Great Depression/Dust Bowl

​The Great Depression/ New Deal

​

​Social Studies Standard

​SS5H3: EXPLAIN how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of

Americans.

a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust

Bowl, and soup kitchens.

b. Analyze the main features of the New Deal; include the significance of the Civilian

Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

c. Discuss important cultural elements of the 1930’s include Duke Ellington, Margaret

Mitchell and Jesse Owens.

​Vocabulary

• Black Tuesday

• drought

• Dust Bowl

• ​Franklin D Roosevelt

• Great Depression

• Herber Hoover

• Hoovervilles/ shantytowns

• ​New Deal

• ​soup kitchens

• ​stocks

• ​unemployment

​Causes of the Great Depression

• Agricultural overproduction

• Industrial overproduction

• Over-extension of credit

  High Tariffs on Exports

​Stock Market Crash

1. ​•During the Roaring 20’s, many Americans invested in stock.

2. When a company earns money, the value of the stock increases.

3. Investors sell at a higher price to earn money.

4. When the value falls, however, the stockholder can lose a lot of money.

5. The place where stocks are sold is called the stock market.

​Stock Market Crash

• Many Americans thought the boom would last forever.

• •They borrowed money to buy consumer goods and invest in stocks.

• Then on October 29, 1929, the stock market

• This would mark the beginning of the Great Depression.

• The Great Depression was the longest period of unemployment and low economic growth in American history.

Multiple Choice

What event marked the beginning of the Great Depression?

• Roaring 20's

• Harlem Renaissance

• Stock Market Crash of 1929

• Dust Bowl

​

​Wall Street in New York City after stocks crash.

Open Ended

State the following...

1 thing you KNOW about this pic,

1 thing you THINK about this pic,

1 thing you WONDER about this pic.

• The market crashed caused people to feel less confident in the American economy.

• Businesses ordered fewer goods from factories because customers were buying fewer things.

• Fewer orders caused unemployment.

• Within a few years many businesses closed and unemployment rose.

• This period of hard times was known as the Great Depression.

• The Great Depression lasted through the 1930’s.

Open Ended

How did the Stock Market Crash affect consumers' behavior (when purchasing new products such as automobiles)

Banking Systems Fall

• ​After the crash, many Americans panicked and withdrew their money from banks

• Banks had invested in the Stock Market and lost money

• In 1929- 600 banks fail

• By 1933 – 11,000 of the 25,000 banks nationwide had collapsed.

​High Tariffs

• The U.S. was not the only country in a Great Depression

• Much of Europe suffered throughout the 1920s

• In 1930, Congress passed the toughest tariff in U.S. history called the Hawley- Smoot Tariff

• It was meant to protect U.S. industry yet had the opposite effect

• World trade fell 40%

​American Hardship

• ​The Great Depression brought hardship, homelessness, and hunger to millions

• Across the country, people lost their jobs, and their homes

• Some built makeshifts shacks out of scrap material

• Before long whole shantytowns (sometimes called Hoovervilles in mock reference to the president) sprung up.

​

Open Ended

What do you THINK life was like in a shantytown?

Give your response in a short sentence.

​American Hardship

• ​One of the common features of urban areas during the era were soup kitchens and bread lines

• Soup kitchens and bread lines offered free or low-cost food for people

Multiple Select

Check ALL the causes of the Great Depression

• Stock Market Crash of 1929

• Dust Bowl

• Over Production

• High Tariffs

• New Deal

​Conditions for Minorities

• ​Conditions for African Americans and Latinos were especially difficult

• Unemployment was the highest among minorities and their pay was the lowest

• Blacks experienced increased violence.

​Culture in the 1930's

• ​Many artist expressed the suffering of the Great Depression through photographs, music, and writing.

• ​Dorothea Lange was a photographer who took pictures of people who were hurt the most during the depression

​Dorothea Lange's most famous photo

​Culture in the 1930's

• Duke Ellington was a U.S. pianist, composer, and bandleader.

• He was one of the originators of big-band jazz,

• Big band jazz is jazz that uses large orchestras with many musicians.)​

​Culture in the 1930's

• ​Jesse Owens was a famous track & field athlete/star of the 1930's

• ​He won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics.

• ​Owens was the grandson of an enslaved African

• ​Jesse Owens inspired many Americans to achieve their best.

​Culture in the 1930's

• Margaret Mitchell​ was a writer from Atlanta, GA

• ​She wrote the novel, Gone With the Wind

• ​This novel became a very popular movie.

Multiple Choice

Which artist was a track star who inspired Americans to be their best?

• Usain Bolt

• Louie Armstrong

• Duke Ellington

• Jesse Owens

Multiple Choice

Who was the famous author who wrote the novel, Gone With the Wind?

