Now and Then:Is the Present Time

Like the Great Depression

or Different? How? Why?

A collaboration between David Bronsdon Gebler and Kathleen Ann Heise

Vocabulary

Inference and Visualization Warm-Up

1. Hooverville: Let’s examine this word. What do you think the word means?A. Vacuum B. Herbert Hoover C. Refugee or migrant Community D. The Hoover DamLook at the ending. Does the “ville” at the end of the word change your answer? Yes_______ No______What do you see when you think this word _____________________________________________

2. Bread Line: You know the short words. What do they mean together? Who, or what would be in this line?A The bakers B. The children C. The politicians D. The jobless E. The

cars How do you visualize this bread line?

_________________________________________________ Is it fun? Yes_______ No______

3. Begrimed: be-grimedLet’s examine the separate parts of this word. We know the definition of be, but what about the

word grime? Say the word grime to yourself three times. Do you know any words which sound like it? What do

you infer that it means? Something: A. Growing B. Dangerous C. Dirty D. FunWhat do you see when you read begrimed?___________________________________________

4. Dust Bowl:You know what the short words mean. What do you think they mean together?A. A drought B. A cleaning product C. A football game D. A kitchen tool What do you think a dust bowl looks like? _____________________________________________

The Investigation

Some are claiming that our times are becoming like those of the Great Depression.

You and your team partner are now investigative reporters.

Is that claim is true?

Investigation SituationYou and your partner will use your new strategies of

visualization and inference to investigate a recent poem, and poems, articles, and photographs from 1929-1940.

You and your partner will use today’s literature, graphs, photos, and video, along with your homework articles, to give an educated opinion on whether our current era (2008-2010) is like that of the Great Depression (1929-1940). This PowerPoint file will be available to you on the class website so that you can review it on your own.

You must support your opinion with five or more comparisons between the two eras. Make sure you support the comparison by giving your evidence. You may use other sources, but must document them.

You and your partner will present your report in class on Friday answering the research question comparing the two eras, telling how and why you know the answer is true, and giving your evidence.

If you have questions, see the teacher or a librarian.

On Black Tuesday, 10/20/29, the stock market crashed. A group of rich

bankers poured all they had into

supporting it. Within weeks it dropped

and dropped again. Rich men became

poor. Banks closed, leaving customers broke; then they

foreclosed on mortgages. Many

lost their lives’ savings, homes, jobs, farms… all.

This is the floor of the NY Stock Exchange immediately after the market closed on Black Tuesday, as people stare at the figures and understand the total ruin. Some, who had lost their own fortunes and those entrusted to them, despaired and committed suicide. Others endured.

Is today like that Great

Depression?

A Poem from 2008: Recession-Depression

by Ronald W. Hull

How green was the valley of my delight. New opportunity to the left, and to the right.

The world was alive with gluttonous light. Prosperity was endless and out of sight.

And now that that life has come to an end. That long slippery slope formed ‘round the bend.

Under water from the start, with no heart, it seems, The economy cratered and squandered my dreams.

First, a pay cut, and then fewer hours. And then I was cut, like wrapped fresh flowers.

Struggling to pay Peter by robbing Paul, I deluded myself about surviving my fall.

First, the car went, and then the house, Bankruptcy followed this poor church mouse.

Lost my wife and kids in a nasty divorce. My shoe leather bare, I talked myself horse.

On the street with no place to go, handouts and retraining leading to slow.

Death of my dreams and death of my soul. Where are you, God, that I have stooped so low?

If there is a moral to this little lie, there but for fortune, go you or I.*

*Phil Ochs

Copyright 2008 © Ronald W. Hull 11/29/08

Ronald W. Hull did not lose his job, but wrote this in sympathy with those who had. He is aquadriplegic poet.

What do you visualize when you hear this poem? (Recession-Depression)

Teacher modeling: I read “How green was the valley of my delight”, and see in my mind shady trees and green grass in a valley with a stream running through it. Do you see any pictures in the poem?

Answer on the Promethean Board and in the work packet.

This might be one way to see the green valley.

What can you infer from the poem?

Teacher Modeling: I read “The world was alive with gluttonous light”.

I think: Gluttony is eating much more than I need, maybe while others are hungry. That’s bad, it’s greedy. So I infer that he- and “the world”- was greedy to get rich.

What do you infer from this poem?

Answer on the Promethean Board and in the work packet.

We could interpret the line this way.

Is today like the Great Depression? Let’s see.

After Black Tuesday, banks started closing, as they had lost so much money invested in the stock market. Here, people wait outside a bank, hoping to get back some of their money. Without the money saved for quarterly mortgage payments, and later without jobs, many lost their homes. The government mortgage program began in 1934; this helped some, but the program ended up owning many homes, as those without jobs still couldn’t pay, and lost their homes when the mortgage was foreclosed.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime“ Lyrics by Yip Harburg, Music by Jay Gorney (1931)

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on

the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,

Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.

Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime? Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;

Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Close your eyes and visualize, or watch the Depression pictures on the screen or the words in the work packet while you listen.

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,

Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,

Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Sung in 1976 by Tom Waits, with pictures from the actual Great Depression, this performance has great pathos (sadness); it was not sung this way at the time, but faster, as entertainment. In truth, the independent people of the day were discouraged and sometimes despairing, but hated taking charity or the government “dole”. See the Resource page for

other performances of the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVE72Ae82Tw

The full disaster was not just the fall of the stock market, but involved the bank failure, drought and crop failure, and the government tariff legislation, which together deepened and prolonged the agony for so many. New Deal legislation kept some alive after 1933, but the depression lingered until after WWII ended in 1945, although many more had jobs during the war.

The Sun BathersBy William Carlos Williams 1933

A tramp thawing out on a doorstep against an east wall Nov. 1, 1933:

a young man begrimed and in an old army coat wriggling and scratching

while a fat negress in a yellow-house window nearby leans out and yawns into the fine weather

In team pairs discuss and write. You have 12 minutes for this short poem and the one on the next page.

What do I see when I read about this man and this woman?

What do I infer? Each line is rich with suggestion.

To Be Hungry is to Be Great By William Carlos Williams

The small, yellow grass-onion,

spring's first green, precursor

to Manhattan's pavements, when

plucked as it comes, in bunches,

washed, split and fried in

a pan, though inclined to be

a little slimy, if well cooked

and served hot on rye bread

is to beer a perfect appetizer—

and the best part

of it is they grow everywhere.

In team pairs discuss and write:

What do you see?

How hungry would you have to be to enjoy this dinner? What else can you infer?

In the Great Depression, once hard-working, self-respecting men would swallow their pride to stand

in bread lines, so that their families could eat the donated bread.

The Works Progress Administration was a controversial New Deal

program passed in 1935, where the government hired men out of work to

build dams, bridges, parks, etc.

Hoover Dam was an enormous project of the Works Progress Administration, taming the Colorado River. Colossus, a book in June 2010 by Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Hiltzik, discusses the controversial dam and program on its 75th anniversary, according to a Wall Street Journal Review.

Compare 1929-1939 to 2008-2010

Food help- Bread lines, soup kitchens.

Unemployment:

1931 15.9%1932 23.6% (worst years)1933 24.9%

This dipped below 15% in 1937, but was otherwise high until after WWII.

Which time is worse so far?

Food help- Soup kitchens, welfare

Unemployment:

Feb 2008 (Best month) 4.8%

All 2008 5.8%

All 2009 9.3%

January 2010 10%

Current rate ___%

Compare 1929-1939 to 2008-2010

Government: No government welfare or unemployment checks

Business: By 1932, 10,000 Small banks failed, taking customers with them.

Customers then lost homes, as they

couldn’t pay the mortgage. Stocks were worthless.

Even federal mortgageprograms often led to homeloss to the government.

Which is worse so far?

Government: Welfare and unemployment insurance.

Business: Congressional legislation forced banks to make risky home loans to those with poor credit. When the inflated housing market dropped, banks struggled or failed.

About 180 banks have failed from 2008-now, but often they have multiple branches.

Customers now have FDICgovernment insurance on bankaccounts under $10,000.

Many have lost stocks and retirement funds, which are not insured. Some have lost their homes.

Drought: The Dust

BowlOne reason the recession was so bad was very dry weather in many farm states. The rich farm dirt just blew away in the wind. Some families who lost their homes and farms became migrant workers.

Homework

Each pair is assigned to read one set of short articles from the Wall Street Journal. All sets are different; they are arranged in chronological order (by time).

Your team will report to the class what was happening in those articles. Tell the class what you learned from the articles and the class work about those times, and about the Great Depression in terms of government, business, and family. You will have a chart to help organize your thoughts. You will also consider the information in terms of inference and visualization. You may draw your visualization report, on this or a different page, if you prefer to do so.

Each student should turn in a homework report page (the Freyar Model on the next page), but you should work together with your teammate to gain the perspective of both students. Your team’s report will become a part of the class investigation into the Great Depression.

What do you visualize about this time period from the evidence?

What do you infer about this time period from the evidence?

10th Grade

Use this color form if you prefer. Write what you visualize and infer on another page.

Resources

Recipe for cooking wild onions with other wild greens; of course, people would have used only what ingredients they had during the Great Depression.

