THE DIRTY THIRTIES
Bonus Questions
If you have finished all of the 9 regular stations dealing with the "Dirty Thirties", you may complete one or more of the Bonus Assignments described below.
Your assignment should be about one page in length. Each assignment will be marked out of five, and these marks will be added to those you receive for the 9 stations (so it is possible to get a higher mark than perfect!!).
Assignments:
1.Do some additional research on any one of the nine topics you have covered in your regular stations, using the Canadiana Scrapbook and/or your textbook.
2.Look at the section titled "Some Were Less Equal" in the Canadiana Scrapbook, and describe some of the special problems that immigrants faced during the Great Depression.
3.Write a letter to a friend explaining how your life has been changed by the Depression. You should include sections on the following topics:
-food
-shelter
-clothing
-entertainment
-etc.
4.Write a letter to Prime Minister Bennett and suggest things that his government might do to: i) help those people who are suffering
ii) help those people who are unemployed
iii) end the Depression
5.You may wish to do something relating to the Depression which is not mentioned here. You may investigate a topic of your choice providing you speak to the teacher first. Look at the Canadiana Scrapbook for ideas
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#8: An Interview
Pretend that you are about to interview a person who lived through the Depression (i.e. a neighbour, a grandparent, etc.) Write down 5 questions that you would like to ask this person to help you better understand life during this period.
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#9: The Situation Today
In the 1930s, the government set up work camps for unemployed young men. Some people suggest that a similar system, but with more freedom, should be set up for the unemployed youth of today.
This summer, the jobless rate for young people ranged from 13% to 28%.
Questions:
1. Suggest 3 ways that the government of Canada might provide employment for the jobless youth of today.
2. Why do you think it is so difficult for young people to find jobs today?
3. What do you think your future in the job market looks like?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#1: An Overview
1929 - 1939 - The Great Depression
The Roaring Twenties saw boom times in Canada. Unemployment was low; earnings for individuals and companies were high. But prosperity came to a halt with the stock market collapse in New York, Toronto, Montréal and around the world in October 1929. The crash set off a chain of events that plunged Canada and the world into a decade-long depression. It was the beginning of the Dirty Thirties.
The Great Depression caused Canadian workers and companies great hardship. Prices deflated rapidly and deeply. Business activity fell sharply. There was massive unemployment—27% at the height of the Depression in 1933. Many businesses were wiped out: in Canada, corporate profits of $396 million in 1929 became corporate losses of $98 million in 1933. Between 1929 and that year, the gross national product dropped 43%. Families saw most or all of their assets disappear. Governments around the world, including Canada’s, put up high tariffs to protect their domestic manufacturers and businesses, but that only created weaker demand and made the Depression worse. Canadian exports shrank by 50% from 1929 to 1933.
While all of Canada suffered greatly, the regions and communities hit hardest were those dependent on primary industries such as farming, mining and logging, because commodity prices plummeted around the globe. Thus, the three Prairie provinces, where the wheat economy collapsed, and the municipalities where mining and logging were a mainstay saw the greatest decrease in per capita income between 1928 and 1933.
The economy began to recover, slowly, after 1933. However, the Depression did not end until 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War created demand for war materials.
Many factors are believed to have caused the Great Depression. Speculation on the stock markets drove share prices to inflated levels, and the bubble burst when stock markets collapsed in the autumn of 1929. Consumer spending dropped, even though prices had been falling. Canada was suffering a trade deficit. Nature was also working against many Canadian farmers, as a devastating drought on the Prairies wiped out wheat crops.
The Great Depression was a turning point for Canada. Before 1930, the government intervened as little as possible, believing the free market would take care of the economy, and that churches and charities would take care of society. But in the 1930s a growing demand arose for the government to step in and create a social safety net with minimum hourly wages, a standard work week, and programs such as medicare and unemployment insurance.
