New Mexico in the Great
Depression
What We’ll Learn
• How bad the Great
Depression was in New
Mexico.
• How the New Deal
attempted to end the
Great Depression.
• What impact the New
Deal had on the state.
• How New Mexicans
managed to survive the
Great Depression.
Suffering Industries
• Mining, oil, and gas industry
got hit hard.
– 2,000 miners lost jobs
– Metal prices fell more than
quadruple its price in 4 years.
– Hobbs population: 20,000 to
1,000 almost overnight.
• Railroad business
– SF Rail laid off 40% of
workers.
• General unemployment.
– 25% of skilled workers
unemployed
– Female teachers lost jobs to
men.
Unemployed Youth
• Dropped out to support
family; but couldn’t get
good jobs.
– Why wouldn’t they be
hired?
• Families couldn’t pay
taxes for schools, so they
would close entirely.
• No jobs or school – youth
left home for work.
– Would many find jobs?
Mexican Immigrant Labor
• Faced the worst
discrimination.
• No objection in the
‘20s, but attitudes
changed in the ‘30s.
– Why?
• ½ of all deported
actually American
citizens; many Hispanics
from NM.
– Why?
Seasonal Labor for New Mexicans
• Seasonal employment
in other states became
difficult to find.
– Why?
• Farms average only 12
acres – not able to
survive.
– How did New Mexicans
receive help?
Transient Labor
• People started coming
to New Mexico.
• Many were kicked out
of Albuquerque.
• Dust Bowl caused a lot
of transients –
homeless – to travel by
train or car through NM
to CA.
Dust Bowl
• Started in the mid ‘30s.
• 150,000 square miles in
drought.
• Huge dust storms;
layers of dirt would
cover farm equipment.
• Desperation
– Rain-making machines?
– California dreams?
Okies
• Dust Bowl families
heading to California.
• Treated well by New
Mexicans
– Offered food
– Gas stations repaired
cars
– Motels lowered prices
– Many wouldn’t accept
money from Okies but
would rather barter.
The New Deal
• Citizens needed help;
where did they turn for
help?
• People couldn’t pay
taxes – couldn’t get
much help from the
state or federal
government.
• Who did people blame
for the Great
Depression?
The New Deal
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
elected President in
1932.
• Created The New Deal
to end the Depression
– Correct causes of the
crisis.
– Recovery and relief
– New government
programs.
Bringing the New Deal to New Mexico
• Clyde Tingley and
Dennis Chavez helped
NM climb out of the
Depression.
• Tingley was governor,
and Chavez was a U.S.
Senator
• Chavez got NM highest
priority for New Deal
projects, jobs, and
funding.
New Deal Political Feud
• Tingley and Chavez were
friends, but ended up
feuding; wanting control
of New Deal programs.
• Tingley wanted a 3rd term,
but Chavez didn’t support
this.
• Tingley accused Chavez’s
friends and relatives of
using New Deal for their
political advantage.
New Deal for Workers
• Works Progress
Administration (WPA)
– 14, 309 New Mexicans
employed.
– $18.75 per week ($259
today).
– Constructed public
facilities.
– Roads, bridges, schools,
sewers, utility plants,
airports, landing fields,
libraries, courhouses, post
offices……so on and so on.
New Deal for Artists
• WPA’s Federal Art
Project
– 165 men and women
shared talents in public
art projects around the
state.
– Included 5 members of
the Taos Society of
Artists.
– Most art was for public
buildings (murals,
sculptures, paintings).
New Deal for Authors
• WPA’s Federal Writers’
Project
– Federal funding for an
“State Guide.”
– What would you put in
the state guide of New
Mexico?
New Deal for Youth
• Took advantage of pools,
parks, community
centers.
• Many were able to stay in
school because of the
National Youth
Administration (work and
go to class).
• Depression-era schools
taught traditional arts
and crafts.
– Why?
New Deal for Youth
• SFIS began teaching Native
American culture again.
• New revival and respect in
Native American ways.
• Dorothy Dunn – taught new
respect for Native American
ways.
– “She made us realize how
important our own Indian
ways were because we had
been made to feel ashamed
of them. She gave us
something to be proud of.”
Civilian Conservation Corp
• CCC; created to provide
employment
opportunities for youth
that didn’t finish an
education.
• 3 million men ages 18-25.
• 6 month periods for
conservation projects
• Valuable lesson: working
with others, sharing
history, and respecting
the land.
New Deal Problems
• Many thought the WPA
worked too slow.
• Hispanics claimed
discrimination in the
CCC and WPA.
• Native American issues
with the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and the
Taylor Grazing Act.
Indian Reorganization Act and Taylor
Grazing Act
• IRA allowed for tribes to
self-govern.
– Worked out very well for
the Mescalero Apache
Tribe.
• Taylor Grazing Act;
Navajos grazing too many
sheep, so this attempted
to solve the problem of
overgrazing; well
intentioned, but tragic for
Navajos.
– What eventually caused
problems?
Bosque Farms
• Another well
intentioned but failed
New Deal project.
• Meant to help Dust
Bowl families, but the
land wasn’t big enough
for all of them.
• Land re-divided
amongst families; what
happened to some
families?
Overall Impact of the New Deal
• Pros
– Most programs helped.
– New Deal respected SW
cultures and values
– Young people learned
valuable work and social
skills.
– Protected our economy
and form of government.
• Cons
– Not everything worked.
– Many still suffered
– Well-intentioned programs
could backfire.
Conclusion
• Great Depression was
the worst economic
period in NM History!
• While the New Deal
helped, New Mexicans
prevailed by their own
personal strengths and
helping one another.