The Great Depression and the New Deal: Impact on American Lives

1. SS5H5 The student will explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans.a.  Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.b.  Analyze the main features of the New Deal; include the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

3. The Great Depression

4. 1929-1939 • Stock market crash • Didn’t realize the effect it would have • No money to replenish what was borrowed Many found being broke humiliating.

5. The Roaring 20’s • The new concept of “credit” • People were buying: • Automobiles • Appliances • Clothes • Fun times reigned • Dancing • Flappers • Drinking

6. Why was this bad? • Credit system • People didn’t really have the money they were spending • WWI • The U.S. was a major credit loaner to other nations in need • Many of these nations could not pay us back

7. And then…. • With people panicking about their money investors tried to sell their stocks • This leads to a huge decline in stocks • Stocks were worthless now

8. President Hoover • Herbert Hoover was president at the start • Philosophy: We’ll make it! • What He Did: Nothing • The poor were looking for help and no ideas on how to correct or help were coming

9. What about the people? • Farmers were already feeling the effects • Prices of crops went down • Many farms foreclosed • People could not afford luxuries • Factories shut down • Businesses went out • Banks could not pay out money • People could not pay their taxes • Schools shut down due to lack of funds • Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties

11. Many waited in unemployment lines hoping for a job.

12. People in cities would wait in line for bread to bring to their family.

13. Some families were forced to relocate because they had no money.

14. “Hooverville” • Some families were forced to live in shanty towns • A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots • They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of help during the depression.

15. Hooverville

16. Out of the Dust: The South and the Dust Bowl

17. A drought in the South lead to dust storms that destroyed crops. “The Dust Bowl”

18. The South Was Buried • Crops turned to dust=No food to be sent out • Homes buried • Fields blown away • South in state of emergency • Dust Bowl the #1 weather crisis of the 20th century

20. Two Families During the Depression

21. A Farm Foreclosure

22. Some families tried to make money by selling useful crafts like baskets.

23. *FDR* • When he was inaugurated unemployment had increased by 7 million. • Poor sections (like Harlem) had 50% of the population unemployed • Instated the “New Deal” • Yea! Frankie!

24. People everywhere were effected by the depression • It wasn’t till President Roosevelt took over and tried to put the economy back together that people even saw a glimmer of hope

25. Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • Works Progress Administration (WPA) • Social Security

26. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • Goal was to create jobs and conserve, or protect, the natural environment • CCC workers planted trees, cleared hiking trails, and completed other conservation projects

27. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) • People working for the TVA build dams on the Tennessee River. • The dams created hydroelectricity for rural area in the Southeast.

28. Works Progress Administration (WPA) • People were hired to build streets, parks, libraries, and schools. • It paid artists to paint murals on public buildings and hired authors to write books about places in the United States.

29. Social Security • Provided money to people over the age of 65. • It also helps those who have disabilities and cannot work.