n

The Great Depression of the 1930s forced thousands of workers out oftheir jobs. Many had to line up in the streets just to get bread and food.

Looking at Key Terms.Great Depression. Dust Bowl. Okies.Arkies. Hooverville

.breadline: a line in whichpeople stand to receive food

.repatriation: when a per-son is sent back to his orher own country

Looking at Key Words.stock market: a business

where stocks, or shares ofcompanies are bought andsold

.depression: a deep eco-nomic downturn

.relief: help given to thosein poverty or need

~~apter 1J!

In the morning,In the evening,Ain't we got fun?

This happy song was a good symbolfor the 1920s. It was a period of wealthfor many people. However, in October1929, the fun came to an end. The pros-perity of the 1920s gave way to theGreat Depression of the 1930s.

Throughout most of the 1920s, stockprices rose. Beginning in 1928, they rosevery quickly. People who owned stocksmade a great deal of money. However,many people had bought stocks withborrowed money. If stock prices everfell, these people would not have themoney to pay their debts.

Suddenly on October 24, 1929, stockprices did fall. They fell so fast thatstockholders lost over $3 billion. Neverhad prices fallen so far in a single day.N ever had losses been so large. Peoplecalled October 24 "Black Thursday."

On Tuesday, October 29, stock pricesfell again. The drop in prices and thelosses were even worse than those of afew days earlier. October 29 becameknown as "Black Tuesday." AfterOctober 1929, share prices continued tofall for almost four years. By 1932,shares were worth only one-fifth of their1929 value. Thousands of Americanshad lost most of their money.

The Great Depression was the worsteconomic crisis in U.S. history. Middleclass and even rich people sank intopoverty. Those who already were poorfound it even harder to survive. A sadsong became the symbol of the new era."Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" spokefor millions of Americans:

They used to tell me I was buildinga dream

And so I followed the mob.When there was earth to plow, or

guns to bear [carry]I was always thereRight on the job.

Once I built a railroad, made it runMade it race against time.Once I built a railroad,Now it's done.Brother, can you spare a dime?"

The stock market crash OnThursday, October 24, 1929, the stockmarket in New York City crashed. Astock market is a place where stocks,or shares of companies, are bought andsold. When the prices of stocks rise, peo-ple who own them make money. Whenprices fall, people who own the stockslose money.

The Great Depression The stockmarket crash marked the beginning ofthe Great Depression. A depression isa severe economic downturn. However,the crash was not the only cause of thedepression. Large parts of the UnitedStates' economy already were in troubleby October 1929.

Prices of farm crops were very low.Many farmers had trouble paying theirbills. Workers in factories earned lowwages. Most could not afford the cars,radios and other products U.S. factorieswere building.

The stock market crash of October1929 was the final blow that made theweak U.S. economy fall apart. Between1929 and 1932, over 5,000 banks failed.These banks had loaned money to peo-ple and businesses. Neither group couldpay their loans. Millions lost all theirmoney. Over 100,000 businesses failed.

~ha~ter 1J 1 ~ ~ I

How did people survive during the GreatDepression?

1932Hooveragency

March 1929Herbert Hoover becomes President.

1932About 12 million U.S. workers are unemployed.

1933A drought begins in the Plains.

October 1929The stock market crashes in N. V.C.

1932Between 1 and 2 million people become homeless.

As the Depression spread, millions ofpeople lost their jobs. By 1932, about 12million U.S. workers were unemployed.That was almost a quarter of the U.S.work force.

appeared in U.S. cities. These shackswere built of cardboard, scrap metal,packing boxes, and tar paper. People bit-terly called these settlementsHoovervilles, after President HerbertHoover. Americans were angry thatPresident Hoover's attempts to fight theDepression were failing. The largestHooverville was in St. Louis, Missouri.Over 1,000 people lived there.

In other cities, people lived whereverthey could find shelter. They lived inunused sewer pipes, under bridges, onsubways, in public parks, and even incaves. During the winter, some home-less people asked to sleep in jail cells.There, at least they would be warm. By1932, between one and two millionAmericans were homeless.

