help clean up after they killed their livestock for food. It wasn't really a bad job because afterwards they'd give us the leftovers, which were really just fine. We didn't have much, but we had more than some people, and I think that's what got my family by during the worst of times.

          On one summer morning in 19133, I believe, I awoke to find at least an arce and a half of my cotton field gone. I then found Arthur arguing with our landowner. According to him, the Agricultural Adjustment Act was responsible for this. Their plan was to supposedly raise the price of crops by farming less of them. We were lucky to have a, for the most part, kind-hearted landowner, or else he would have kicked us to the streets like many others were doing to their tenants. While the AAA was trying to limit the growth of produce, a drought the next year did more damage than the AAA to kill our crops.

          By 1934, especially due to the lack of rain, the farms in my town had spiraled downward, and farmers were not making the money they needed to support their families. We all took advantage of a governmentally supplied food kitchen, where we could get free food for our families. However, this kitchen wasn't helpful at all really. You'd wait in line forever, hoping to get enough food to last the rest of the week. If you were lucky you'd get a slab of rotten meant, unfit for the lowliest of creatures. I remember this one time, when Arthur and I had been standing there for days it felt like, in the boiling Texas sun, when three white men came into the building and threatened the operator of that kitchen to serve us all good, un-rotten food. They had guns but never used them, seeing as the man behind the counter came back with good steak. The rest of the line got food that day, good food.

          Life went on like that for about another year, until Arthur came home one day saying he was getting another job. You can only imagine the relief I heard upon hearing those words. He told me about this Works Progress Administration, and how they were putting him to work building bridges all around Texas. He always sent his paycheck back home as soon as he got it. It wasn't much, but like everything else it helped our family, now of four, to get by.

          Luckily enough, after what seemed like eternity, Arthur and I had gathered enough money to leave our landowner and move into a house of our own. It was not big, or grand by and stretch of the imagination, but it was our own, and had two acres of land for us to live off of. Arthur still continued working for the WPA, and I continued to work for white families from time to time. Our two daughters had now married, and they and their husbands lived with us as well. Thankfully, all three men in our family had jobs, low paying, but jobs nonetheless. I do believe that we were one of the lucky poor families in our town. We didn't have much, but we still gave what we could to those less fortunate than we. The white families I worked for were not as gracious to those who came knocking on their door, but my family was different. We'd give to those who we thought really needed it more than we did. Hobos would come to our door asking for a little of anything, and I'd give what I could, even though I wasn't much better off then them. It was an unfortunate kind of life, but I knew mine was still better than some, and that is what got me by.



Events


          When the Rural Electrification Act was imposed in 1935, our family clearly became the best off African American family in our town. Our house may have been small, but now it had electricity! We were able to buy a radio and washing machine with the money the 'men of the house' had been saving up. Arthur even added a bathroom to our house. It was so nice to finally have water directly in the house. Arthur also bought some new contraptions for our small farm. Electricity sure didn't cut out on the time I and my daughters spent cleaning our home, but it did make it more pleasant. Around this time is when we started thinking that maybe our dreams really could work out.

          While I was sad to see her leave, my eldest daughter Ana decided she was going to join the Civilian Conservation Corps one day. She was sick of not contributing to house enough, as she put it. It was mostly an organization for men, seeing as the work they normally did was not 'suitable' for women. However, eventually the CCC incorporated some camps for women, and that is when my Anna decided to join. She sent back twenty five dollars a month, which was another large help to our family. I was greatly saddened by her leaving, but at the same time I knew that neither I nor her husband could sway her mind. She returned home after a few years and all was better than before.



Issues


          Racism was a large issue in my life. Being one of the few African Americans in my town, my family and I were looked down upon by white families. Nobody was really that well off, but nonetheless we were the minority. It is also because of our race that I and my husband ended up as tenant farmers, instead of starting out own home. Nobody would hire us, not only because of the economic problems, but because of our skin color. With racism clearly comes prejudice. Because nobody would hire us because we were black, it took much longer to raise the money for our new home than it should have. Equality was another issue I had to deal with, especially when it came to the food kitchens in my town. Even though the entire town, especially farmers, were suffering, its black inhabitants were treated worse than the white. While whites received rotten meat in exchange for their government given slips, we received nothing. It was a tough situation until the WPA stepped in and granted those searching for work jobs.
          The largest issue I ever had to deal with, was economic power, or rather lack thereof. Throughout most of my life I was never really given an opportunity to make money for my own family. Only our male relatives were allowed to join the WPA, because they only allowed one person from each family to join, preferably the male. This is because I was not head of the household. Eventually even though women were allowed to join, I never did because I was needed at home while half of my family was away working. Besides myself, it was also not right that my husband who did join the WPA was not paid the same amount he would have been if he had a private job. This was not an entirely racial issue as well, but rather due to the lack of local businesses hiring. Therefore he decided to join the WPA.



-- Edited by mfloyd24 at 18:15, 2009-02-08

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           I am Robin Langston. I lived in the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas until I was seventeen. My father was a restaurant owner and my mother was a teacher, although she never taught as a job. Our family never did have much money but our parents gave us spiritual guidance. We were very fortunate though, never went without food.
My father's restaurant was in a black community, but we also served many people in the white community. The police chief even lived in the center of the community. I started working in the restaurant at a young age, it was a family business. The business did well for the most part, during the depression my parents would feed the people in the community who were not working. My father bought things with cash during the depression, a car and a refrigerator. He allowed some people to stay in our basement on tab. The depression became so difficult that the sheriff pawned a radio to my father for ten dollars.
Many people from the community worked with the transient bureau in the town. They would go and learn to farm. They also joined the WPA where they actually were given a chance to work in an office. The depression didnt affect me to badly, but things could have been better.

-- Edited by Leslie at 19:00, 2009-02-08

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First half of Part III

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-- Edited by piracine at 19:11, 2009-02-08

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Part 2: People

 
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-- Edited by James at 19:58, 2009-02-08

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Part 2: events

When Prohibition was repealed, I got drunk that night in celebration. But a lot of people were out of their smuggling jobs after that, and while I was flexible enough to move on, a lot of my partners weren't, and most of them didn't last much longer. Even if it was the only good thing Roosevelt ever did.

-- Edited by James at 20:37, 2009-02-08

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Part 2: Issues

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I can't seem to edit my first post, so here are my revised 10 facts:

1. During the depression the wealthy upper class began to hoard gold in an attempt to counteract the decrease in government value bonds.

2.During the depression more than ninety-eight (98) % Americans did not own stock.

3.Starting in 1931 many other nations began showing extreme signs of depression, such as, Austria, Germany, England, Argentina, Brazil, and Japan, who all had major banks fail.

4.Roosevelts New Deal from 1933 to 1935, which focused on relief for the poor, borrowed ideas from the Hoover administration.

5.While he was campaigning for the presidency in 1928, Herbert Hoover promised to end poverty in the United States.

6.Items such as; Hoover Blankets or newspaper sheets, Hoover Wagons or broken down cars pulled by mules, and Hoover Flags or an empty pocket turned inside out became widespread sights in Hooverville shantytowns.

7.On October 24, 1929, a day that would be known as Black Thursday, 12,894,650 shares changed hands at prices lower than the true value.

8.After Douglas MacArthur and US forces evicted the 43,000 Bonus Army Marchers and their families from Washington D.C. their Hooverville at the Anacostia Flats were torched to prevent their return.

9.In 1931 while he was still governor of New York, FDR established the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, which assisted the unemployed of the state and caused New York to be the first state to grant unemployment relief.

10.The Motor Carrier Act of 1934 placed interstate bus and truck lines under the regulation of the I.C.C. 


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to conserve posts...
Part 2
Events
      The passing of the National Labor Relations Act legalized my profession as a labor organizer, which meant that I could get arrested far less. I was partially inspired to take up the cause by the formation of the CIO, which I saw as a moderate alternative to the Communist and Socialist groups of the time. The Flint Strike and Memorial Day Massacre both encouraged me to fight harder to help workers in their struggles. I would remember them for years and pass down the stories of what happened there to a later generation of laborers. My father and I argued over the WPA, which stood to give him a job, both on principle and on whether it was a shameful thing to take part in or not.

