Farmers' Income Fell to Low Levels
In the early 1930s,
the Great
Depression became
even worse for
farmers. Drought
hit the Great
Plains and lasted
for several years.
Farmers watched
their crops shrivel
up and die, but
their problems did
not end there. The
combination of drought, overgrazing by livestock and overplowing
damaged the land and destroyed the natural grasses that kept the soil
down. Winds picked up the dry soil and carried it off. The clouds of dust
boiled and rolled through the sky, depositing dirt everywhere. There were
14 dust storms in 1932 and 38 in 1933. A reporter traveling through the
region dubbed it the Dust Bowl, which covered sections of Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
People living in the path of the storms tried desperately to keep from being
buried in dust. They placed wet sheets and towels over doors and
windows, but nothing worked. Dust got into everything and everybody.
Fields and homes were buried in several feet of dust, making it impossible
to grow crops or make any kind of a living as a farmer.
With no crops or income for several
years, farm families could not pay
their mortgages, and they struggled
to feed themselves. As banks
repossessed their homes and
land, families loaded up what little
they had and drove west to find
jobs on California farms.
1. Text adapted from Gayle Ogletree and Rachel Smith, “The Impact of the Great Depression on
Americans,” www.primarysourcelearning.org and Creating America, (McDougal Littell, 2003) p. 337-338.
2. “The Dust Bowl” map from www.pbs.org.
Large Numbers of People Were Hungry and Homeless
Without jobs, families
could not afford to
buy food. Churches
and other charities
across the country
offered small meals
of bread and soup.
Hungry people
formed lines that ran
the length of several
city blocks. The
soup kitchens of
New York City served
an average of 85,000 meals a day. Standing in these bread lines, men,
women and children often fainted as they waited for their serving of bread
and soup.
Many families also lost their homes. Thousands of homeless looked for
shelter under bridges. Others made shelters out of anything they could
find, like crates, tents, cardboard, even rusted-out car bodies. Many
people felt the government should help them in these difficult times, but
President Hoover offered no relief housing. Consequently, people began to
call the shacks they built Hoovervilles to show their disapproval of
Hoover’s policies.
Children had to grow up fast in
these hard times. Boys and girls
quit school to help out at home
or find jobs to help support the
family. Teenagers who couldn’t
find jobs left home to reduce the
burden on their families. They
roamed the country by sneaking
on to trains, begging for food
and living in squatter camps
along the railroad tracks.
Text adapted from Gayle Ogletree and Rachel Smith, “The Impact of the Great Depression on
Americans,” www.primarysourcelearning.org and Creating America, (McDougal Littell, 2003) p. 338-339.
One-Fourth of Workers Were Without Jobs
Before the stock market
crash of 1929, the
unemployed made up
about 9 percent of the
population, but after 1933,
the unemployment rate
was 25 percent. About
15 million people from all
backgrounds were out of
work and desperately
seeking jobs. Any job
would do.
Farming families who lost
their homes and their land
packed up what little they
had and drove to the west coast, living in tents by the side of the road as
they traveled west. They heard that California farms needed workers.
Many of these farmers, coming from Oklahoma, were called Okies by
Californians.
In the city, unemployed men
would crowd around the
employment office, looking for any
job opening. Women were
pressured into giving up their jobs
so men could work, but that still
did not solve the unemployment
problem. People would do
anything for a few cents, even sell
apples or shine shoes on the street
corner.
Text adapted from Gayle Ogletree and Rachel Smith, “The Impact of the Great Depression on
Americans,” www.primarysourcelearning.org and Creating America, (McDougal Littell, 2003) p. 338-339.
Banks and Businesses Failed
After the stock market
crash of 1929, banks
demanded their customers
pay back the money they
had borrowed to buy stock
on speculation. Since
their stocks made no
money, people could not
repay their loans, causing
the banks’ supply of cash
to decrease. News that
banks had very little cash
frightened people who had
their savings in these
banks. Panicked bank
customers ran to banks to withdraw their savings, but banks do not keep
enough cash on hand to pay everyone at once. These runs on the banks
forced bankers to close their doors, leaving their customers with no money.
Private citizens were not the only people who had their bank accounts
wiped out. Businesses lost their bank accounts, as well. Even worse, they
had warehouses full of goods to sell, but people were afraid to spend their
money since they had lost
their savings. Businesses sold
fewer and fewer goods,
causing them to go bankrupt
and close their doors forever.
As a result people working in
these businesses lost their
jobs. With no pay check,
these unemployed people
could not buy new goods,
causing even more businesses
to fail.
Text adapted from Gayle Ogletree and Rachel Smith, “The Impact of the Great Depression on
Americans,” www.primarysourcelearning.org and Creating America, (McDougal Littell, 2003) p. 329, 339.