H unger was even more widespreadthan homelessness. Millions of peoplehad barely enough money to buy food.

Unemployed and homelessDuring the 1930s, millions of peoplewalked city streets looking for work.Thousands more rode railroad boxcarsfrom state to state trying to find a job.Others simply walked from town totown. One man from Arkansas walked900 miles (1,440 kilometers) looking fora job. Few found work. By the early1930s, one million New Yorkers werewithout jobs. In Chicago, there were660,000 jobless. In Cleveland, half of allworkers could not find work.

Mter they lost their jobs, many peoplealso lost their homes. Soon settlementsof shacks made by the homeless

sets upfor busi

reliefnesses.

Those who did not have money turnedto charity. Churches and other charitiesopened up soup kitchens in the cities tofeed the hungry. Each day millions ofhungry people stood on breadlines toget scraps of food.

This aid, or relief, was not enough.People grew sick from lack of food.Children suffered the most. In NewYork City, one child in five was hungry.In poorer parts of the country, the situa-tion was even worse.

families left home. By 1940, over 1.5million men had left their wives. Often,children left home so their parentswould not have to feed them. About250,000 children left home and wan-dered across the country.

Yet most families managed to sticktogether. Fathers, mothers, and childrenfound whatever work they could to helpthe family. People with houses or apart-ments took in boarders to help meetexpenses. Those with backyards plantedvegetable gardens. City people grewfood in vacant lots. Many wives madesome extra money by making and sell-ing baked goods or clothing. Millions offamilies learned to get along with whatthey had. They survived the Depression.

Family life The Depression alsoweakened the confidence of theAmerican people. Fathers who could nolonger feed their families blamed them-selves. Many who could not face their

In every city, the homeless slept in sewer pipes or in huts made of tin, cardboard,and scraps of wood. This slum sprang up in an empty lot in New York City. Why doyou think they were nicknamed "Hoovervilles"?

~napter 1J 111

women worked. Many took jobs as ser-vants in private homes where theyworked for extremely low wages.

Mrican Americans suffered even morethan most other Americans during theDepression. One reason was thatAfrican Americans were poorer thanmost Americans to begin with. As thepoet Langston Hughes wrote, "TheDepression brought everyone down apeg or two. And the Negroes had but afew pegs to fall."

Life in the South Most AfricanAmericans during the 1930s still livedin the South. Many were tenant farmerswho paid their landlords a share of theircrop as rent. These farmers lived inpoverty even during good times.

The tenant farmers' most importantcrop was cotton. But during theDepression the price of cotton droppedby two-thirds. A crop that would havebrought $300 now brought $100. Itbecame impossible to make a living onthe land. In the early 1930s, the averageincome of African American cottonfarmers was less than $200 per year.

Some Mrican American tenant farm-ers moved to northern cities looking forwork. Few of them found jobs. However,Mrican American organizations provid-ed help for the unemployed. Churchesstarted soup kitchens and gave clothingto the needy. The National UrbanLeague set up shelters that gave thepoor food, clothing, and medical care.

The Depression increased discrimina-tion in the United States. However,there also were examples of cooperationbetween whites and Mrican Americans.In Arkansas, black and white tenantfarmers organized the Southern TenantFarmers Union. The union fought forbetter conditions from the landowners.It published a newspaper called theSharecroppers Voice.

The landlords often used violenceagainst the union. They hired men tobreak up union meetings and beatunion organizers. The Southern TenantFarmers Union won few victories.However, despite great hardship itsmembers stuck together.

African Americans During the1920s, over 800,000 Mrican Americansleft their homes in the South and movedto northern cities. (See Chapter 3.)Many were unskilled workers. Theytook jobs that others did not want.These jobs were low paying anddemanded few skills. However, manylost their jobs when the Depression hit.As the last hired, African Americansoften were the first fired.

The few jobs that were available oftenwent to unemployed whites. Discrim-ination made the chances of finding workeven slimmer for Mrican Americans. By1932, the jobless rate among AfricanAmericans was 50 percent. That wasdouble the national average.

