Depression Hits Texas

1. Depression Hits Texas Chapter 22 Section 1

2. The Great Depression Begins • Herbert Hoover became president of the U.S. in 1929. • He had been in office for only 7 months when Wall Street stock market prices fell sharply.

3. Stock Market Crash of 1929 • Stock shares represent ownership in companies. • People had driven up the price of stocks, and some investors borrowed money to buy them. • When prices fell, both they and the banks were wiped out.

4. Cause & Effect

5. Bad News Continues… • Factories closed • Widespread unemployment – loss of jobs • Texas farmers’ income suffered – Prices of agriculture products dropped • East Texas timber workers were laid off – people could not afford new houses

6. Depth of Depression • President Hoover greatly underestimated the severity, or depth, of the Great Depression. • Called on local churches and charities to increase aid to the poor • Asked people to hire unemployed neighbors to do odd jobs

7. Too Much Oil • Ross Sterling elected as governor in 1930 • Wildcatter, Columbus Marion “Dad” Joiner, drilled an oil well in northern Rusk County. • First well of the East Texas Oil Field • Provided jobs for farmers and timber workers

8. Too Much Oil • Major oil companies were hesitant to invest in the East Texas field. • This left opportunities for small oil drillers called “independents”. • Soon the East Texas field was producing more oil than all other fields in TX combined!

9. Supply and Demand • Prices went down as supply increased and demand stayed the same.

10. Crisis for Cotton Farmers • Even though cotton remained the most important crop in Texas, prices declined during the 1920s. • Because cotton did not spoil, stored cotton created even larger surpluses.

11. • Governor of Louisiana, Huey Long, pushed a law prohibiting planting of cotton in LA. "Drop-a-Crop" • Texas Governor Sterling did not think the idea would work, and passed a law for partial reduction.

12. Dust Storms Blanket the High Plains • When farmers plowed grasses under, there was nothing left to hold the soil when winds blew. • A severe drought occurred in the 1930s. • Soil blew away as the residents of the Plains watched.

13. Dust Bowl • Dust Bowl – the geographic area, including the Texas Panhandle, hardest hit by the drought during the 1930s where the soil was so dry it blew away in great clouds of dust.

15. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/player/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/player/

16. Difficult Times • The Dust Bowl made life harder for people during this time period: • Motorists often could not see 20 feet down the street • People became ill from lung diseases • Farmers lost soil when wind blew • Many families lost their farms because of the difficult economic times

19. Texans Look for Answers • Texans looked to themselves and each other for answers to growing economic problems. • As banks failed, merchants printed coupons that could be used as money • Universities allowed professors to eat in the university dining halls • Churches paid their preachers with eggs, chickens, vegetables, and firewood.