Sociologist

1. Sociologist By: Sarah Garcia Madeline Garza Gabrielle Doucet

2. Intro • What was the Great Depression? • What were some of the causes? • Who were the migrant workers? • Do migrant workers exist today? Where?

3. What was the great depression? • Importance of the Great Depression: The Great Depression was a tragedy that placed millions of Americans out of work. It was also the beginning of government involvement in the economy and in society as a whole. • Dates: 1929 -- early 1940s Fun Facts about the Great Depression… • Zippers became widely used because buttons became too expensive. • The biggest hit song of 1932 was "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by Bing Crosby. • John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" about the lives of these people and the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl.

4. Great Depression Timeline The Dust Bowl started affecting Crops so not a lot of food went around. Dust was everywhere: lungs,food, drinks, houses, furniture,and bodies. There was no government programs to help those effected by the Great Depression The great depression was said to have ended. 1920‘s 1929 1930 1939 1939 Frank D. Roosevelt was elected president The Stock Market Crash was on October 29, 1929 President Hoover was blamed for the beginning of the Great Depression. FDR encouraged the nationwith speeches over radio

5. What caused The Great Depression? There were five essential causes of The Great Depression *Productions increased by 50% but wages were not increased therefore workers couldn’t buy goods as fast as industries produced them. *Farmers were producing more than American consumers could consume *People invested a lot into the stock market which caused it to crash. Then the banks loaned money however the savings weren’t insured. The Government tried to control ALL of the money. *The U.S passed the Hawley Smoot act and instituted high tariffs and other nations retaliated and there was a lack of world trade.

6. A little More of the Stock market Crash and the Dust bowl. • Stock Market Crash • On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39). • The Dust bowl • Dust blew everywhere uncontrollably though out northern Texas, south-western Oklahoma, and Kansas. A lot of these people moved to California in the hopes of a better life. Living during the Dust Bowl was harsh. People suffered not only from the Great Depression, and also lived with tons of dirt, covering everyone.

7. Who were the migrant workers of the great depression? • When the 7 year drought in 1939 occurred along with the “Dust Bowl,” many farms dried up and blew away. Driven by the Great Depression, thousands of farmers packed up their families and journeyed to California to find work. • But why would refugees go to California? The reason was the climate allowed for a long growing season and for people whose lives revolved around farming this seemed like the best place to be.

8. Route 66 played a significant role during the period of the Great Depression. Due to the hardships of Great Depression and Dust Bowl many families were forced to leave their homes and migrate in order to seek a better life. They usually migrated west to California through the Route 66

9. Migrant Workers of Today • Migrant farm workers live in a combination of poverty, limited health care, and hazardous working conditions. • A migrant farm worker is defined as a individual who is absent from a permanent home and seek employment in agricultural work. • Most farm workers earn annual incomes below the poverty level and half earn below $7,500 per year. • They are proud people who choose to do backbreaking labor than depend upon charity or welfare.

10. Thank you for your attention