African Americans who managed tokeep their jobs during the Depressionalso suffered. As with Americans frommany other groups, Mrican Americanswith jobs had their wages cut. In somecases, employers cut wages in half. Inmany African American families,

Mexican migrant workersMexican migrant workers also suffered

~~apter 1J11 ~I

How were African Americans, MexicanAmericans, and others affected by theDepression?

Mexican American farm workers suffered greatly during the Depression. Whenmigrant workers struck because of bad conditions, the state sent in police, ratherthan food. Explain the sign these women are carrying.

special hardship during the Depression.Over one million Mexicans came to theUnited States during the 1920s. Most ofthem worked as laborers on farms. Theyearned very low wages. When theDepression began, many of these jobswere cut.

Some Mexicans who lost their jobsdecided to return to Mexico. Others,however, were sent home by force. Citieswith relief programs did not want tospend money on Mexic~ns. The federalgovernment called the policy of forcingMexicans to leave the United Statesrepatriation. Repatriation means tosend a person back to the home country.

Altogether about 400,000 Mexicanswere repatriated. Some of those sent toMexico were children who had beenborn in the United States. This meansthey were U.S. citizens when the gov-ernment sent them to Mexico.

Okies and Arkies The Depressionforced another group to move. Thesepeople came from the plains ofOklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Texasand Missouri. The soil in this regionhad been used too much for farming andgrazing animals. Beginning in 1933, aterrible drought began. Strong windsblew the dry, dusty soil across theplains. The dust storms were so largethat they blocked out the sun. Theywere called "black blizzards." As oneman put it, "Noon was like night."People called the region where thedrought was the Dust Bowl. (See themap on page 114.)

Many farmers in the Dust Bowl hadto leave their farms. Hundreds of thou-sands traveled west toward Californialooking for work. Entire families stuffedthemselves and their belongings intocreaky old cars that often broke down.

~~a~ler 1J 11 J

Reading a Map. What states were in the Dust Bowl? Name some other states thatsuffered from dust storms. Did the dust storms hit most severely in areas that gotmore than 40 inches of rain a year or in areas that got under 20 inches?

Herbert Hoover became President inJanuary 1929. Before that he had beenvery successful in business and publicservice. He became a millionaire beforehe was 40. When he took office, Hooversaid the future of the United States was"bright with hope." Like many others,he could not predict the economic crisisthat would come in less than a year.

Families without cars climbed ontofreight trains or crammed into buses.Because many migrants came fromOklahoma and Arkansas, people calledall of them either "Okies" or "Arkies."

Okies and Arkies traveling west oftenfaced discrimination. One sign on theroad to California read,

"NO JOBS in California. ..IF YOUare looking for work-KEEP OU~"

Still the Okies continued westward.When they reached California, thosewho found jobs usually worked asmigrant farm laborers.

Herbert Hoover When the GreatDepression hit, President Hoover wasagainst government help for the unem-ployed or needy. He feared that suchhelp would make people rely on govern-ment, not themselves. This would robAmericans of their independent spirit.

~~]3 F

Why did President Hoover re{uS'e to aid theneedy?

Hoover's beliefs are one reason thefederal government did not act quicklyto fight the Depression. Another reasonis that the President did not understandhow serious the situation was. FewAmericans did. The country had neverseen anything like the GreatDepression. In the past, the countryrecovered from economic crises withoutthe government's help. That did nothappen after October 1929. In 1930,Hoover believed that the United Stateshad "passed the worst." The Presidentwas wrong. Conditions only worsenedwith each passing day.

Dam on the Colorado River. Work on thedam began in 1930. By the time it wasfinished in 1936, Hoover was no longerPresident.

In 1932, Hoover convinced Congressto set up an agency to give loans tobanks, railroads, life insurance compa-nies, and other organizations. Hooverhoped these loans would be passed on toother businesses. This would help themstay open and hire new workers. Theagency helped a little but not nearlyenough. When Hoover's presidencyended in March 1933, the GreatDepression was as bad as ever.

Hoover and the Depression Atfirst Hoover tried to fight theDepression by making hopeful speechesto build public confidence. People calledthis policy "cheerleading." It failed. In1930, Hoover tried to do more.