Issues
I used to get thrown in jail regularly because I was a labor organizer. We were crammed eight to a small cell, and people were shifted around between stations to deny them legal counsel. I thought our treatment and the fact that I was even in there was unjust. (Justice) While I was in jail, I noticed that the black people got brutalized even worse than I did. One night in jail, I bore witness to a black man being dragged into a cell cursing and yelling. We thought he needed medical attention, so we called for help. Nobody came until morning, when they dragged his stiff corpse out of the cell. (Racism) My father was a skilled carpenter, but when the need for them diminished, he was forced to work odd jobs. I later spent most of my life as a labor organizer, championing the causes of workers who weren't getting a fair shake after being inspired by strikes and the formation of the CIO. (Economic Power)  I felt as if the world held a prejudice against me because I thought my father had failed in life. I thought he could have gotten better and didn't, all because the demand for his line of work was diminished. (Prejudice) I had to put bits of cardboard into my shoes to stop them from leaking because we couldn't afford new ones. My family fought and my father started drinking more. This all happened as a result of our poverty, which was caused by the greater economic problems of the Great Depression. Kids who had fathers in more in-demand and secure jobs didn't have to worry about all that. (Equality)


-- Edited by G. Larsen at 22:44, 2009-02-09

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Part II

Issues:

Justice | Patriotism | Racism | Politics | Economic Power | Rights | Prejudice | Gender | Equality

    The four issues that affected my life during the Great Depression were economic power, prejudice, gender, and equality. For example, all of my bosses constantly wanted the girls and I to speed up our work so they could send more products out. The price of everything was falling so in order to keep the profit the same, the bosses did everything they could to increase production. They did not care what it did to us. But that is what happens in a depression. Money becomes the most important thing. Prejudice happened a lot during the depression because not a lot of people wanted to hire me when they heard from others that I was a Communist and just wanted to cause trouble. Thankfully, there were plenty of shops in St. Louis so even if someone did not want to hire me because of prejudice, I got a job eventually. Gender and equality went together it seems. Even though I had the right to vote, I did not have plenty of other rights. Because I am a woman, I had no equality when it came to work. I also made less than men would and could not complain about being harassed at work. I had no equality under the labor laws.

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Part I: Essay

My topic is the other side of the 1930s =]

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Part II
People
My name's Larry Van Dusen. My memories of the Depression mostly center around my last years living with my parents and my first years out of the house, struggling to work and keep a fair job in Kansas City. When I was still in school, I used to slip a piece of cardboard into my shoe so my parents wouldn't need to get me another pair. Until I was twenty, I didn't know there was another kind of steak beside the round steak we hungered after, all six of us and my parents.
My father had it the worst of all of us. Being the eldest child, I think we shared a special bond, so I can probably say this the best of anyone who's alive right now. He was a carpenter, but he had to work where he could. He hated it. It was a matter of shame, really. He ended up driving cabs, fixing roadbeds, and even pouring concrete. All this, while he could have been been building houses. He felt it was all beneath him because of his skill as a craftsman, not to mention the accompanying individuality. The family felt it, too. Dad had always drank, but he did it much more during the depression. Even so, he did pull down some jobs, some better than others. The times he did get carpentry work, after he'd been gone for a week and would come home with a check, those were the best times we had back then.
The family felt it, too. We all had to cut back. Whenever my father left for a job, he would take his toolbox. We knew the good times had come to an end when he came back on Friday night carrying it. That meant the job was done. I ended up feeling like my father had failed in life. Looking back, that was probably pretty common. My doubts about my parents got me to leave home early. I ended up coming back, years later, and it was kind of funny to see my parents well-off.
I spent a lot of time after leaving home as a labor organizer. I'd go around the country, by hitchhiking or hopping on a boxcar. Spent quite a few nights in police stations. Us organizers got arrested pretty often. I still get shaved more often than most people after this one arrest. It was midsummer in Kansas City, and I hadn't been shaved in two days. By the time I got out of the jail, three days later, I had a fearsome, burning rash on my neck. The jailers were worse on the blacks than they were on us, but that's hardly saying much. In Chicago, they'd move us around from station to station so the lawyers couldn't find us for days. Times were tough.


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People:
My name is Cesar Chavez.evileye As a child, I grew up during the Great Depression. I was six years old when we had to move out of our home, in 1934, if I recall. That is not the type of thing you forget. We had always lived in that house, and we couldnt understand why we had to leave. But my father couldnt pay for it, much like the other people around us. The bank wouldnt help us, either, because they wanted our land as well.
We didnt know what to do next, my family and I. We had always had a home to call our own. It was never much, for we had always been poor. But it was ours. Now we had nothing.
We piled our family, with five children, a small family in those days, into my fathers Chevy and set off for California.
There, we would work after school, or not go to school at all. My entire family would spend days in the sun, picking different fruits for a living. It paid little, and the work could be difficult, but if it brought us the slightest bit of money, we were grateful for the work. We were working to survive.
It was for this reason why families such as ours could be tricked. We would be offered work with good pay, wages that seemed too good to be true. And they were. We would work for weeks, with the promises of high wages, but no money would come. And suddenly, our employer would be gone.
These schemes made my father quite angry at times. He and some of the other families would organize labor strikes. Sometimes, we would have to come back on our own though. There was no work to be found anywhere else. Many people made it quite humiliating for us when we came back to ask for work.
Being Mexican made some things very difficult for us. One experience my family had, for example, happened in Indio, California. My father simply wanted to get coffee for my mother. But as we went from place to place, we soon learned that we, as Mexicans, were not welcome. It was experiences like these that were the most painful. People do not think of how they hurt other people, but comments like that hurt very deep.


Issues:

Prejudice, Economic Power, Racism, Equality

Opportunities for Mexicans were difficult during the Great Depression. They often had very small amounts of money, and many of them were without work. Banks were often reluctant to help them, and segregation caused them to be prejudiced against. Mexican families did what they could to get by, which was difficult. Many families were treated poorly, as you can see from Cesar Chavezs story. Cesar mentions that the government could have helped him keep his home, but the bank manager refused to give them a loan because he wanted the land for himself. With a loan from the government, who knows what Cesars life may have been like. However, during this time, a bank manager had a large amount of power and could get what he wanted.

Even as they looked for work, they were often cheated and not given the work they deserved or the money they earned. Then, when the workers became upset, their employers would let them strike, knowing they would come back looking for work. Families such as Cesars could only receive jobs picking fruit, for very little amounts of money.

Cesars family was not just prejudiced against while looking for work. In his biography, he mentions being insulted while simply looking for food. In one town in California, when his father went in search of coffee for his mother, several restaurants refused to serve him because of their Mexican heritage. Meanwhile, whites were enjoying a hot breakfast inside.


Events:

1.Federal farm Board was established. Our family thought this would help us find work. We were mistaken..

2. By 1933, most farmers were desperate, as mounting surpluses and falling prices drastically cut their incomes.

3. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), which sought to control the overproduction of basic commodities so that the income of farmers could rebound, was passed.

4. Under this act, the production of major agricultural stapleswheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, and milkwould be controlled by paying the farmers to reduce their acreage under cultivation.
5. This created a loss of jobs for families such as Cesars, for their income depended on the cultivation of these products.




-- Edited by R. Krupa at 00:56, 2009-02-10

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Assignment II of Part III

jobbureau.jpg
1.) The first picture is of unemployed men vying for jobs at the American Legion Employment Bureau in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. Judging by the number of men in the room, and their rather desperate attempts to push through to the counter you can see just how hard it was to find a job then. So many people were unemployed that it was first come, first serve. It is important to remember because this is what we will see today if our economy isnt fixed.
bonusmarch.jpg
2.) A picture of the Bonus marchers blocking the steps of the capital July 5, 1932. This shows the attempts of the World War I veterans to receive early payment of their bonus to help themselves and their families now, during the Great Depression, when the money is needed the most. It is important to remember because it was marches like these that demonstrate just how desperately people needed money, and just how large of a scale it was needed on.
camp.jpg
3.)This picture was of a Squatters camp, Route 70, Arkansas, October 1935. As much as people tried to deny it this was the life the poor were living; in crude houses made of wood shingles, held up by other planks, barely able to withstand the forces of nature. This was important because if so many people were really living in this way, how many of them died when winter came just because they had no where else to go?
dustbowl.jpg
4.)This is a picture of a farmer and his sons running for the safety of their home as a dust storm rolls in, Cimarron Country, Oklahoma, 1936. These dust storms occurred because of the drought that crippled agriculture during the Great Depression. It shows us just how difficult it was to live on these barren plains, not able to grow any food and barely able to go outside because of the storms. It is important to remember because it greatly affected the production of agriculturally grown goods from the western states.
migmoth.jpg
5.)This is a picture of a destitute in a pea pickers camp, who has just sold her tent to buy food because of the failure of the pea crop. She was a migrant mother who had moved to find work. Over 2,500 people in the camp were destitute, and by the end of the decade there were still 4 million migrants on the road. This represents the sorrow and the strength of the woman at this time who did as much as they could to keep their family alive. It is important because it shows the risks that the poor had to take to even feed their family for a day.
porch.jpg
6.)This picture shows the porch of a sharecroppers cabin, falling down. During the Great Depression the sharecropping practice collapsed, presenting even more unemployed and desperate people. It is important because the loss of sharecropping in the south meant the loss of jobs for most of the blacks, who began to migrate north to look for jobs.
turtle.jpg
7.) This picture is of a hobo killing a turtle to make soup in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1939. Men like this were common, in the cities and the country, men who killed what animals they could to survive. This desperation probably led to a lot of accidental deaths and sickness from eating the wrong this. This is important because once again it demonstrates the desperation of people during the Great Depression, and their fight to live.
camp2.jpg
8.)This picture shows a squatter camp in California in 1936. It shows the conditions that squatters lived in, and maybe even a glimpse into how they survived. It is important because this was how so many Americans were forced to live when evicted from their homes.
fisher.jpg
9.)This is a picture of strikers guarding a window entrance to General Motors Flint Fisher Body Plant number three during the Flint, Michigan sit-down strike of 1936-37. This demonstrates the lengths to which strikers would go to reach their goals, just to keep themselves in their job and in their homes. It is important as a demonstration of a sit down strike, one of the many started at this time.
waiting.jpg
10.)This picture shows people waiting for their semimonthly relief checks at Calipatria, Imperial Valley, California. They are mostly migratory agricultural laborers. It shows that people would travel great distances to try to make money to keep themselves going. It is important because it shows that agricultural laborers had to keep moving to find work during the Great Depression.





