Introduction to Of Mice and Men:
The Roaring ‘20s, The Great Depression,
The Dust Bowl, and Migrant Workers
The 1920s were a lively time for
most Americans. Read the
information at the site below, and
answer Questions 1-7 on your
paper.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1564.html
The Roaring Twenties
People were thrilled that World War I had
come to an end, and most people experienced
economic prosperity. Click on the site below
to see popular dance moves of the 1920s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNA
OHtmy4j0
Video of dance crazes
Click on the site below and read the information to
answer Question 9.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.co
m/snpmech3.htm
19th Amendment
Click on the link below to
find information about
popular sports events and
athletes of the 1920s.
http://library.thinkquest
.org/C005846/categori
es/sports/sports.htm
Sports in the 1920s
Movies became popular in the 1920s, and
innovations like sound occurred at this time.
Click on the first link below and watch the film
clip. Then click on the second link and read the
information it provides. Answer Question 11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnNRIw
ZUzpo&NR=1
Steamboat Willie
http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movie
s/steamboat/steamboat.html
Steamboat Willie History
You’ve already learned that in 1928, Herbert Hoover
was elected President of the US. Read some facts
about his life, and note some of those for Question 12.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/a
mex/presidents/31_hoover
/index.html
Herbert Hoover in a
Nutshell
Unfortunately, the
prosperity of the early
part of the decade did not
last. Click on the link
below to facts about the
Great Depression. Read
all of the facts, and then
list some for Question 13.
DO NOT SIMPLY LIST
THE FIRST ONES.
http://facts.randomhis
tory.com/2009/04/12_
great-depression.html
Stock Market Crash
Some people wrongly believe
that the Stock Market Crash and
the Great Depression are the
same thing; in reality, the Crash
was just one case of the Great
Depression. Click on the link
below to find other causes, and
answer Question 14.
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/greatd
epression/tp/greatdepression.htm
Causes of the Great Depression
In 1932, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt was elected
President. He promised
Americans a “New Deal”
to help restore the
shattered economy. Click
the link below, read the
information, and answer
Question 15.
http://www.infoplease.
com/ce6/history/A083
5397.html
New Deal
Clicking on the link below
takes you to a series of
images of the Dust Bowl, an
area that received no
significant rain for almost a
decade. Click on several
pictures and record your
observations for Number 16.
http://www.google.com/images?q=d
ust+bowl+1930&rls=com.microsoft:
en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF8&rlz=1I7DGUS_en&um=1&ie=UT
F8&source=univ&ei=RXDHTO_jHYf
09gTh_9TdAw&sa=X&oi=image_re
sult_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved
=0CC8QsAQwAg&biw=1259&bih=
571
Dust Bowl Images
Click on the link below and watch the video
clip about the Dust Bowl, and write your
observations for Number 17.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2CiDaU
Yr90
Dust Bowl Video
Because of disastrous conditions in the economy and
farming, millions of Americans migrated to the west,
looking for work on California farms. Click on the link
below and watch the video about these migrant workers.
Then answer Question 18.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgR2Bu
ke5MQ&feature=related
Lange photos, migrant workers
John Steinbeck wrote
several pieces of
literature dealing with
this time frame and these
social conditions. His
books were not always
well received. Click on
the link below to
discover some objections
to Of Mice and Men,
which we are going to
read (You’ll have to skip
past a few other novel
titles). Answer #19.
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks
&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cf
m&ContentID=136590
Banned books
In his Nobel acceptance speech,
Steinbeck explained why he and
other writers often write of
unpleasant situations. Click on
the link below and find the quote
from the speech in which he
accepted the Nobel Prize for
Literature. Then answer Question
20.
http://www.shmoop.com/joh
n-steinbeck/quotes.html
Steinbeck quote