The federal government started pro-jects that would give people jobs. Thelargest project was the huge Hoover

~

How did the New Deal affectthe United States?

President Roosevelt called his radio messages "fireside chats." Theywere informal talks that cheered millions of Americans who tuned in tohear them.

Looking at Key Terms.Hundred Days. National Recovery Administration (NRA).Tennessee Valley Authority (TV A) .Social Security Act

Looking at Key Words.fireside chat: a radio talk

President Roosevelt gave tothe nation

.unemployment insur-ance: a system in whichthe government makespayments for a certaintime to people who losetheir jobs

.social security: a govern-ment policy that providespensions to retired people

.welfare: regular govern-ment payments to peoplewho are unable to providefor their own needs

.dictator: a ruler who hascomplete control and power

up in wealth, Roosevelt did not ignorethe problems of the poor. As President,he created many programs to help thepoor through the Depression.

On March 12, 1933, about 60 millionAmericans gathered around theirradios. They already had gone throughfour years of hard times. They were dis-couraged and worried. They were aboutto listen to their new President,Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Roosevelt had been in office only eightdays. Yet he was already makingchanges. Roosevelt decided to speak toAmericans in an informal, or casual,way. He called his talks fireside chats.The President's voice was calm andcomforting. Roosevelt spoke in everydaywords. This helped him win the confi-dence of millions of Americans. For thefirst time since the Depression began,the American people gained some hope.

Franklin Delano RooseveltFranklin was a distant cousin of formerPresident Theodore Roosevelt. Franklinadmired his cousin. He followed hisexample by entering politics. Franklinserved in the New York legislature.Then, he became assistant secretary ofthe navy. In 1920, he ran for VicePresident but lost.

Another important influence onFranklin Roosevelt was his wife.Eleanor Roosevelt had strong viewsabout the problems facing the UnitedStates. She spoke up for the poor andthose who suffered from discrimination.

Despite Franklin's defeat in 1920, hisfuture still looked bright. However, in1921 disaster struck. Franklin becameill with a crippling disease called polio.His legs were paralyzed, and he neverwalked again. Yet polio did not stopRoosevelt. He fought to regain hisstrength and rebuild his body.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt came froma wealthy New York family. He went toan expensive private school and then toHarvard University. Although he grew

Reading a Chart. In what year did the percentage of unemployed nonfarm workersreach its peak? How many years did it take for the unemployed percentage to fall tobelow the level it was at in 1925?

~Ea F

'What steps did Pioesident Roosevelt take toend the Depression?

Roosevelt returned to his politicalcareer. In 1928, he was elected governorof New York. During the next fouryears, he led the fight against theDepression in New York. In 1932,Roosevelt ran for President againstHerbert Hoover and was elected.Roosevelt promised he would help the"forgotten man."

Roosevelt as President Rooseveltbecame President on March 4, 1933.During his campaign, he promisedAmericans a "New Deal." By this hemeant that the government was goingto try new ways to stop the Depression.In his first speech as President,Roosevelt told the American people notto be afraid. "The only thing we have tofear is fear itself," he said. He promisedto act against the Depression.

The very next day the President tookaction. Banks allover the country werefailing. Millions of people with their lifesavings in those banks lost all of theirmoney. People with savings in banksthat had not yet failed were worried.They wanted to take their money out. Ifthey did, those banks would also fail.

On March 6, President Rooseveltclosed all the banks. He called the clos-ing a "bank holiday." Then, thePresident got Congress to pass a billthat helped the banks. That bill becamelaw on March 9. Three days later, thePresident gave his first fireside chat. Heexplained his actions to the Americanpeople. He told them it was safe to leavetheir money in the banks.

The banks reopened on Monday,March 13. That day, Americans putmore money into banks than they took

In 1933, two Native Americans showed support for the efforts of the NationalRecovery Agency to control prices and wages. Chief Little John, then 110 years oldand his great-great-grandson display the "Blue Eagle," symbol of the NRA.

out. The President's actions had endedthe banking crisis.