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II. Issues
Racism | Politics | Economic Power | Rights | Prejudice | Gender | Equality

Some of these issues have affected me more than others. Racism plays a large role in my experience. In these times everyone is suffering but there is still a divide and segregation still exists. Equality is not given although we are all in the same boat. Im considered not equal with the sheriff yet he still had to pawn a radio off my father. Politics are also very present and very important. It give us the basis of who controls this community, like the church that was controlled by city hall, where the politicians just sought to keep us quiet. Prejudice also has affected me in many situations, such as when I went over to the white schools library and was treated badly by the white woman who opened the door.

Events

My family wasn't left in the worst situation as a result of the Depression but I did see many events affect our community. The Civilian Conservation Corps that the President created recruited both poor whites and blacks from our community to teach them how to take care of the land. I used to see them in line to get their dole, it was horrible. The WPA also recruited members from the community. It was one of the few organizations that gave African Americans an opportunity to work in an office.

-- Edited by Leslie at 21:47, 2009-02-09

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III.
1. This picture shows a group of young unemployed men looking to get a job. They are all crowded in this small area. This image is important to remember because it tells the story of all the average citizens who were affected by the Great Depression and it shows the scale of how many people needed help.
2. This photo is of a sharecroppers yard. It shows an abandoned area with almost nothing left which shows how these sharecroppers suffered when they had nothing to do for work and needed to find jobs.
3. This picture shows some children and their father who are out on the side of a highway in New Mexico. Their family is not doing well, the fathers health is poor, and the children no longer go to school. This picture puts into context how this did not only affect the working adults of the country.
4. This picture shows a woman and a boy standing in the doorway of their home. Their home is not a very large and in bad shape. This is just one example of the conditions some were forced to live in.
5. This picture shows the aftermath of the Flint Sit Down Strike. This picture depicts how workers were forced to protest because of the attempts of the employers to manipulate their workers into doing more work for low pay leaving them in a position that would not be beneficial to them.
6. This picture shows two men walking down a dirt road and is an example of how many people were forced to leave their homes and their families behind to look for work to improve their lives.
7. This photo shows a group of unemployed workers in front of a shack with a small Christmas Tree. This picture shows the condition that many of the homeless lived in during the Great Depression.
8. This picture shows a line of people waiting to get relief support. This picture is important because it shows the extent of the problem and how it would be difficult to provide enough of these people with the relief they needed.
9. This picture shows a group of workers on strike in New York. This picture is an example of the many strikes that happened across the country where the workers hoped they could improve their lives.
10. This photo shows people waiting for their relief checks. This shows how workers who had once been able to support themselves were left in a position where they had few options.

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III.
Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt

Dear Miss H,
Unfortunately, I cannot send you any clothes, it would not be fair of me to help some children and neglect the others. However, I hope your spirits will be lifted by the programs we have been creating to aid children throughout the country. It is my hope that one of the programs we have installed for aid will help you to get the things you need.
With Best Regards,
Eleanor Roosevelt

To the Parents of Miss H,
I am sorry that I cannot help your daughter, but I do hope that the work I am trying to do nationwide will benefit all of you in the end.
Sincerely Yours,
Eleanor Roosevelt

Dear J. I. A,
I am sad to say that now is not the best time to be investing in your path to Hollywood. Might I suggest you first work on getting your education? I have been working with many programs that will help the youth of this country get the foundation of education to allow them to aspire to their goals. You are considerably young and have many years to pursue this dream. Mr. Roosevelt will appreciate the kind words.
Good Luck,
Eleanor Roosevelt

To the Parents of J. I.A,
I am sorry that I currently can not help your daughter fulfill her dream but I hope she can eventually reach it. I hope you understand that in times like these it is more important that we guarantee the success of an entire generation, and I believe that your daughters dreams can be reached through the education help we are extending to all children.
Best Wishes,
Eleanor Roosevelt

Dear P.A.C,
A Shirley Temple doll is a wonderful thing. It is unfortunate that your daddy cannot buy one, however I am sure that if you are good this year you might find yourself receiving a doll for Christmas. Take good care of your brother.
With Love,
Eleanor Roosevelt

To the parents of P.A.C,
I hope you are doing well. I am sorry that I cannot help your daughter, but as you know it is necessary to deal with the very severe problems currently happening in this country.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Roosevelt

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My name is Buddy Blankenship. Right now Im Mexican, and Im living in Chicago with my wife, children, son-in-law, and my grandchildren. Im very poor, and all my furniture is second hand furniture.            Originally, I came from West Virginia, where I have lived most of my life. The Depression started to hurt my family in 1931, when my father could not pay his bills, even with his many shifts in the mine. I hated to see my father be in such stress, so I decided to drop out of high school, so I could get a job, all at the age of 15. My father happily replied, Why dont you come with me to work in the mines? Living up to my fathers expectations was all I could have hoped for.            For the next two years, I went to work in the mines. The mines were eight miles away, and I would get there every day on horseback. I worked there from 1931 to the end of 32. Working in those mines werent easy. We worked up to seventeen hours at a time, from before sunrise, to almost midnight. My pops and I, we would be forced to work in the lowest levels of the mine, and by the time we got, out, we would be drenched in sweat. It was especially hard to move in the winter time, because the cold weather and the snow, would just add to the impediments to getting my work done. There were no safety precautions in the mines, and many accidents occurred. These accidents, led to many deaths, which I had to personally take away the bodies of four dead miners.            What really stopped me from working in the mines so much, is that it got to a point, where my pops and I could only work in the mines, two days a week. Also, I could only spend money, valued at 20 dollars, at the company store, furthering the companys hold on our lives. I decided to stop mining and work in the farming business, and I did this from 32 to 37. The money made from this was not as bad as the money made from mining, because with that money, you had to decide what money goes where. When farming, you pretty much raise your own food, so these problems do not arise as much. Even though the pay was less, and I didnt have as many clothes, I still ate like a king.            With FDRs new plan to revamp the mines in the area, the proposal didnt seem that bad. I decided to leave the farm, and I went back to the mines in 37, and I remained there until 57. During this time period, my father died, due to being shot by a boy.  In my adult years there, I participated in four major strikes, including one, where over three hundred soldiers came to end the strike, while they were on the side of the laborers. This was in 42. After 57, I moved to Chicago with all my family, and I am in poor health. Little will I know that after two months with this interview with Studs, I will be shot in an area of Chicago called Uptown.

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Part II
People

            My name is Louis Banks; I am a veteran of WWII and a survivor of the Great Depression.  I call myself a survivor because in those days it was every man for himself, the America I grew up in was nothing like the America today. 

            I was born sometime in the summer of 1915 on my familys small cotton farm in McGhee, Arkansas. Much of my early childhood is now just a blur, overshadowed by the events I went through in my exhausting life.  Around the age of twelve, my family and I moved to the Chicago area, just in time to settle before the entire country crashed.  Of course my family, much like an extraordinary majority of Americans did not own stocks, but the crash of 29 affected us just the same. 

            While in living in Chicago I started boxing for money, I was small, but I could fight with the best of them. The small amounts of money I would make through prizes won, I hoped would get me to becoming a chef. This of course was damn near impossible, considering Black Tuesday and my skin color didnt help. At the start of this Great Depression, racial tensions and segregation was high and strict, no one trusted you, no one would hire you. So, I left my home and my family that year, just hoping I could earn something with the small jobs and tasks I could fid on the streets of Chicago.

            Jobs and money were scarce and before the years end I was out on street corners begging for a nickel, just so I could eat that week.  Those streets were dangerous; I doubt its even written down anywhere the amount of men of all races that were killed on the streets of Chicago during those days.  I thought this would last until the end of time, until one day I discovered the Santa Fe railway. I started jumping trains and riding them back and forth across the country with the only kind people that existed in those times, hoboes.  This way of life lasted for quite some time, and during this time I was arrested several times for vagrancy and probably spent fifteen months in jail, total. 

            I never really escaped the Depression until World War Two rolled around. I signed up as soon as I could and I could have cared less where they sent me or what I would have to do, because I knew I would have clothes and some substitute for food. 


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Dear Mrs. Roosevelt Letters from Children of the Great Depression

F. M. And Parents,

I am sorry to hear of your condition. However, you must realize that, while I am doing everything I possibly can to remedy the situation for yourselves and many, many others like yourselves around the country, I can only do so much. There are so many people like yourselves and, while I would love to help you all, It is impossible for me to do so. Please understand I am doing all that I can, as is my husband, to help the nation as a whole, and I pray to God that we will all be out of this mess soon.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Roosevelt


My dear Miss B and parents,

While your letter truly touches my heart, it is with regret that I inform you that yours is one of many in a sea of requests that I receive each and every day. While I do truly wish I could help each and every person who asks for my assistance, surely you can see how this is truly impossible. I do urge you to strive to stay in school and succeed, even in our countrys darkest hour, and tell you that I am doing all I possibly can to remedy our present situation.