ILA’S DANDE-OLIS(Winner of the 1995 National Dandelion Cookoff in Dover, Ohio) Ingredients: 2 cups dandelion greens1/4 cup chopped wild onions (or spring onions or chives)1 cup ricotta cheese1/4 cup chopped mushrooms1/4 cup parmesan cheese1 egg2 chicken bouillon cubes1 package eggroll wrappersEgg white1 can tomato soupInstructions:Cook dandelion greens with wild onions until soft; drain. Chop and mix with ricotta cheese, chopped

mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and egg. Start 4 cups water boiling with  chicken bouillon cubes.  Take 1/2 package eggroll wrappers and cut into 4 squares. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center

of each pastry square; moisten edges with egg white. Place another square on top and seal together with fork tines around the filling. Trim off excess pastry, making square or round shapes. Simmer gently in bouillon about 3 – 5 minutes.

http://www.wildcrafting.com/our_state.htm

Resources

Al Jolson’s 1930’s performance of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo&feature=related

This site has a quote from someone about how times really were- including eating wild onions and other wild greens to survive. It also has a graph showing the GD compared to recessions.

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=03&year=2009&base_name=this_is_not_the_great_depressi

Chicago means “Where the strong onions grow”http://www.harwoodheights.org/villageinfo/history.asp

Depression era photos by Dorothea Lange and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” sung by Bing Crosby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZHEkU__Ijw

How to Forage (for wild plants)http://www.alternet.org/environment/135404/

locavore_to_the_max:_how_to_forage_for_low-impact,_recession-proof_food/?page=entire

Interviews of some who grew up during the Great Depression- Flour sack clothes, dust storm, etc.

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/movies/opitz_life_06.html

ReferencesBank Failure data from the 1930’s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/money_08.html July 22, 2010.

Depression and recovery data from San José State University. Retrieved from http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/recovery.htm July 22, 2010.

Dust Storms. [Digital Image]. "One of South Dakota's Black Blizzards, 1934“. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved form http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blygd22.htm July 24, 2010.

Economy: The Great Depression and the Smoot-Hartley Tariff Retrieved from http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatdepression/f/smoot_hawley.htm July 22, 2010.

Harburg, E.Y. (1932). “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime”, Lyrics Retrieved from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/cherries.html July 22, 2010. Sung by Tom Waits (1976). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVE72Ae82Tw July 22, 2010

Hiltzik,M. (2010, May 26). Hoover Dam’s perpetual power. Wall Street Journal, an excerpt from the book Hiltzik, M. (2010). Colossus, Hoover Dam and the American Century. New York: Free Press. [Digital Images] Book Cover and dam spill are from the same article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264481070313618.html

Hooverville [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.iws.punahou.edu July 22, 2010

Hull, R. W. (2008). Recession-Depression Retrieved from http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?AuthorID=3918 July 22, 2010.

Jobless man on bench [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.1920-depression.com-top-stories.inf July 22, 2010.

Jobless men [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blygd46.htm July 22, 2010.\

Lange, D. [Digital Image]. Photographs for the U.S. Farm Security Administration- The Migrant Mother, Children. February or March 1936 by Dorothea Lange of Florence Owens Thompson, then 32, and her children. Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/lange/index.html July 22, 2010. Information about the photograph Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/02/dustbowl.photo/index.html July 24, 2010.

References, Continued

NYSE floor Black Tuesday right after closing. photo [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm July 22, 2010.

Recent bank failure statistics [2010]. Retrieved from http://agentgenius.com/real-estate-news-events/bank-failure-rate-accelerating-much-worse-than-in-2009/ July 22, 2010.

Shigar Valley [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.maqpoon.org/images/Shigar%2520Valley.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.maqpoon.org/skardu.html&h=453&w=665&sz=60&tbnid=eUrURIglpEyAZM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=138&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522beautiful%2Bvalley%2522&hl=en&usg=__hg7tqRcdvrS8cLl8YR9_F4rzRWQ=&sa=X&ei=NRZLTICvLoL48Aai8PE3&ved=0CBgQ9QEwAQ July 22, 2010.

Stock Market Chart: Great Depression. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.doughroller.net/investing/understanding-the-wall-street-stock-market-crash-of-1929/ July 22, 2010.

Stock Market Chart 1900 to the Present. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/Print/djia1900print.html July 22, 2010.

Timelines of the Great Depression: Unemployment. Retrieved from http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm July 22, 2010.

Unemployment statistics. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-Rate.aspx?Symbol=USD July 22, 2010.

Wall Street Journal Archives. [Digital Images]. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=103655949&SrchMode=1&sid=9&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1278631791&clientId=8724 July 22, 2010.

Williams, W.C.(1933). “Sun Bathers” and “To Be Hungry is To Be Great”. Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma05/dulis/poetry/Williams/williams2.html July 22, 2010.