Roosevelt's Hundred Days Thebank holiday marked the beginning ofthe Hundred Days. During Roosevelt'sfirst 100 days in office, Congress passed15 major laws. Not all of these lawsworked well. Several were failures. Yetthe Hundred Days showed the people ofthe United States that PresidentRoosevelt was different from PresidentHoover. Millions of them believed thatPresident Roosevelt really would givethe nation a New Deal.

up a program that gave jobs to hun-dreds of thousands of young men. Theirjobs included planting trees, fightingfires, and working to control floods.

Another law set up an agency thatgave money to states to help the needy.The man in charge of this program wasHarry Hopkins. He was a former socialworker from New York. Hopkins wantedto get money to the states as fast as pos-sible. In his first two hours as director,he spent over $5 million.

Two major laws aimed at economicrecovery. One set up the NationalRecovery Administration (NRA). Itsjob was to get businesses, workers, andgovernment to work together. The NRAset up rules to control competitionbetween businesses. It also protectedworkers who wanted to organize unions.However, the NRA was not successful. Itfavored large businesses over smallones. Many businesses did not followthe codes.

The same law that created the NRAalso created a program that spent bil-lions of dollars on large building pro-

The New Deal The New Deal hadthree main goals. The first was to pro-vide immediate help to millions of suf-fering Americans. The second was toimprove the economy. The third goalwas to pass new laws so that there werenot so many poor people. People calledthese goals the "three Rs" of relief,recovery, and reform.

Several relief measures became lawduring the Hundred Days. One law set

Under the TVA, the government builtdams on the Tennessee River. It alsobuilt dams on smaller rivers that flowinto it. These dams controlled floodingand provided cheap electricity. (See themap below.) The TVA was a great suc-cess. It saved millions of acres of land. Italso provided good jobs, and broughtprosperity to the region.

jects. These projects included highways,public buildings, and dams. Businessesthat worked on these projects hiredmore workers. The most famous projectwas the Grand Coulee Dam on theColorado River.

Another major law tried to help farm-ers by reducing the amount of cropsthey produced. Fewer crops would helpraise prices. Then, the income of farm-ers would rise. The government there-fore paid farmers not to plant crops.

The most important reform law of theHundred Days set up the TennesseeValley Authority (TVA). In 1933, theTennessee Valley was one of the poorestregions in the United States. Floodingwas a serious problem. Few of the peo-ple in the region had electricity.

Reading a Map. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) changed one of the poorestregions of the United States into a prosperous region. About how many states wereserved by the power stations of the TVA?

1. What were the main goals of theNew Deal?

2. Explain two ways Rooseveltfought the Depression.

President. The New Deal programs con-tinued. But all the New Deal's laws andprograms could not end the Depression.In fact, from 1937 to 1938 theDepression grew much worse. It lasteduntil the beginning of World War II (seeChapter 15). Then huge amounts of gov-ernment spending for the war effortfinally got the economy going.

The New Deal was not popular withall Americans. Some believed the pro-grams would make people depend toomuch on the government. Others fearedNew Deal programs would make thegovernment too powerful.

However, most Americans thought theNew Deal was a success. It providedhelp to millions of Americans. The NewDeal made the government take respon-sibility to help those in need. Its reformsreduced the differences between richand poor.

Most important, by doing these thingsthe New Deal made democracy stronger.During the 1930s, hard times led to therise of dictators in some European coun-tries. A dictator is a ruler who has com-plete control and power. Yet in the UnitedStates, the democratic system continuedto work. President Roosevelt and the NewDeal deserve much of the credit for this.

The New Deal improved conditions forsome Americans after 1933. Unemploy-ment dropped by two million by 1935.Still, over nine million Americans werewithout jobs. In 1935, one worker wroteto Eleanor Roosevelt: "the forgottenman is still forgotten." Millions of othersfelt the same.

More new programs Rooseveltwas not about to give up. "It is commonsense to take a method and try it," hesaid. "If it fails, admit it frankly [hon-estly] and try another. But above all trysomething." He would keep trying newways to fight the Depression.