Very sincerely yours,
Mrs. Roosevelt

Miss E. B. and parents:
I congratulate your daughter on her upcoming dgraduation, however I am sorry to tell you that I am unable to help you in your request for a dress. Your story truly touches my heart, however it is not the only one of its kind. With our country in such a terrible economic state, I am unable to tend to the thousands of requests I recieve. I do urge you to continue to look for work though, and pray this will all be behind us soon.
Sincerely yours,
Eleanor Roosevelt



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The AAA, was a big help to the agrarians, especially the farmers like me who made a good profit, due to the regulated prices, and some money I received from the government for not planting on certain areas of land. It only worked so well, for the year it was in operation, then the farming industry went back to what it was in the 20s. This was all due to the Butler vs. US decision of the Supreme Court, which declared the AAA unconstitutional. When I went back into the mining operations, the Wagner Act being passed was most helpful to me, because the other workers and I worked to go on strike, which helped the collective bargaining, which was set forth in the NLRB. Even though life was tough, I would have to thank my lucky stars, for I was always working, when about 33% were out of work during this Great Depression.

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I would like to say that the one i just did is Part 2's events



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Issues

The AAA, was a big help to the agrarians, especially the farmers like me who made a good profit, due to the regulated prices, and some money I received from the government for not planting on certain areas of land. It only worked so well, for the year it was in operation, then the farming industry went back to what it was in the 20s. This was all due to the Butler vs. US decision of the Supreme Court, which declared the AAA unconstitutional. When I went back into the mining operations, the Wagner Act being passed was most helpful to me, because the other workers and I worked to go on strike, which helped the collective bargaining, which was set forth in the NLRB. Even though life was tough, I would have to thank my lucky stars, for I was always working, when about 33% were out of work during this Great Depression.


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III Photos

Squatter's Camp, Route 70, Arkansas, October, 1935.

This image shows the terrible living conditions that many American families have had to resort to. As you can see from the picture, these "homes" are not exactly stable, nor weather proof. They have been hastily constructed out of scrap materials in a pitiful attempt to shelter families, some of which are quite large.


Philipinos cutting lettuce, Salinas, California, 1935.
As you can see, many farming companies, such as this one in California, have hired migrant workers as cheap labor on their farms. These workers are mostly immigrants who come from a wide variety of places, such as China, Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the American south, and Europe.


Farmer and sons, dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936.

The "Dust Bowl" as it has come to be called, is one of the worst "natural" disasters in our countrys history. The 1934 drought that caused all of the crops in the Great Plains region to die left the entire region in ruins. Later, when storms blew across the region, they took nearly all of the areas top soil with them.


"Migrant Mother"

This image again shows the absolutely terrible living conditions that migrant farmers such as this family often had to endure when work was scarce. This shows that many families were living in makeshift "lean-to" tents.


Freight car converted into house in "Little Oklahoma," California.
Some families were lucky enough to be able to convert old railway cars into homes, as is shown in this image.


Toward Los Angeles, California. 1937.

While the sign in this image suggests taking the train, walking remained the only realistic mode of transportation for many people on their way west, such as these travelers in 1937.


Leland, Mississippi, in the Delta area, June 1937.

This image shows that segregation remained at an all time high in this era, with social establishments such as this movie theatre remaining strictly segregated. Due to racial tensions, many African Americans and other immigrants were cheated against financially.


Part of the daily lineup outside the State Employment Service Office. Memphis, Tennessee. June 1938.

The unemployment rate rose unbelievably high during the Depression, as is shown by this state unemployment office and the unsightly line outside.


Man in hobo jungle killing turtle to make soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sept. 1939.

With food becoming so expensive, many people began to resort back to the basics, catching and killing animals for food rather than buying them, as this man is doing with a turtle.


Power farming displaces tenants. Texas panhandle, 1938.

Efforts by the government to reduce stress on the farming industry led to mechanized farming, which displaced many tenant farmers and left them scrambling for jobs.



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Part I

Research Essay:

    When most people think of the 1930s in the United States, they automatically picture the Great Depression with its bread lines and devastating poverty or President Roosevelt and his New Deal. There is another side of this decade, however, which was filled with a technological and communications revolution that the middle and wealthy class Americans could enjoy. This included the continued rise of the automobile, the electric powered home, the radio and the film industry.
    Americans in the 1930s were just as much in love with their cars as they were in the twenties, though it does not seem like it when you consider the fact that auto production in the country dropped drastically in 1929 and did not recover until the late thirties. While the production of cars was down though, the registration of cars increased to 32 million by 1940. Americans simply bought used cars instead of new ones. Used cars in those times were only about $300, with several models even cheaper. This meant that even some of the poorest people owned cars, like the Okies who fled the dust bowl of the Southwest. This shocked visitors from Europe, as cars were still only owned by the wealthy back in their homelands. The roads also became much more traveled by the middle class after the temporary drop in 1932 and 1933, and the tourism business boomed. In fact, by 1938 it was the third largest industry in the United States. Travel was much more informal then, as people slept in cabins on the side of the road instead of the motels we know today.
    In the home, everything was changing because of the new electrical appliances for cooking, laundry, as well as other chores. The 1930s kitchen became iconic to Americans. One of the best selling items was the refrigerator. Before 1935, it looked much like an icebox, but with a monitor on top. After though, it became more streamlines and looked much more like the modern refrigerator. The most popular model at the time was the Super Six Coldspot, which was designed by Raymond Loewy. He gave it a clean new look that paid off when Sears sold over 275,000 units per year for about $100 each. More Americans could keep food longer than ever with this new technology. A lot more of the food they ate was not made at home or in the market either, but canned in factories. It was often much cheaper and easier for wives to buy Kelloggs Corn Flakes or Nabisco Shredded Wheat than to make oatmeal, and also easier to buy commercially made bread than bake their own. Another major improvement was the electrical washing machine and electric iron. These two things revolutionized laundry for women, who before had to scrub clothes on a board. This labor saving technology was not considered as essential as the refrigerator however, and sales dropped to 60,000 in 1932.
    Perhaps the most famous parts of the bright side of the 1930s were the radio and the silver screen. Both industries did amazingly well during this time period. Despite the depression, radio sales increased and by 1939, over 27.5 million homes had radios. The radio was not only the main source of music and news, but a focal point of the living room where prized photos were displayed. Families listened at night to the many different programs that were on such as Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy as well as the popular show The Lone Ranger, which had over 20 million listeners. During the day there were also soap operas that many housewives listened to, and after school there were shows for children. People became fascinated with the radio. They felt more connected to the rest of the country and the people talking on the radio such as President Roosevelt and his fireside chats. Hilariously, the power of the radio was displayed  On October 31, 1938,  when Orson Welles broadcasted The War of the Worlds so realistically that thousands of listeners really believed that Martians had landed in New Jersey, and mass hysteria broke loose.
    Americans loved movies in the thirties as much as the radio, and maybe even more. In fact, the 1930s is considered the golden age of movies. Between 60 and 90 million people went to the movie theaters every week, and the invention of talking movies made ticket sales soar. Towards the end of the decade, Technicolor movies were invented too. For many during the depression, movies were a way to escape their problems and have fun for a little while. It was also quite cheap, as 25 cents would get you tickets to at least 4 movies during the week. Movies were almost always double features and you could sit there watching the movies over and over if you wanted to. A few of the most famous movies of the time were It Happened One Night (1934), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), as well as the ever popular Gone With the Wind (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

-- Edited by Jessica! at 03:26, 2009-02-10

-- Edited by Jessica! at 04:05, 2009-02-10

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The United States Presidential Election of 1932 took place during the midst of the Great Depression. The main Republican candidate was Herbert Hoover, the president at the time who was running for a second term. Unfortunately for Hoover, the effects of the Depression and the 1929 Stock Market Crash were still being felt strongly across the nation and Hoovers popularity was falling. This was due mainly to the fact that voters felt that Hoover was unable to reverse the countrys problems. The country was looking for a change. A change they would find under the leadership of Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt.


Throughout his campaign, Roosevelt was rather vague about how he would solve the nations growing list of problems, but this didnt seem to be a problem. He became the primary Democratic candidate for the election, using his speeches to gain the support of the American public. This seemed to work, for he swept the election against the ever unpopular Hoover.


His first term began with the now traditional 100 Days period, in which he concentrated on the immediate relief of the nations economy. He instituted new programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create jobs and reform. He also set up the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) to control the overproduction of produce, as well as passed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) to regulate the economy.


Roosevelts reforms continued after his mid-term Congressional election, into what has become known as his Second New Deal (with his first term reforms being known as the first). During this Second New Deal, Roosevelt created groups such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which set up a national relief agency that employed two million people, and passed the Social Security Act, which helped set up the social security program we have today.


