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THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930’S

THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930’S. “ Brother can you spare a dime?”. The Roaring Twenties. A time of wealth and excess. Thousands of Americans migrated to the cities with the hopes of finding a more prosperous life Rise of consumerism Automobiles, clothing, radio, movies.

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THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930’S

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  1. THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930’S “Brother can you spare a dime?”

  2. The Roaring Twenties • A time of wealth and excess. • Thousands of Americans migrated to the cities with the hopes of finding a more prosperous life • Rise of consumerism • Automobiles, clothing, radio, movies

  3. Signs of Trouble • More people than ever before were investing in the stock market, hoping to make a large profit • By the late 20s, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value

  4. STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929 • “Black Thursday”, October 24, 1929 • The market lost 11% of its value at the opening bell on very heavy trading • “Black Tuesday”, October 29, 1929 • about sixteen million shares were traded, and the Dow lost an additional 12%

  5. Fallout • People who have invested in the stock market lose everything • 14 million Americans are jobless (almost 1/3 the workforce) • Banks foreclose on houses and farms • No food, no clothes, no jobs

  6. DUST BOWL (DUST STORMS) OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS 1934-1935

  7. Causes • Severe drought • Extensive plowing of topsoil in the 20s • Conversion of arid grasslands to cultivated farm land • Deep rooted grasses removed

  8. Black SundayApril 14, 1935 • 24 hours of a blinding dust storm • Dreaded black-blizzard covers entire disaster area • Drought adds further devastation

  9. THE VICTIMS OF THE DUST BOWL • Colorado • Kansas • Oklahoma • New Mexico • Texas • Devastation of their cropland • Respiratory health issues • Unsanitary living • Rampant crime • Debt-ridden families

  10. “Okies” • Land ruined, no jobs or opportunities • Mass exodus to California • Migrant workers become source of cheap labor • Conditions are no better elsewhere

  11. The Grapes of Wrath • Published in 1939 • John Steinbeck was interested in the struggles of the Okies and those displaced by the Great Depression • Example of American Realism

  12. Banned • By the San Jose Public Library (June 1939) as “unfit for patrons” • By the Kern County Board of Supervisors from schools and libraries (August 1939) for being “filled with profanity, lewd, foul and obscene language unfit for use in American homes . . . It has offended our citizenry by falsely implying that many of our fine people are a low, ignorant, profane and blasphemous type living in a vicious and filthy manner.” • By the Kansas City Board of Education (August 1939) from schools.

  13. Burned • On the curb by the Salinas Public Library On the sidewalk in Bakersfield, California • Several other cities followed

  14. Condemned • By the Associated Farmers (formed in 1934): “Although the Associated Farmers will not attempt to have the book banned or suppressed, we would not want our women and children to read so vulgar a book. This is a matter for consideration by public bodies. We deny the statements in the book, so consequently if we were to seek for a ban, our motive would be attacked. . . The only inference that can be obtained from Steinbeck’s book is that he is proposing exactly the same sort of overthrow of the present form of government and the substitution of collective agriculture as did Carey McWilliams in his Factories in the Fields. (August 1939) • By the Oklahoma City Times: “Any reader who has his roots planted in the red soil will boil with indignation over the bedraggled, bestial characters that will give Reading The Grapes of Wrath Susan Shillinglaw, San José State University See other side Tom Joad the ignorant east convincing confirmation of their ideas of the people of the southwest . . . if you have children, I’d advise against leaving the book around home. It has Tobacco Road looking as pure as Charlotte Bronte, when it comes to obscene, vulgar, lewd, stable language.”

  15. Homework: Leaving Town • You suddenly have to leave your house or apartment. You must leave your belongings behind, and, aside from a few clothes, you can take only four of your possessions. What would you take? Keep in mind that you will be on the road and won’t be allowed to take anything that won’t fit in the trunk of your car. In a letter to a friend, identify these possessions. Then explain what those items mean to you and why you chose as you did. Are you taking them for sentimental reasons? Because they are practical? Because they are fun? Include your feelings about the items you had to leave behind and any sadness, anger, or frustration that you felt.

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