The President introduced a new seriesof New Deal laws during 1935. One lawput millions of people to work aroundthe country. They built or repaired thou-sands of roads, hospitals, schools, air-ports, and playgrounds. Over the nexteight years the government gave jobs toover 8.5 million people.

The Social Security Act of 1935 wasone of the New Deal's most importantreforms. It provided pensions to retiredAmericans. The law also set up a sys-tem of unemployment insurance.This protected Americans who lost theirjobs. The government would give themmoney for a certain period of time. Thesocial security system also providedpayments to disabled or needy people.These payments are known as welfare.

This system was not perfect. It did notgive all retired Americans pensions. Itdid not give all Americans unemploy-ment insurance. However, it was a giantstep toward improving the lives of mil-lions of Americans.

Roosevelt's second term In 1936,Franklin Roosevelt was reelected

The New Deal helped many groups totake part more fully in American life.

'im]~]~ F

What new measures did PresidentRoosevelt add to the New .Deal?

What gains did immigrants and othergroups make under the New Deal?

Mary McLeod Bethune (left) was a well known educator whose lifelong work wasfighting for the rights of Mrican Americans. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt tirelesslyworked to win support from Americans for New Deal programs.

Under some New Deal programs, immi-grants from southern and easternEurope, women, African Americans,Latinos, and Native Americans weregiven new opportunities.

tion against African Americans. Themain reason was that PresidentRoosevelt needed white southernCongressmen to vote for these pro-grams. To get their votes, he had to per-mit discrimination when the programsstarted operating. For example, someprograms paid Mrican American work-ers less than whites. Other programsforced Mrican Americans to live in seg-regated, or separate, housing. AfricanAmericans working in the CivilianConservation Corps served in segregat-ed units.

A New Deal for everyoneImmigrants from southern and easternEurope held many important govern-ment jobs during Roosevelt's presidency.These immigrants also joined the grow-ing labor union movement.

The New Deal also provided newopportunities for women. FrancesPerkins became the first woman to holda position in the President's cabinet (seeChapter 5). She served as Secretary ofLabor. Thousands of women wereappointed to other government jobs.Many of these jobs involved runningNew Deal programs. Eleanor Rooseveltencouraged the President to hire quali-fied women.

Mary McLeod Bethune Later thissituation began to change. ThePresident named Mrican Americans toimportant government posts. One of themost important of these people wasMary McLeod Bethune.

Bethune was a well-known educatorfrom the South. Although Bethune'sfamily was poor, they made sure thatshe received a good education. Bethunestudied and became a teacher. But shewanted to do more. In the early 1900s,she set out to establish a school for

African Americans and the NewDeal African Americans at first weredisappointed in the New Deal. EarlyNew Deal programs allowed discrimina-

many Mexicans living in the UnitedStates were not citizens and did notqualify for help. Roosevelt also contin-ued the policy begun under PresidentHoover of sending Mexican migrantworkers back to Mexico.

African Americans. Bethune had littlemoney. She sold pies and cakes to raisefunds for her school. In the end, she suc-ceeded. Her school eventually becameBethune-Cookman College in Florida-a college that stands today.

Roosevelt appointed Bethune to headan important government office in 1935.Bethune's job was to make sure moneyintended for schools with AfricanAmerican students actually reachedthem. She helped over 300,000 MricanAmerican young people get an education.

The New Deal did not end discrimina-tion. But it began to move toward thatgoal. As singer Paul Robeson said,"Change was in the air, and this was thebest sign of all."

Native Americans and the NewDeal Native Americans were anothergroup the New Deal helped. A socialworker named John Collier becamehead of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Hefought hard for Native American rights.Collier used the Indian ReorganizationAct of 1934 to help Native Americanspreserve their cultures. He also workedto stop Native American lands frombeing sold.

Latinos and the New Deal TheNew Deal also helped Latinos. Manyworked on government projects. SomeMexican American artists found jobspainting murals for public buildings.

Senator Dennis Chavez of NewMexico helped get relief to Spanish-speaking communities. Chavez was theonly Latino in the U.S. Senate. However,

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