• Dorothea Lange

• Margaret Mitchell

• Rosa Parks

• Duke Ellington

​Rural Life during Depression

• ​While the Depression was difficult for everyone, farmers did have one advantage; they could grow food for their families

• Thousands of farmers, however, lost their land

• Many turned to tenant farming and barely scraped out a living

​Rural Life during Depression

• ​A severe drought gripped the Great Plains in the early 1930s

• Wind scattered the topsoil, exposing sand and grit

• The resulting dust traveled hundreds of miles

• One storm in 1934 picked up millions of tons of dust from the Plains an carried it to the East Coast

Multiple Choice

What does the word "drought" mean?

• to dribble a ball

• to make too much of something

• short periods with little rain

• long periods with little to no rain

​The Dust Bowl & It's causes

• ​The Southern part of the Great Plains was once known as "wheat central."

• ​Farmers moved to these grasslands to grow crops and raise livestock.

• ​But these practices harmed the land.

• ​Cattle ate too much grass and plowing destroyed the soil.

• ​Droughts made the soil worst.

• ​This caused The Dust Bowl which lasted from 1933-1937

Open Ended

List 2 causes of the Dust Bowl

Multiple Choice

The Dust Bowl affected which type of Americans?

• The Wealthy

• Farmers

• Entertainers

• Business Men

​Rural Life during depression

• ​Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado were the hardest hit regions during the Dust Bowl

• Many farmers migrated to California and other Pacific Coast states.

• Although they migrated from all over, ​they were given the nickname, "Okies" from farmers who lived in Oklahoma.

Poll

What are some solutions you would suggest to pull America out of the Great Depression?

• Create more jobs; put people to work.

• Encourage Americans to move to California or out West.

• To be patient; the economy will get better.

• I am not sure; this looks too difficult to solve.

​A New Deal for America

​Herbert Hoover

• ​He was the president during the Great Depression in the 1920's

• ​Hoover believed the government should not play a big role in the economy.

• ​He thought the economy would improve on its own; but it didn't

​Roosevelt Becomes President

• ​Roosevelt was elected president in 1932.

• ​He thought the federal government should take action to end the Depression.

• ​He promised to create government programs that would end America's hardships.

• ​These programs would be named, THE NEW DEAL

​Purpose of the New Deal

​RELIEF

​

​RECOVERY

​

​REFORM

​The New Deal

• ​Programs in The New Deal helped Americans get food, shelter, and jobs during the depression.

• ​Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of FDR, helped to get people (especially women) involved in these programs.

• ​Mrs. Roosevelt also spoke out for the rights of workers, African Americans, and children

Multiple Select

Eleanor Roosevelt was a popular 1st Lady because she was very helpful to the American people. What supports did she offer?

• Eleanor Roosevelt spoke out for the rights of workers and children.

• Eleanor Roosevelt started programs for young people.

• Eleanor Roosevelt argued for laws that protected African Americans.

• Eleanor Roosevelt created a peace treaty organization to prevent future wars.

​Civilian Conservation Corps

• ​was designed to provide jobs for young men, and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression.

• ​These young men found work in the nation's forests & parks.

• CCC also provided training for those who enrolled in the project.

• Work included the planting of trees, building reservoirs, recreational facilities, forest trail construction, disaster relief and fire control projects.

Open Ended

CCC program put young men to work. List ONE job that the CCC gave to these men who enrolled.

Works Progress Administration​

• employed workers to build public buildings and roadways.

• ​hired men who were not formally educated.

• ​workers built libraries, roads, schools, and airports.

Multiple Choice

The Works Progress Administration hired men to build...

• dams and waterways.

• national parks.

• houses for the poor.

• public buildings and roadways.

​Tennessee Valley Authority TVA

• ​People working with this program helped build dams on the Tennessee River.

• ​These dams created HYDORELECTRICITY for rural areas in the Southeast.

• ​Hydorelectricity is electricity produced from moving water.

• ​These dams also prevented floods.

​TVA MAP

Multiple Choice

What is HYDROELECTRICITY?

• harnessing energy to power cars

• special water created to grow better crops

• electricity from moving water

• electricity harnessed from the wind

​Social Security Act of 1935

• ​Social Security provides money to people over age 65.

• ​It also helps those who have disabilities and cannot work.

• ​The Social Security Act is still in effect today.

Open Ended

Which types of Americans does the Social Security Act support? There are two types of Americans.

​Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

• ​established after the collapse of many American banks during the initial years of the Great Depression.

• ​aims to keep people's money safe. Specifically, the money people put into American banks. If money is lost they will replace it.