The Dust Bowl From 1930 – 36, a
terrible drought, coupled with decades of damage to the topsoil from plowing, led to wind erosion and huge dust clouds
Thousands of farmers lost everything and were forced to move west and work as migrant farmers
Dorothea Lange 1895 – 1965 Photojournalist Lange's
photographs humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly influenced the development of documentary photography
John Steinbeck 1902 – 1968 Author of The Grapes
of Wrath, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about the tragedies which befell his fictional family of Oklahoma farmers during the Dust Bowl
Also wrote Of Mice and Men, a story about the tragic relationship between two poor migrant farmers
Hoover’s Public Response
After “Black Tuesday,” Hoover worked hard to assure Americans that the economy would recover quickly
Hoover stepped up a propaganda campaign aimed at boosting consumer confidence
Hoover’s Private Response
Hoover, however, knew that the economy was extremely unstable
He held multiple meetings with business leaders trying to win pledges that factories would remain open, but to no avail
National Credit Corporation
Hoover tried to ease the nation’s credit crisis with the creation of the NCC
The NCC held a pool of private money that it could lend to banks so that banks could continue to offer loans; the NCC, however, never had enough cash to meet the demand and so was a failure
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
When the NCC failed, Hoover resorted to government lending
The RFC was created to make direct loans to banks & railroads
Even the RFC could not meet the demands for loans, and the economy continued to fail
Emergency Relief & Construction Act
In desperation, the government approved $1.5 billion in spending on public works projects and an additional $300 million to provide “direct relief” – money provided directly to families in need
Hunger Marches Crowds of the
unemployed and hungry began to hold large-scale demonstrations across the US
The largest was organized by the American Communist Party in Washington DC; protesters chanting “Feed the hungry, tax the rich” were blocked from marching by the police
Farmers Revolt Meanwhile, desperate
farmers began to destroy their crops and produce in an effort to increase prices
Some even resorted to burning their crops for heat in their home
Anger continued to grow as more and more farmers had their land foreclosed on by banks
Breadlines & Soup Kitchens
As unemployment approached 30%, many people began to rely heavily on soup kitchens and breadlines run by churches, charitable organizations, & some city governments in order to survive
Hoovervilles In large cities, as
people could no longer afford to pay rent, they were forced into homelessness
Many began to live in homemade shacks that they built in any open space available – whole villages of such shacks began to appear, mockingly referred to as “Hoovervilles”
Hobos Hundreds of
thousands of homeless, jobless men began to live a nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place usually by illegally hiding on freight trains
Often lived in temporary Hoovervilles called “hobo jungles” along the railroad tracks
The Bonus Army In 1924, Congress
had promised to pay every WWI veteran a $1000 bonus in 1945
May 1932 – over 15,000 vets arrived in DC to lobby Congress to move the bonuses up – Congress voted against the idea
Hoover Responds to the Bonus Army
After the vote, much of the Bonus Army remained in Washington, living in Hoovervilles and vacant buildings
Pres. Hoover ordered them dispersed; after the DC police failed, Hoover sent in US Army, who used tear gas and bayonets to clear the Bonus Army out
Election of 1932 Republicans
nominated Hoover, while Democrats ran NY Gov. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Hoover continued his mantra that recovery was just around the corner, while Roosevelt pledged himself to a “new deal” for the American people
Roosevelt won easily
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1882 – 1945 32nd President (1933-45) President throughout
most of the Great Depression and WWII
Roosevelt had been paralyzed from the waist down from polio since 1921, making him our only physically disabled president, however, he carefully controlled his public appearances so that the public wasn’t constantly reminded of his disability