While some of Roosevelts methods were unorthodox, some of which were even deemed unconstitutional, he succeeded in uniting the country in one of its darkest hours, so much in fact that he was able to hold the presidency for four consecutive terms straight until his death in 1945. Roosevelt created quite a legacy for our country and carried the country through the entire Great Depression.



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Part III

Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt:

My dear Miss E.B,
    First of all, I congratulate you for finishing high school. In this day and age an education is extremely important. However, I am sorry to say that I cannot help you with your request for a dress to wear to your graduation this year. It is impossible for me to buy new dresses and shoes for every child in the country to wear, but believe me if I could, I would in a heartbeat.  I am sure though that you will not be the only one wearing an old dress that night, and I hope you take comfort in that. Good luck in securing a job that pays, and know that I am praying for you and your family.

Sincerely,
Eleanor Roosevelt

My dear J. I. A.,
    I am truly sorry for the ill health of your parents, but Im afraid I cannot help you get to Hollywood. I receive so many letters each day asking for money or clothes that it breaks my heart. Believe me, I am doing everything within my power to help end this horrible crisis our country is in. May I suggest you finish your education first though? Perhaps you can get a better paying job with a solid education and then be able to pay doctors to look after your dear parents. Good luck my dear.

Sincerely,
Eleanor Roosevelt

My dear A. L. C.,
    My heart goes out to you in your difficult situation, and I am glad to hear that you do everything you can to help your father and step mother. Unfortunately though, I cannot send you a bicycle to aid you with your errands. As much as I would love to help all children that send me letters, it is impossible to send individual aid through the mail to millions. I hope you understand. And whatever you do, please do not quit attending school for I cannot stress enough the importance of a good education. I pray for the recovery of your father and also for the recovery of the country.

Sincerely,
Eleanor Roosevelt

Part III

Photos:

Farmer and sons, dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936:
Over farming of the land, as well as a horrible drought, caused the plains region to become a dust bowl with dust storms that covered houses and killed people. Thousands of people living there fled to California and other states. Some say that greater government control on farming would have prevented this.

Migrant pea pickers camp in the rain. California, February, 1936:
Immigrants were used for cheap labor in California to pick most of the crops there. Filipinos and Mexicans were favorite targets. They were not treated well at all, as you can see by their pathetic camps that were not sufficient housing against the weather.

Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother," destitute in a pea picker's camp, 1936:
This is probably one of the most thought provoking pictures of this era. The emotion on the womans face clearly represents what a lot of Americans felt during the depression. She worried about nearly everything from shelter to food, and though she is only 32, she looks much older from the stress.

Freight car converted into house in "Little Oklahoma," California. February, 1936:
People had so little materials to build their homes with, and tents were not adequate against the elements of nature, so almost anything was used for shelter. Americans during the depression were ingenious in the ways they used old things in order to save money.

Porch of a sharecropper's cabin, Hale County, Alabama, Summer 1936:
Sharecropping suffered tremendously during the depression, which was still dominated by African American tenants. In order to save profits, the landowners either threw people off the land without warning, or demanded more of their crop to sell. Either way, black people were still under the mercy of the whites.

Part of an impoverished family of nine on a New Mexico highway:
This sums up the typical poor family during the depression with a sick father out of work, nine children and a baby sick. They had no money at all and were on relief funds for a while until that wasnt possibly anymore. The children, like three million others, did not attend school.

Strikers guarding window entrance to Fisher body plant number three. Flint, Michigan, Jan.-Feb. 1936:
When companies tried to cut wages, extend the work hours, or lay off people, the workers used the strike to get what they wanted. Strikes were always ugly because the companies were caught between keeping up profits in order to make money for their own families, as well as keeping workers happy. Organizations helped strikers more as the depression went on.

Leland, Mississippi, in the Delta area, June 1937:
Though the country was in a depression, it could not put its differences aside long enough to cooperate, and end segregation. This blacks only movie theater was one of the many in the country and showed how poorly blacks were treated.

Unemployed workers in front of a shack with Christmas tree, East 12th Street, New York City. December 1937:
Poverty in the cities was no better than in rural areas of the country. Here we see unemployed workers living in a makeshift shack that do not look very sturdy or very warm. Everywhere, men and women struggled to find jobs.

Man in hobo jungle killing turtle to make soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sept. 1939:
People were so hungry during this time, they ate anything they could get their hands on. In the picture, a man kills a turtle to make soup. In other places, people dig through the garbage daily for scraps, or eat leather from their shoes.


-- Edited by Jessica! at 04:48, 2009-02-10



-- Edited by Jessica! at 04:50, 2009-02-10

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Picture Essay-

1. The picture of unemployed men vying for jobs at the American Legion is relevant for the age, because everyone is in the Depression, millions of people were out of work, and this shows the frenzy at the work office. It is important to know this because, not many people know how many people were out of work.

2. The picture of the Bonus Army is very important, because it shows the disparity of so many people in the hard times, and what people would do to get any type of money, even if it meant protesting on the White House lawn.

3. The picture of Bud Fields and his family shows an average family living in Alabama (mom, dad, children, and grandma), in a scarce house. This is important because all families were affected by the Depression, directly, or indirectly, especially the working class who as seen in this picture, have barely anything.

4. The picture of Filipinos cutting lettuce is relevant to the time because the many who were employed and are cheap labor, doing working class jobs, especially immigrants like the Filipinos. This is important to know, because immigrants help businesses by keeping them open with their cheap labor.

5.  In the picture of the father and sons running from the dust storm into a small shack in the middle of nowhere is important, because it shows the devastation on the Great Plains due to the massive dust storms.

6. The picture of the migrant pea pickers shows a make-shift camp made from many portable materials, with a car parked on the side. This is important because it shows how desperate the people/migrant workers really were, even if it included moving from place to place in the back of a car.

7. The communist poster shows a man with a sickle and hammer rising above the factories and the farm. This was important to the times, because in the Depression, many people lost jobs, and needed to look for hope in a new place, even in a new type of government. Due to similar feelings of the people, membership tripled.

8.  The picture of two men walking on a road, with a poster in the background that says to try a train to relax is very ironic. This is important to the times, because it shows that many more people walked around the country to get place to place, not riding the train to relax, because it will never happen.

9.  The picture in Leland, Mississippi is a picture, where there is a theater labeled REX, which is for colored people only. This shows the importance of the times, because even in the 1930s, there was much racism and discrimination, especially in the South.

10. The picture of the Spanish Civil War protesters, show many people protesting Americas neutrality in the civil war. Many people were worried that the fascists in Spain would win control of the country, and threaten American democracy. This was very important to the times, including the large amount of protests and strikes that occurred in this time frame.



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Eleanor Roosevelt letters-

1.       Miss L. H.,

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation. Here at the administration, we would never intend to get anyones name in the newspaper, we keep privacy to be of the utmost importance. It is incredibly horrible that you have no clothes to go out. We will definitely not give soiled clothes to such a fine young lady as you. We will definitely send you some nice clothes in the next few days.

Eleanor

                To Miss L.Hs parents

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation. Here at the administration, we decided to send your daughter some clothes, because we felt so sad due to your situation. The clothes will arrive in a few days.

Eleanor

2.       J.I.A,

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation. Here at the administration, we would really like to help you, but the situation you are in, there is a great need of money, and people here try to help people who dont have their basic necessities. You arent in such a bad situation as some people, so were going to have to sorrowfully decline.

Eleanor

                To J.I.As parents,

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation.  Here at the administration, we would really like to help your daughter, but a train ticket to Hollywood is very expensive, especially in these times of economic disparity. Were going to have to respectfully decline.

Eleanor

 

3.       P.A.C,

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation. Here at the administration, we really can help people who dont have the basic things people need to live, and a doll would be wonderful to have, but many people are very poor, and cant afford to buy food. I cant get you a doll right now, but I will keep your doll in mind.

Eleanor

 

                To P.A.Cs  dad,

I would want you to know that I feel especially sorry for your situation. Here at the administration, we would really like to get you that doll for your daughter, but we help people who dont have their basic necessities. The administration doesnt have a lot of money right now, but if we get some profit, we will keep the offer in mind and send that doll to you sir.

Eleanor

{doll was never sent}



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Part III

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt Letters from Children of the Great Depression

1.My dearest President and Mrs Roosevelt;

Just a few lines to let you know, I am in good health, whishing this letter will fined your all well.

Mrs and Pres. Roosevelt, in the first place I must tell you my name, O.C. - 14 years old.

I am writing to you Pres. and Mrs Roosevelt, to ask if I may ask one question, but I must first tell you my story.

Well you see Pres. and Mrs Roosevelt, I was doctering for a while, with out my Mother and Dad knowing it, in fact they don't know it yet, & I owe Dr. Forney, $7.50. I haven't any idea how to earn this amount, I was doctering for an infected arm. Every time I went the Dr. charged me $1.50, & I went 5 times.

Could you kindly please help me Pres. and Mrs Roosevelt. Please don't write to my parents about me owing this money. But if you will kindly help me I will greatly, & certainly appreciate it. If you help me Pres. and Mrs Roosevelt, send my note or your letter, to this address.


Dear O.C.

