From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: August 13, 2007 2:18:24 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: (1) A Good Time to Remember Life during the Great
Depression -- The Basics
www.angelfire.com/retro/lisawebworld/depression.html
The Depression wasn't caused by the 1929 stock market crash alone.
During the 1920's, many factors combined to weaken the economy,
causing it to crumble into dust when the crash actually did occur.
maybe it won't last?
The devastating effects of the crash became apparent almost
immediately, but at first it looked like the bad times might not
last. Between January and May 1930, stock prices actually rose,
giving people false hope. It was not to be, however -- prices
resumed falling in May 1930.
========================================
losses
the rich
Although the amount of money lost in the crash was high, the number
of people who were directly affected was relatively small. Most
were wealthy businessmen and financiers, and at first they seemed
to have a nonchalant, almost arrogant attitude about it all.
business & industry
At first, businesses cut back production and laid off workers to
keep afloat, but this was not enough. By the end of 1931, nearly
60,000 businesses had failed. Auto sales fell by half, causing
Henry Ford to shut down his factories. Industrial output in 1933
was less than half of what it was in pre-crash 1929.
workers
Employers began by cutting salaries an average of 40 to 60 percent.
Then came layoffs and business failures, resulting in unemployment
with no hopes of finding new jobs.
unemployment stats:
October 1929: 700,000
November 1929: 1.5 million
March 1930: 3.2 million
Later in 1930: 7.5 million
1931: 8 million
1932: 12 million
1933: 25 percent of the work force
A Run On The Bank
Thousands of banks closed during the Depression
banks
1,352 banks had failed by the end of 1930, including the United
States Bank. 2,294 banks failed in 1931. People lost their life
savings, and banks were not in a position to lend money to
struggling farmers or businesses.
savings
With each bank failure, people lost their entire life savings when
their uninsured deposits vanished. Between 1930 and 1933, 9 million
savings accounts were wiped out. The accounts that were kept in
solvent banks were cleaned out when people lost their jobs and
needed to use their savings to survive.
a vicious cycle
When people don't work, they don't buy. When banks can't lend money
and people don't buy, industry shuts down. When industry shuts down
and production slows, people are laid off. Things got worse and worse.
========================================
results
hunger
With no income, people simply couldn't buy food. Hunger was the
most devastating result of all.
People fought each other for scraps of food in restaurant garbage
cans. Men attacked trucks delivering food to hotels. In cities,
thousands of people lined up at soup kitchens.
At an Appalachian mountain school, a girl who looked sick was told
to go home and get something to eat. "I can't," she replied," It's
my sister's turn to eat."
In backwoods areas, people ate dandelions and blackberries, and
hunted rabbits, squirrels, possums, and birds.
living in squalor
For people who were lucky enough to still have a home, they often
did without heat or light because they couldn't pay the bills.
Landlords couldn't afford to maintain their buildings (or refused
to) and destitute people were often found to be living in buildings
that should have been torn down.
homeless
When you were unable to pay even the rent, you were evicted. Whole
families were thrown out, their belongings stacked outside on the
sidewalk.
Children at play in the early 30's moved their dolls around in a
new game they called "eviction."
Homeless people slept in doorways, on park benches, under
shrubbery, in large unused pipes in pipe yards, in huge ovens at
closed steel plants, under viaducts and bridges, and in abandoned
autos and trolleys. If they managed to get a little money, they
spent the night on urine-stained mattresses in lice-ridden, rat-
infested flophouses for 10 to 15 cents a night.
They constructed makeshift shacks and shanties out of whatever was
handy: scrap wood, scrap metal, cardboard, orange crates, and metal
signs. On the outskirts of town, these groupings of shacks were
known as shantytowns and hoovervilles.
The homeless foraged for food in garbage dumps, panhandled on the
street, begged at homes, and made "mulligan" stews out of whatever
they could find that was edible.
-----
Substandard Housing
Unemployment
Job Lines
Foreclosures
Teenagers Riding The Rails
low morale
An attitude of resignation and defeat began to show itself
everywhere. 20,000 people committed suicide in 1931. Even President
Hoover had an attitude of defeat at the end of his term.
schools close
In 1933, many towns ran out of the funds necessary to keep their
schools open. For 175,000 children, school didn't open at all that
year, and for millions more, the school term ended on January 1st.
This was especially difficult for those youngsters who saw
education as a road to a better life.
hobos & tramps
Homeless people tended to stay in the area, while hobos and tramps
"rode the rails" to find, if not a better life, at least some
temporary work. Visit my Lifestyle page to learn about hobos.
children fending for themselves
During the early 30's, 3 million children between the ages of 7 and
17 left school. Many did so in order to find work, while others
left because their schools were closed. 200,000 of them became
hobos. They usually traveled in groups, where they protected each
other and stood up for each other. Some of these teenage hobos were
girls who, like their adult counterparts, dressed like boys. Visit
my Lifestyle page to learn about teenage hobos.
reduction of rights
Some areas banned welfare recipients from voting, and poll taxes
prevented those without money from voting. Property and residency
requirements prevented the homeless from voting or even from
receiving aid.
========================================
the government doesn't respond
President Hoover and other politicians believed that free
enterprise, individual charity, and hard work would bring us out of
the Depression. Direct federal assistance was evil, and would
stifle the self-reliance that Americans were famous for.
The government tended to ignore the problems of the
Depression....in fact, some politicians arrogantly believed that
hard times were good for us.
"Too much prosperity ruins the fiber of the people."
--Dwight Morrow
Hoover insisted that the Red Cross and other private charities take
up the burden of helping the poor. The task was overwhelming, and
became nearly impossible when the federal government withheld funding.
