Transcript Document
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
A Pre-Study to
Of Mice and Men
WHAT WAS THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
•The Great Depression was a time between
1929 through the 1930’s when the entire world
suffered from a poor economy. (This means
that people were having a hard time finding
jobs, making money, and paying for the things
they needed.)
SO WHAT?
LOTS OF PEOPLE DON’T HAVE MONEY TODAY.
WHAT MADE THE GREAT DEPRESSION SO
DIFFERENT?
THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS MUCH BIGGER!
• Millions of people in the United States (and around
the world) had no jobs.
• Countless people became homeless.
• Families were separated as parents and older
children tried to find work.
• The depression lasted for more than a decade.
HERE ARE THE FACTS.
• In the early years of the depression in the United States, over
250,000 children were homeless.
• About 90% of these children were malnourished, meaning
they were unhealthy because they didn’t have enough food /
vitamins.
• Nearly 3 million children had to drop out of school because
their families needed them to work OR because their schools
closed down.
• In some cases, children were paid barely more than 50 cents
a week. Wages were as low as 2 cents an hour.
HERE ARE THE FACTS.
• Families were separated as people tried to find jobs.
Many fathers moved to the other side of the country and
were away from their families for years.
• One out of EVERY 4 PEOPLE in the country had no job.
• The depression lasted for more than a decade.
•HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
• Because of the Great Depression, businesses could not
afford to pay their workers, so they had to fire people.
• Normally, when people lose a job, they get another
one. During the Great Depression, however, there
were no other jobs because almost all businesses
were firing people, and NO businesses were hiring.
Thus, people couldn’t find work, and they couldn’t
make money.
• Since people didn’t have money, they couldn’t afford to buy
things. This made businesses even more broke.
•When the businesses became even more
broke, they had to fire even more people,
so everything started all over again.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COUNTRY?
• People lost their homes. Many lived in shacks like this.
• Some lived in tents. (Notice that this family is living in
their car, as well.)
• This is a picture of New York. Look at the make-shift shacks
people lived in through the winter. Do you think these
shacks had heat?
• This is a REAL school during the depression. Notice the
students are sitting on logs and that a garbage can is helping
to support the ceiling.
• People without money can’t buy food. Here are some
men at a soup kitchen for a free meal. Remember--these
men might have owned homes before this.
Here’s another food line picture.
• This is another
food line. Look
at how many
people have to
rely on free food
to survive.
• Here’s a picture of people looking for a job. Jobs were
rare, and many people would be after the same
position. Most would go away empty-handed.
• Many people left their hometowns to try and
find work. Many traveled across the country.
• Here’s a family that couldn’t afford a car, so they
walked from town to town looking for work.
• Some people hopped on freight trains to get from
town to town--a terribly dangerous way to travel.
• Look at this billboard. Many towns would not allow
travelers to stay because they didn’t even have enough
jobs for their own citizens.
• Here’s a picture of a homeless man resting. Remember--this
man might have been living in his own house only months
earlier.
• Here are three homeless children. You should note that
children often tried to find work during the Great
Depression, too. Many traveled across the country and away
from their families.
• Here is another picture of some young children during
the depression. Look at how dirty they are.
AS IF THINGS WEREN’T BAD ENOUGH, ALONG
CAME THE GREAT DUST BOWL. WHAT WAS
THE DUST BOWL?
• The Dust Bowl was a group of dust storms in the
central United States and Canada from 1934 to
1939. (A dust storm occurs when huge amounts
of dust and sand rise into the air, blocking out the
sun.)
• The Dust Bowl storms were so big that they
stretched from Oklahoma to Texas, to Arkansas, to
Illinois.
WHY WAS THE DUST BOWL SUCH A
BIG DEAL?
• Since the dust storms of the Dust Bowl were so
huge--and since they lasted so long--they destroyed
many plants and crops. Lots of farmers lost their
farms, causing EVEN MORE people to be out of
work during the Great Depression.
• Many of these farmers moved west in search of
jobs--just like everyone else--but there weren’t many
jobs to be found.
• Here’s a picture of a dust storm approaching a small
town in Texas. Look at how big it is.
• Here’s another picture--this time in South Dakota. Look at
the size of the storm! Imagine the damage it would cause!
FINALLY--A TURNING POINT - THE NEW DEAL
• When did things finally start to get better?
• How did America survive the Great Depression?
• The New Deal was a bunch of government programs started in 1933 by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. These programs were made to give people jobs and to help
improve the economy.
• Some New Deal programs were as follows: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),
the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration (FERA), the National Youth Administration (NYA), and above all,
the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
• Here are some men who were given jobs by one of
these government programs--the WPA.
• The WPA employed workers in construction projects across
the country. Workers built and fixed highways, streets,
public buildings, airports, utilities, small dams, sewers,
parks, libraries, and recreational fields.
• Many of the structures you see today were built by the WPA.
For example, they created 650,000 miles of roads, 78,000
bridges, 125,000 buildings, and seven hundred miles of
airport runways.
• In addition to building things, they also created art. They
had 225,000 concerts to audiences totaling 150 million
people, and they produced almost 475,000 artworks. They
employed artists, musicians, photographers, and writers on
smaller-scale projects, and they even ran a circus.
This picture shows WPA workers fixing a canal.
This picture shows WPA workers building an airport.
This picture shows
artwork created by a
WPA artist.
• The CCC was
another New Deal
program. Like the
WPA, this one
focused on hard,
physical labor.
• In this picture, two
men are moving a
boulder to help
create a park.
• In this picture, two
CCC men are cutting
down a tree.
• Here, a group of CCC
men are putting
plants and shrubs
along the roadside
to beautify the
highways.
• In this picture, several CCC men are fighting a forest
fire.
HOW DID THE NEW DEAL HELP
AMERICA GET BETTER?
• ~ There were lots of factors, but for one thing, the New Deal
gave people jobs again.
~ Of course, this meant money for people--money they could
spend on food, clothes, medicine, and shelter.
~ Since people were spending more money, businesses
became more successful, and they started hiring more people.
~ However, it took years and years for the country to get back
on its feet again. That’s why the Great Depression was such a
difficult time for the country and the world.
www.teacherweb.com/il/.../the-great-depression-history1-copy.ppt
Is the American Dream a myth?
• To whom does this dream apply?
• Does the American Dream mean different things to different
people? Explain
• What factors could destroy this dream? Which of these factors
can/cannot be controlled?
• What happens to those who no longer believe in the American
Dream?
The Great Depression
•This event challenged many Americans; belief in the American
Dream.
•What is challenging Americans’ belief in the American Dream
today?
• Take a look at the following Depression Era photos.
• Write down three details about each photo (people,
emotions, places, etc.)
Depression voices & Narrative Response
Think about how people were affected by the depression.
Choose one of the photos from the slide show
Choose one of the characters from the photo and write a brief
(one to two paragraph) 1st person response that includes...
This character’s name (I am...)
Background (I came here from...I was born in...)
Dreams
Current situation
Outlook on American Dream (still believe, lost faith, frustrated,
etc.)