I am very sorry to hear about your doctors bills. It is very unfortunate that you had to go to the doctors office, especially during these times and certainly to have to pay the bill during these times. However, I will not be able to pay you in full. I cannot possibly begin to help everyone out completely, nevertheless I am trying to help everyone at least a little. Therefore, I am enclosing $3.00 in this envelope. I hope it is a help. I am sorry I cannot give more.

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor

Dear O.C.s parents,

I received a letter from you daughter(?) about paying doctors bills. I am very saddened that you cannot afford to pay for your daughters bills. I do not blame you; I am sorry this country has lived to see such terrible days. I wish to help your daughter out in full, however I am no miracle worker. Please accept these few dollars as my sympathy toward your current crisis.

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor


2.Dear Mrs. Roosevelt

I am a girl sixteen years old. Last May I beg my father to buy an electric refrigerator for mother on Mother's day. We had talked about buying one with her. She thought it was not a very wise thing to do, because we could not afford to pay cash. I wanted it so very bad that my father bought it. He agreed to pay monthly payments of seven dollars and twenty two cents. What mother had said proved to be right. For two weeks after we bought the refrigerator I took sick with a serious kidney ailment which confined me to my bed from May twenty until Nov. twenty-second. I am just recovering from a delicate operation. I came home from the hospital Nov. eighth and my father was layed off after working for the railroad fifteen years. Many a girl of my age is hoping that on Christmas morn they will find a wrist watch, a handbag, or even a fur coat. But my one and only wish is to have father and mother spend a happy Christmas. Mrs. Roosevelt I am asking of you a favor which can make this wish come true. I am asking you to keep up our payments until my father gets back to work as a Christmas gift to me. Though father worked part time for quite a while we never lost anything for the lack of payments. If the refrigerator was taken away from us father and mother would think it a disgrace.

I close hoping with all my heart that my letter will be consider. Mrs. Roosevelt you may rest assure that I have learnt my lesson.

I am respectfully yours
J.B.
Springfield, Mass

Dear J.B.

Thank you for your letter, and I hope you are doing well. I am very sad to hear your story, and wish I could help you more. However, you are not alone in dealing with disease, no money and torn families. If I were able to help everyone, that would make me oh so happy. Even so, I am able to help everyone a little, if not in full. I am sending you a payment of $30, that is all I can send. I hope it is a help. I am sorry I cannot give more.

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor

Dear J.B.s parents

I received you daughters letter the other night, and I send my deepest sympathies. I hope you family recovers all of its ailments, and I hope this gift helps with you refrigerator

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor

3.Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt,
Washington D.C.

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt

On January 1st I was layed off from my work leaving my father the whole support of our family. just recently he was cut down to three days a week with a cut in salary. With seven of us in the family it is just about impossible for us to live on this amount.

My mother has been sick for over two months having had a nervous breakdown and we are unable to buy or furnish her with the medicine required for her recovery.

I am 18 years of age the oldest girl in the family, and it just seems impossible for me to get a job any where. I have been to Mills, Stores and Firms of all sorts. I am willing and able to work. Can furnish excellent references but at this time of the year it just seems impossible to find work.

We are so in debt and each week the bills are piling higher and higher that it just seems as if there was no way out.

We must make a pay ment on our furniture bill. And if it isn't paid soon they will be out any day for our furniture. And on top of this we are behind in our rent.

It would be a big help if we could get some of our bills paid on as they are already impatient for their money.

If you could help us out with from $35.00 to $50.00 I believe we would be the happiest family in the world.
Gratefully yours,
D.B.

--------------->This is not intended for publication (I thought this should be pointed out)

Dear D.B.

I am very sorry to hear about your mothers illness and your families situation. If I had a penny for every letter I got like yours, I would be able to help you all; I would have millions of dollars. However, I do not have millions of dollars, so I cannot help everyone to their maximum wants. Being a young adult, I think you would understand the pressure I am under to help everyone. I am trying to help everyone, little by little. I will not be able to give you your requested $35.00 to $50.00, but I can give about $17.00. I hope it is a help. I am sorry I cannot give more.

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor

Dear D.B.s parents,

I am very sorry to hear about you families endeavors. I wish I could help everyone, but the entire country is asking for my help. I am sending your daughter some cash, and I hope it at least starts to help you in this desperate time of need. I wish I could help more; I hope you

Sincerely yours,
Eleanor

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Part III


1.       Dear Miss M.I


     I am most devastated to hear about your father, but have faith that you and your family can continue to remain strong, as you have done thus far. Now, you must understand that every day I get many letters, all very similar to yours. I truly wish that I could fulfill the needs of all who ask me for help, but it would be impossible. However, I can tell that you are, in fact, a bright girl who had made it quite far in her education. It would be a horrible shame to see you have to end your school career. Therefore, as soon as I find the time, I am sure I will be able to send you as well as your brothers a few pieces of clothing. I do believe it will be a great help.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt



          To the Mother of M.I.

    
     I am very pleased to know that even during this most depressing time the children of this country continue to be concerned with their education. An education is one of the most valuable things a person can have. I found it quite hard to turn down your daughter's plea, as I do to so many due to lack of recources. I do hope that she will be able to finish her high school years. Her letter to me made it clear that she is indeed going to turn out bright. I wish you the best of luck in the years ahead.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt


2.      Dear O.C


   My dearest child I do hope that you have been cured from your illness. I am truly sorry to hear about it. I do not know if I will be able to send you money however. I get many letters similar to yours, and would never be able to fulfill everyone's monetary wishes. If I had access to the money I would undoubtedly send you what you needed, however there are many people in this coutnry who need much largers sums than you do, and if I cannot help all, then I am not able to help just one. However, for a condition like yours I may be able to bend the rules a little. If I am able to get it through the mail, I will send you a couple dollars to help your cause. I cannot guarantee this however, but I will do my best.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt


         To the Parents of O.C.


    Good day to you both. I know this may come as a surprise to you, but your daughter has written me a letter in secrecy, without your particuler knowledge. She seems to have been suffereing of an infection, and had seen a doctor also without your knowledge. She has asked me not to reveal this to you, but I could not let something like this go unnoticed. I understand that times are hard and money is short. That is why she wrote to me asking for a small sum of money to pay for her doctoring bill. I was quite touched by her story, and have enclosed a few dollars to help as best I can. I know that it is not my place, but I do not believe you should be mad with your daughter. She was getting by as best she could the way all others in the country are doing right now. It was no bother for me. I normally am not able to hand out all the favors I would like to, but in this case I have made a sort of acception, as I am able to do sometimes. I hope your daughter heals quickly.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt


3.       Dear A.L.C


    I am very sory to hear of your father, and do hope that he recovers soon. As for your travel situation, I am also very sorry to hear about it. I am sure that you are a very good student and work very hard, seeing as your principal himself has helped you to stay in school. However, I get roughly seven letters a day, from children in need of help just like you. I am not able to send every child a bicycle who asks for one, because it is not within my ability. Although if I could, nothing would make me happier than to fulfill the needs of the nation, especially of the children. I will not be able to send you a bicycle, but I do hope that twenty dollars will be of some assistence in some way.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt



        To the Parents of A.L.C


     I do hope that the health of Mr. C is improving greatly by the minute. Your daughter has asked me for a bicycle to help her travels between school and washing. I honestly wish that I was able to provide her with one, but as you know I receive many, many requests identical to hers. I am sadly unable to fulfill these due to many reasons, but would love nothing more than to do just that. I do hope that my donation will be of some help, and that your daughter will be able to remain in school regardless.


Sincerely,

E. Roosevelt



-- Edited by mfloyd24 at 03:42, 2009-02-11

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1. Squatter's Camp, Route 70, Arkansas, October, 1935.

This pictures makes evident the hard times people were going through due to economic problems. Jobs and homes were being lost, resulting in the unreliable shacks we see in this photograph.


2. Farmer and sons, dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936

The Dust Bowl incident as it has come to be known, resulted in the loss of many, many farms in the general midwest region. Because of the harmful dust storms, farmers were not able to plant, and therefore this agricultural handicap had a hand in worsening the depression.


3. Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother"

This photo is a prime example of the effects of poverty. Living conditions were horrible for many, having no real source of shelter. However this image also seems to potray a mother trying to be strong for her children, no matter how devastating the situation, judging by the look on her face.


4. A sharecropper's yard, Hale County, Alabama, Summer 1936

For a sharecropper's yard, there does not seem to be much growing. This is probably due to the cut back in agricultural production that was implimented during the depression. The yard is yet another reminder of the rough economic times.


5. Porch of a sharecropper's cabin, Hale County, Alabama, Summer 1936

The run down cabin in this photograph is the result of the yard in my previous image. Because agriculture was not a prime source of income, homes and more directly, families were suffereing from lack of income.


6. Strikers guarding window entrance to Fisher body plant number three. Flint, Michigan, Jan.-Feb. 1936

This image serves as a reminder of the harsh and unfair working conditions many had to suffer through to continue to receive a paycheck. There is also the possibility that their wages are not high enough either. Whatever the case, factory work was not particularly pleasant during these times and workers were constantly trying to change that.


