Impact of the Great Depression on American Society

1. Impact of the Great Depression on American Society IB History of the Americas

2. Note-taking activity Use the chart provided that divides these topics. Rural Urban Men Women African Americans Latinos/Hispanics Children In the space provided, list facts regarding the impact of the Great Depression

3. RURAL LIFE DURING THE 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 Between 1929-1932 almost ½ million farmers lost their land

4. Rural people (farmers) They were also hit hard by the depression. Many lost their lands and had to become sharecroppers. The only advantage for these people was the fact that they could grow food for themselves. If they had the land. 1929-1932 over 400,000 farms were lost to foreclosure.

5. Many people packed up and moved to California looking for agricultural work.

8. Disaster Meets Disaster

9. Dust Bowl The “ground zero” of the Dust Bowl included parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The effects of the Dustbowl would physically impact about 26 states. The overall effect would be felt throughout the whole nation.

19. Great Depression in the Cities People in the cities not only lost their jobs, they lost their homes. This led to: Shantytowns (A.K.A. Hoovervilles) Soup Kitchens Breadlines

21. In Detroit… The Great Depression crippled the industries of Michigan as well. Henry Ford was one of the many tycoons who resisted the idea that the economy was bad. He Actually gave raises. Then a year later decreased pay.

22. Impact on Workers and Farmers • August 1931 – Ford closed its Detroit factories. • 75,000 unemployed in one day. • Millions others unemployed.

23. Effect on Workers and Farmers • Because large factories closed – small businesses and restaurants began to fail too. • No customers • No merchandise • Rich people laid off staff

25. Review of Stock Market

26. Unemployment Before the Great Depression the percentage of the nation that was unemployed was 3.2%. By 1933, approximately 25% of the nations population was unemployed, which translates to 13 million people out of jobs. In the cities -Many people could not make their mortgage or rent payments and ended up being homeless. -Many families would have to scrounge around in garbage cans for food or beg on street corners from the wealthy people that passed by.

31. BONUS ARMY A 1932 incident further damaged Hoover’s image That spring about 15,000 World War I vets arrived in Washington to support a proposed bill The Patman Bill would have authorized Congress to pay a bonus to WWI vets immediately The bonus was scheduled to be paid in 1945 --- The Army vets wanted it NOW

32. BONUS ARMY TURNED DOWN Hoover called the Bonus marchers, “Communists and criminals” On June 17, 1932 the Senate voted down the Patman Bill Thousands of Bonus Army soldiers protest – Spring 1932

33. BONUS MARCHERS CLASH WITH SOLDIERS Hoover told the Bonus marchers to go home– most did 2,000 refused to leave Hoover sent a force of 1,000 soldiers under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and his aide Dwight Eisenhower

34. AMERICANS SHOCKED AT TREATMENT OF WWI VETS MacArthur’s 12th infantry gassed more than 1,000 marchers, including an 11-month old baby, who died Two vets were shot and scores injured Americans were outraged and Hoover’s image suffered

35. Impact on Men Men finding themselves out of work now had to rely on their wives and children in some cases to help make ends meet. Many did not take this loss of power as the primary decision maker and breadwinner very well. Some became so frustrated that they just walked out on their families completely. A 1940 survey revealed that 1.5 million married women had been abandoned by their husbands.

36. Families all over the United States faced hard times. American families faced hard times. Some forced to split up. Some roamed the country trying to find work. Children often had to drop out of school and take low-paying jobs or leave home and fend for themselves. Many tried to stick together for moral support. Women tried to save money by keeping an eye on the family budget: Example: groups of women would go shopping together, buy in bulk, and split the food and costs Women would patch up old clothes instead of buying new ones

37. Impact on Family Life Many couples delayed marriage - the divorce rate dropped sharply (it was too expensive to pay the legal fees and support two households); and birth rates dropped below the replacement level for the first time in American history.

38. Stress on Families • Men felt like failures for not providing for families. • Women were often fired for “taking” jobs from men. • Particularly if married • Women took low-paying jobs as domestics.

39. Social & Psychological Effects People had become so demoralized by the experience that suicides increased 30% during 1928-1932. Many people did not go to see a doctor or a dentist because they didn’t have the money to spare. -People had to make tough decisions as to how to spend their money. In most cases it came down to life and death. Women who didn’t work before took jobs to help support the family when the man was out of work

40. Social & Psychological effects cont... Men that believed they had to provide for their family, would leave home to find work -In order to do this they would ride the rails across the country in search of jobs and send money back home when they were employed. Society recognized with various needs of one another and tried to help. -People would give blankets, food and even space in their home for families that were in need.

41. Depression’s Effect on Health • “No one has starved.” • President Hoover

42. Effect on Health • But some did. • Thousands went hungry. • Poor, hungry and without shelter – more prone to illness. • Particularly children- suffered from poor diets and lack of health care. • Malnutrition rose from 18% in 1928 to 60% in 1931

43. Impact on Health • In the country, people grew food. • Used for food and to barter for other goods. • In the cities, sold apples and pencils. • Begged for money and food. • Fought over restaurant garbage.

44. Closeness in a Time of Need The Great Depression brought communities back together. -People would go out of their way for others. -The old habits of our nation had returned and would shape a new generation of people that lived through one of America’s hardest times. The Great Depression would also change people’s lifestyles from spending money freely to saving and thriftiness.

45. Women The majority of women found themselves struggling to get by with less. The typical American woman had a husband still employed, although not working full time and taking a pay cut. Most women experienced the Depression in terms increased domestic labor as wage cuts and unemployment or partial employment sharply reduced household budgets

46. Eleanor Roosevelt’s It’s Up to the Women (1933) • Book aimed at showing women how to pull country through economic crisis:– • "The women know that life must go on and that the needs of life must be met and it is their courage and determination which, time and again, have pulled us through worse crises than the present one.” • •Women's daily lives summarized by E.R. as "endless little economies and constant anxiety for fear of some catastrophe such as accident or illness which may completely swamp the family budget."

47. Household Incomes • Over half of families in the 1930s had incomes between $500 and $1,500 a year.–Median income for 1935-36 was $1,160. • This meant families had to make do on $20-25 a week • With care, a woman could feed a family of six on $5 a week: –milk at l0c a quart, –a loaf of bread at 7c, –butter 23c a pound, –two pounds hamburger for 25c • Women's Bureau, Betty Crocker, home economists across country developed recipes for women using cheaper and fewer ingredients with which to stretch their budgets and feed their families.

48. Domestic Violence •Tension of this arrangement visible in sharp rise in domestic violence reports. •As domestic violence epidemic is noted by government agencies .•Women are officially told that domestic violence is the result of men’s depression and women’s lack of sympathy. •Women are advised to return home and make their men feel more like men.

49. Effects on Women and Children it was believed that if all married women left the workforce then there would be enough jobs for men-1931 Working women became targets of resentment. Some people believed women had no right to work while men were unemployed.