While President Hoover didn't cause the Depression, his inability
or refusal to do anything about it caused him to be blamed for it
none the less:
Hoover blankets: old newspapers used for warmth while sleeping on
park benches
Hoover flags: the fabric of empty pockets turned inside-out
Hoover hogs: jackrabbits caught for food
Hoover wagons: old broken-down autos towed by mules
Hoovervilles: groups of shacks and shanties on the outskirts of town
Hoover was completely out of touch. He kept assuring us that
"prosperity is just around the corner." When hundreds of destitute
people were selling apples on city streets, he didn't understand
why "so many persons left their jobs for the more profitable one of
selling apples."
========================================
doing what we can
Soup Kitchens & Bread Lines
Iowa Calls Halt To Penny Auctions
charity
The Red Cross tried valiantly to help the poor, but they couldn't
do much without the federal funds they needed. The money they
managed to raise was quickly used up, and families had to be
dropped from the rolls and turned away.
Mexican repatriation
Between 1931 and 1934, America used threats, propaganda, and the
offer of free transportation to send Mexican-Americans back to
Mexico, thereby reducing the burden and opening up more jobs.
apple sellers
The International Apple Shippers Association sold apples to the
unemployed at a greatly reduced rate on credit. This resulted in
city streets crowded with apple sellers....there were 6,000 in New
York City alone. This remedy only worked for a little while, and by
the end of 1931 the apple sellers were all gone.
war veterans demand bonus
In 1932, World War I veterans camped at the White House, demanding
an advance payment of a war bonus that wasn't scheduled to be
dispensed until 1945.
self-help organizations
In some cities, self-help organizations formed barter systems.
People who didn't have money could trade services for food and
other necessities.
criminals
As usual, there were people who took it upon themselves to work
outside the law. Because they never robbed poor people, and because
they sometimes tore up mortgages when they robbed a bank, they were
heroes to the oppressed and poor.
penny auctions
Farmers used threats and violence to prevent buyers from bidding
more than a few cents on foreclosed farms. In this way, the farm
and equipment could be bought back by the original owner for next
to nothing, and his land was saved.
foreclosure moratoriums
Some states passed foreclosure moratorium laws, which put a hold on
farm foreclosures until the economy improved.
soup kitchens
Large cities established soup kitchens and bread lines, and
thousands of unemployed people waited in line every day for the
simple meals they offered. Even Al Capone and his gang opened
Chicago's first soup kitchen in 1931. For many people, the soup
kitchen meal was the only food they would see that day. At its
peak, New York City had 82 bread lines providing 85,000 meals a
day. It was difficult for hard-working people to swallow their
pride when hunger drove them to a soup kitchen.
morale-boosters
Movies, songs, and humor provided an escape from the harsh
realities of the Depression. Rumors of bankrupt financiers
committing suicide prompted Eddie Cantor to add a new joke to his
Broadway routine:
hotel clerk to guest: "Do you want the room for sleeping or for
jumping?"
Black migrant workers prepare to travel
to the next farm
looking for a better life
Foreclosed farmers, hobos, and dust bowl refugees became migratory
field hands. Many of them "followed the harvest," while others
moved to the lush, fertile fields of California.
---------------------------------------------
the New Deal
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President in 1933, he pledged
a "new deal for the nation." During his famous first 100 days, he
passed a flurry of legislation and created agencies to get the ball
rolling.
1933 Emergency Banking Act
FDR imposed a four-day bank holiday while he put together a plan to
stabilize the nation's banks. He held his first radio "fireside
chat" to announce the reopening of the banks, and when they did,
they were stable.
1933 Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
To combat the immediate results of the depression, FDR gave $500
million to the states for emergency food and shelter.
1933-1934 Civil Works Administration (CWA)
The CWA was a short-term project that provided 4 million
construction and public works jobs during the winter of 1933-34.
Despite the best efforts of First Lady Eleanor, only 19 percent of
the workers were women.
1933 Federal Surplus Relief Corp
This agency purchased surplus animals and crops for distribution to
the states.
1933 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Also known as "soil soldiers" and "Roosevelt's tree army," the
members of this agency were hired to work on conservation projects
like reforestation, soil reclamation, wildlife refuges, firebreaks,
and improvements to our national parks.
Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
This agency provided electricity for rural homes and farms.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
By constructing housing projects in the inner cities, the FHA
created affordable housing for low-income families.
1934-1940's Department Of Interior Homesteads
This organization provided subsidized housing for homeowners who
agreed to work the land as dairy and truck farmers.
1933 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC)
The FDIC insured bank deposits against bank failures.
1933 Public Works Administration (PWA)
This agency provided thousands of construction jobs all across the
country. PWA workers built swimming pools, highways, bridges, band
shells, hospitals, schools, tunnels, and dams to irrigate land and
provide cheap electric power. Every county in America (except 3)
had at least one PWA project.
1933-1934 National Recovery Act (NRA)
This agency, using the eagle as its symbol, controlled prices,
wages, working hours and working conditions.
1935-1943 Works Progress Administration (WPA)
The WPA provided work for artists, writers, composers and
musicians. Murals were painted on public buildings, symphonies and
plays were written, and literary projects were undertaken.
1934 Indian Reorganization Act
This agency reassigned reservation land, organized tribes into self-
governing bodies, and stopped forcing the Indians to assimilate
into white culture.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
The TVA worked on improvements and dam-building projects to bring
cheap electric power.
1933-1935 Agricultural Adjustment Act
1935-1937 Resettlement Administration (RA)
1937-1944 Farm Security Administration (FSA)
This series of agencies was designed to assist farmers and the
rural poor by moving them to more productive lands and providing
them with loans.
1935 Social Security
This program was designed to provide financial security to
Americans in the event of death, disability, or old age. The first
benefits were scheduled to be dispensed in 1942.
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