7. Toward Los Angeles, California. 1937

These two men in this particular image are prime examples of many people during the depression. Many people left their families in search of better work, as it appears these two men are most likely going to do. Since they are walking, and not taking the train as the bilboard suggests, it is safe to assume that they do not have the money for such luxuries, and therefore are two more victims of economic decline in the U.S.


8. Leland, Mississippi, in the Delta area, June 1937

While economic issues were going on, this image reminds us that there was still large amounts of racism and prejudice in the United States. It is also an indicator that minorities were segregated against in basically all other aspects of life, making their lives tougher than your average white male during this depression. Even though some Americans may have been pushing for equality, they were still the underdog in this case.


9. Unemployed workers in front of a shack with Christmas tree, East 12th Street, New York City. December 1937

This photo displays the message that even though times were tough, there was still the attempt made to make things as good as they can get, however infavorable it still might be. It also makes it clear that poverty doesn't care who or where it strikes.


10. Man in hobo jungle killing turtle to make soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sept. 1939.

This photo clearly displays the seriousness of poverty. People became so poor that they would go to any lengths to find food for themselves. The fact that someone would kill and devour a poor helpless turtle makes it clear that jobs and paychecks were not being made available.



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Picture Essay

1. This picture was taken in the upstairs of a Chicago apartment in April. It shows two women lying together in a bed, most likely trying to keep warm. The room is completely devoid of anything that would resemble someones living quarters; it looks more like a storage closet than an apartment. I dont think there is a mattress, and there probably is no working electricity.

2. This picture was taken at a mission soup kitchen which handed out bowls of soup to those who came. The two boys sitting look as thought they havent eaten at all today, and barely anything in the past week. Holding paint buckets, they appear to be lost, confused, alone and very hungry. This was happening all over the country, not just in Iowa.

3. This picture was taken in October, and shows a woman selling apples. Selling apples was less shameful than panhandling (going around asking for money), and was probably as successful. These apples bought were probably the only thing that person would eat all day. In many big cities, like New York City, there would be thousands of apple sellers on every street.

4. Texas had a large immigrant population from Mexico during the Great Depression. This picture clearly shows how many immigrants across the country lived. There houses were usually very small, very cramped and very, very cluttered.

5. This is another picture taken in Texas of a Mexicans living quarters. This immigrant has taken scraps of metal (probably from run down buildings no longer in use) and make a make-shift shack in which he lives. Hes hand made living abode is not much better than non immigrants houses and apartments.

6. This picture was taken outside the State Employment Service Office in Memphis Tennessee. The line of people stretches of the picture, and I am sure the line is going no where fast. During this time, unemployment was one in every four people. Many of these people look lost and uncertain of what the future held for them, others just look down and depressed at what their live and country had come to.

7. This picture shows a bunch of homeless men sitting outside a shack with a Christmas tree outside of it. Every major city had its population of homeless people, and New York was no exception.

8. This picture shows two men walking along he railroad tracks toward Los Angles. A very ironic billboard is seen in the background, saying Next time, relax. Try the train. These men are probably trying to find some sort of work, so they can live for a next time to maybe ride the train back to their homes and families.

9. This picture shows a migrant pea farmers camp during a rain storm. Many families drew to farming as a possibly stable job, but circumstances like this made it hard to sometimes do their work.

10. This last picture was taken in a dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. It shows a father and his sons fighting their way to what remains of their shack. The entire shack still remains, but most of it is under sand. The Midwest was completely assaulted and destroyed by huge dust storms that would cover everything in a huge blanket of sand. Those who remained in the Midwest were effected severely.

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Pt. 2
Story
This goes for Zach as well as me.

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edit: Spoiler tagged so it doesn't take forever to scroll by.

-- Edited by G. Larsen at 21:57, 2009-02-12

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Part III: letters

 
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-- Edited by James at 03:22, 2009-02-13

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part III: Photos
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-- Edited by James at 04:18, 2009-02-13

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Part II: Story: James, Joel, Walter

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-- Edited by James at 01:42, 2009-02-14

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Monica Vasconcelos

Jessica Jacintho

Robert Krupa


     Emma Tiller was an African American sharecropper, happily living in a small Texas town with her husband and growing family. The lives they lead were not perfect, or by any means filled with prosperity, but they were making it. That is, however, until the drought happened. Coupled with the problems the AAA imposed on them, their land was now completely ruined. To try and make it work would have been pointless. One night, by the glow of many candles, Emma and her husband Arthur sat down to discuss the problems that lay ahead if they did not do something.


     "There aint no way we can live like this Art."

     "I know, I know. I got it all worked out though. Gimme a couple more weeks and well be outta this shack we got here!"

     "I cant take a couple more weeks here. With the girls husbands movin in, its just too dang crowded."

     "Dont you worry about a thing now Emma, everythin is gonna be alright soon enough. Jus you watch."

     "I sure hope so Arthur. Out girls cant raise their future children in this place."

     "Three weeks Em, just gimme three weeks."

     "Alright. . but just three weeks."


     Sure enough, by some grace of the Good Lord, three more weeks of work had given Arthur just enough money for him and his family to move to the North. They werent sure how things were going to turn out, but they knew that it must be better in Missouri than in Texas . The next morning they boarded a train to the North, carrying what little belongings they had. Only Emma and Arthur left, leaving their two daughters behind with their husbands. As soon as they had earned enough money, they would send for the four later.

    
     After what seemed like forever, the two arrived in St. Louis , Missouri . They took the day to travel around the city, and found a tiny apartment that was within their budget. The next day Emma managed to find work as a seamstress in a factory down the street from their home. Arthur found work with the WPA building local parks and schools. They didnt make very much but it allowed them to keep their apartment building plus a couple dollars a month to put away for the moving of their family in Texas .

     Work in the factory wasnt particularly pleasant for Emma. Even in the North, there was still much racial prejudice towards minorities, especially African Americans. The factory was split up between floors. There were two for white women, and two for black. One day, she also realized that she was getting paid less than the white women, who were also getting paid less than men. You can only imagine how small her paycheck was. Her white landlord was often rude to her when Arthur was not around. Even Arthur himself, being a man, was segregated against in the WPA. He was not involved with white workers at all, just his bosses. It was not the fact that he worked only with other African Americans, but rather the fact that he clearly received unfair treatment just as Emma did at her job.


     At dinner about a month after the move, Arthur and Emma were discussing their experiences in the city. Arthur didnt have much to say. Work was work to him, and he was used to it, seeing as he himself had grown up on a farm. Emma on the other hand had many things to complain about. However, there was one glimmer of sunlight in her life.


     "I met this lovely woman today at work! she said."

     "Thas nice dear, replied Arthur, stuffing his face with a roll."

     "Im bein serious Arty! She is the first person who has shown me any compassion or respect since weve gotten here! Shes one of the nicest people youll ever meet in this here city. Im thinkin of invitin her over for dinner once weve fixed the place up."

     "Oh? And whats this here lady like?"

     "Shes a white lady, named Evelyn, bout twenty-seven years old. This is the fifth place she has worked at in the past two years cuz she has a knack for stirring up trouble with her unions and such. She really is one of nicest ladies youll ever meet though, I have lunch with her everyday. Today at lunch I told her how tired I was and how I couldnt finish my work so she finished it all there for me before the boss came to inspect us! And she has a sweet lil daughter bout four years old named Audrey. That lil girl is so smart, you have to meet her Art. I do feel bad for the poor lady though, cuz her husband died two year ago and I know how much she misses him. So, wouldnt you like to meet this lady?"

     All you could hear was a slight mhmm from Arthur because he was too busy stuffing his face.. So Emma took that as a yes. Suddenly, just as she was picking up her fork again, Emma heard a faint knock on the door. She listened for a minute, but when she didnt hear it again she just assumed it was the rain storm outside making the noise. A minute later though she heard it again, and went to the door to see what, or who, was there.

     Looking out the peephole in the door, Emma didnt notice anything. So she went back to the dinner table.

     "Whats wrong Em?"

    "Nothin Art. Jus thought I heard a noise, thas all."

     A couple more minutes passed, and Emma heard the noise again. This time she opened the door, and to her surprise saw a little boy at her door. He was very short, which explains why she could not see him through the peephole. The boy looked very young, no more than seven years old, and was covered in dust and what looked like soot. His clothes were tattered, and it looked as though he had traveled a long way. He carried no belongings with him. The boy intrigued Emma, and she wondered where he came from. His facial features suggested that he was not from America , but from somewhere else.

     The boy just stood there, looking up at her with large, brown eyes.

     "Art! she called. Could you come here for a minute?"

     "What do you want now Em, I was jus gonna take a bath with the little water that. . A boy?"

     "Well Im sure glad your eyes is workin. Yes, a boy."

     "Invite him in then! You dont have anywheres else to go, do ya?"

     The small boy shook his head. And followed Arthur inside the house.

     You can sit down dear, said Em, and pointed to a wooden chair. The boy looked a little nervous, but sat down.

     "So, where ya from son?" asked Arthur.

     The boy replied with a clear Mexican accent, and in broken English, "Well you see, Senor, I come from California . Mi nombre es Cesar Chaves. Mi familia and I must work all day to make enough dinero for us to live. Mis hermanos and I can no go to school, instead we must work todos los dias. Es muy difficult. We pick las frutas en California . Por ejemplo, mi familia and I pick grapes, olives, oranges, y otras frutas to get dinero. Mi padre can no get enough food for mi hermanos and me. So I decide I no bother them no more. I get on train and see where it takes me. I leave una letter for mis padres. Says No te preocupes, I will be home soon with mucho dinero. Y here I am, now Senor, en su casa. I hope you y su familia can help me. I need work to help mi familia."

     Emma was truly moved by the boys story. You can stay with us for tonight sweetheart. I think I knows someone who can help you, she said, with Evelyn in mind. So that night, the little boy slept in their living room on a tiny makeshift bed.


     The next day during their usual lunch break, Emma brought up the subject of Cesar to Evelyn. "That would be wonderful! I'd love to take him in!" she exclaimed. "My little Aubrey would be delighted to have someone to play with! Yes, you can bring him over later today, around dinner time."

     "You sure this ain't too much trouble for ya'll?"

     "Oh no, it'll be fine. Trust me!"

     When the bosses came back to tell their workers to get back to work, Evelyn whisked back off to her sewing machine, happy as can be.

     That night Arthur and Emma brought Cesar to Evelyn's appartment. She lived in the middle of the city, surprisingly, in a very nice apartment. The two wondered how a single mother could afford to live in such a place. "Oh, when my husband died he left me quite a fortune. Luckily enough I was able to keep it," was her reply to the couple's wonderment.

     Little Cesar looked awestruck as well to be in such a nice home. He had never seen such luxuries back in California. The group ate a well prepared dinner; apparently Evelyn was also a master cook as well as seamstress. They spent much time talking and watching Cesar and Aubrey exchange small glances and play with their toys far away from each other.

     "Children are always so funny," said Evelynn as she watched to two.

     "Aren' they?" agreed Emma. "It's like they afraid of each otha' at this age. They'll be friends soon enough though."

     "Oh, I'm sure of it. Thank you ever so much for bringing him to me! I'm sure I'll be able to help him out somehow. In the meantime he'll have a place to stay and company too!"

     "Don' mention it," said Arthur.

    
     The time on the clock kept getting later and later, and finally Arthur decided that they had best start heading home.

     "Thank you for everything Eveyln!" said Emma as she and Arthur walked out of the door.

     "I do hope to have you over again sometime soon!" she replied.

On the walk home Arthur turned to Emma and said, "You know dear, that really was the nciest lady I ever did meet. Maybe we can have her ova' for dinner sometime. Ya'd like that, wouldn't ya?"

     "Oh, of course!" she exclaimed.

     The two continued their long walk home through the streets of the city that offered their future so much, as long as they were willing to work for it.



-- Edited by mfloyd24 at 18:53, 2009-02-15

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Part III Letters

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EDIT: got rid of some bizarre formatting text

-- Edited by G. Larsen at 17:22, 2009-02-16

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wow i just realized i never wrote 10 facts about the depression
so here i go (:


1. The Stock market crash wiped out 40 percent paper value of the common stock.
2. about one out of every four americans was unemployed
3. about 2 million young men were employed by the CCC during this time.
4. Roosevelt favored unemployment programs rather then government welfare.
5. the drought during the depression greatly crippled agriculture.
6. Farmers were mainly the first group to plunge into depression.
7. investors pessimism during the depression helped exaggerate the depression because the stopped investing which caused less money to be in circulation during those years.
8. 7,000 banks failed during the 1920's, while 1,300 banks failed just in year 1930.
9. high tariffs during this time weakened international trade which kept America in the gutter.
10. The Depression hardly had any immediate affects on blacks and immigrants because they were already in poverty, so nothing changed.


:)

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Part III

Photo Essay

1. This image shows the Bonus Army standing on the steps of the Capitol. It's showing the massive number of young veterans who were concerned enough about their financial futures to try to collect on their army pensions early. The message is simply that the early years of the Depression were a time of uncertainty and dread. Most of those marchers were there because they were scared of what could happen to their families if they didn't get their bonuses.


2. The second picture shows a father and his two sons scrambling to get into the small shack they live in to avoid a dust storm. The caption says it's from Oklahoma, but it looks like it could be in one of the world's great deserts from the desolation and lack of plant growth. The message is that the farmers who lived in the Dust Bowl had their livelihoods literally blown away by the wind, and lived in frightening conditions while struggling to survive.

3. The third image I selected shows a house made from a converted freight car in a part of California that had many Oklahoman migrants. It shows the desperation and thrift of the people whose livelihoods were destroyed in the Dust Bowl, and it conveys the message that these people will do anything to survive.


4. The fourth image shows the deck of a sharecropper's house in Alabama. It is already poorly-constructed, showing the bad conditions sharecroppers had to live in before the economic turmoil of the Depression made their lives even more difficult. It reinforces the message that those who were already at the low points of society were forced even lower when the Depression happened, as many sharecroppers were kicked off of the land and forced to try to find work elsewhere.


5. The picture showing a sharecropper's kitchen shows that they lived in rustic conditions before the Depression even started. It looks as if it were a cabin from sixty or seventy years before the picture was actually taken. The message, like that of the last image, is that people were already struggling before the Depression, and that their conditions only got worse as a result of it.


6. The picture of a squatter town in California shows the desperation of migrants. The houses appear to have been hastily constructed with scrap wood. They needed any shelter they could get. The message is that the migrants lost everything and did what was necessary to survive.


7. The image of men guarding a window during a strike is representative of the strikes that happened all across America during the Depression. They sat on an improvised structure supported by garbage cans in order to ensure that the picket line was held. Its meaning is that workers felt the troubles of the time as much as anyone else, suffering from worse conditions at work that led them to strike.


8. A picture of two men walking toward Los Angeles is representative of the many migrants who headed west to try to find a living there. There is also an ironic juxtaposition of the men, who have suitcases that may very well have contained what remained of their lives, and a billboard for a railroad company. It means that real life in America was far from the ideal promoted by advertising at the time.


9. The picture of a man killing a turtle to prepare it for soup shows the desperation of the poor during the Depression. He most likely ate whatever he could find, like the turtle, just to survive. Its meaning is that people, real people, were near-starving to death as a direct result of the Depression.


10. The last image I chose shows a pair of young boys waiting for food in a soup kitchen. It serves to remind the viewer that the Depression affected people of all ages. They look like they can't be much older than nine or ten years old. However, they were not spared. They most likely went to bed hungry nearly every night, carried around what they had in the paint cans they were holding, and were in constant uncertainty as to where their next meal was coming from.



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My essay will be on the effectiveness of New Deal programs/legislation.

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James wrote:


Part II: Story: James, Joel, Walter

Spoiler


-- Edited by James at 01:42, 2009-02-14





Haha, nice story =]

 



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Part II Story (me and Leslie)


Spoiler

 

 


-- Edited by piracine at 20:07, 2009-03-02

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1. This photo shows veterans of the Great War protesting on the steps of the Capitol building during what is known as the Bonus March. Thousands of veterans became so desperate that they called on their pensions and bonuses from their service in the Great War. People were becoming desperate in large numbers and going to do anything they could to gain attention for their cause.

2. The second photograph is of a farmer and his sons running to escape a dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma. Not only were the thirties a time of economic collapse, but also the time of the worst drought the country ever faced. Everything these people owned or anything they had going for them was completely ruined by the Dust Bowl.

3. The picture of mother with two of her children living in a tent in Nipomo, California, is very powerful. The people had nothing, much like millions of others in the country and no help was coming.

4. The photograph of the unemployed gathering in Columbus, Kansas is the essence of being mad as hell and doing something about it, at least the only thing they could do. The people of the United States, the working class especially was tired of lack of action by the government and was about to get what some wanted, Roosevelts New Deal.

5. The picture of the impoverished family on a New Mexico highway is one that shows poverty doesnt care who you are or how old you are. Many children themselves were even beginning to set out on the roads by themselves due to their families lack of ability to provide for them.

6. The photo of strikers guarding a window in Fisher body plant number three shows what many workers felt compelled to do, strike in extraordinary numbers. Labor workers felt the brunt of the Depression when even if they werent laid off they had to work in some of the worst conditions.

7. Irony is the subject of the photo of two men walking towards Los Angeles past a billboard for the train. Everybody was forced to set out on the road in hopes of starting anew. Also, the America people had known or at least wanted to know didnt exist as can be seen by the fact that people couldnt afford these items that companies advertised.

8. The eighth picture is that of a demonstration against neutrality during the Spanish Civil War. Many Americans felt that the American government was struggling enough and they didnt need a fascist Spain threatening democracy too.

9. The photo of unemployed, homeless people in New York City is displays that Americans as desperate and poor as they may be they still had the Christmas spirit. People set up shantytowns in an attempt to keep things as normal as possible. These towns sprung up on the outskirts of every major city in the country.

10. The final is the one, which shows two young adults striking in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. What makes this picture powerful is that the young man is black and the girl appears to be white, which shows that some people were willing to throw aside racial tensions in an attempt to help each other through extremely tough times.



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