The Depression also led governments to be more present in the economy. It brought about the creation in 1934 of the Bank of Canada, a central bank to manage the money supply and bring stability to the country’s financial system. As well, the world’s severely restrictive trading policies during the Depression were opened up by international treaties such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#1: An Overview
Questions:
1. What single event set the economies of the world in motion towards the Great Depression?
2. What was the highest unemployment rate in Canada during the Great Depression?
3. What industries were the hardest hit?
4. What other factors caused the Great Depression?
5. How was the Great Depression a turning point for Canada?
6. What ended the Great Depression?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#2: Prices: Then and Now
Look at the Then and Now: Prices table below. In the left column is a list of women's clothing, men's clothing, games and toys and household goods. In the middle column, the price of each of these items is listed based on advertisements from 1932.
Some of those 1930s prices look pretty low compared to today's costs, don't they? If an item costs less than a week's wages, divide the week's wages by 40 to estimate the hourly wage and figure out how many hours it would take to earn the money to buy the item. When was it cheaper to buy most goods?
Then and Now: PricesWOMEN'S CLOTHES / THEN / NOW
Winter Coat / $28.00
Leather or Suede Bag / $2.25
Bathrobe / $1.00
Sweater / $1.00
MEN'S CLOTHES / THEN / NOW
Broadcloth Shirt / $1.00
Wool Sweater / $1.00
Bathrobe / $4.90
Overcoat / $18.50
GAMES AND TOYS / THEN / NOW
Sled that Steers / $3.95 - $8.95
Ping Pong Table / $23.50 to $37.50
Mechanical Toys / 3 for$.59
Doll / $1.95
ITEMS FOR THE HOME / THEN / NOW
Table Lamp / $1.00
Portable Electric Sewing Machine / $23.95
Electric Washing Machine / $33.50
Gas Stove / $19.95
Then and Now: Wages
WEEKLY WAGES (general averages) / THEN / NOW
Manufacturing--Production Worker / $16.89 / $600
Cook / $15.00 / $300
Doctor / $61.11 / $1800
Accountant / $45.00 / $800
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#3: New Political Parties
As a result of the Depression, several new regional political parties were formed in Canada. These parties proposedsolutions to the economic and social problems, which Canadians were facing.
The C.C.F. (Co-operativeCommonwealth Federation)
ofounded in Saskatchewanby J.S. Woodsworth
ocalled on federal government to nationalize banks, public utilities and natural resources
oadvocated the abolition of the class system and privileges for the rich.
oProposed establishment of social security schemes such as minimum wage, accident and sickness insurance, old age pensions and unemployment insurance.
Social Credit
ofounded in Alberta by William Aberhart
ohe called for government take-over of banks and greater control of money supply
o proposed that government should provide interest-free loans to families
Union Nationale (UN)
ofounded in Québec by Maurice Duplessis from a coalition of the Action Libérale Nationale and the Conservative Party
ocalled for economic reforms that would help Québec overcome its problems
opromoted traditional and conservative values of Catholic Church and rural life.
How did the various levels of government in Canada react to the Depression?
As the depression worsened, government intervention was used to better the situation however the benefits were limited.
- Federal, provincial and municipal governments hired unemployed men to work public works projects (new roads, park and playground construction, street cleaning).
- The federal government organized relief camps for single, unemployed young men who were paid a wage of 20 cents a day.
- Quebec provided direct aid in the form of coupons, which families could redeem for food, clothing and heating fuel.
- Churches and charities set up soup kitchens and shelters, where destitute people could get assistance.
The Quebec government, with the support of the Catholic Church, encouraged families to move from the cities to colonize and to settle the Abitibi, Gaspésie and Côte Nord regions. This "back-to-the-land" movement failed because farms were isolated and located where the soil was poor and the growing season was short.
A Canadian "New Deal" was proposed by Prime Minister Bennett. It included:
othe creation of the Bank of Canada in 1934 to control the money supply
ofederal government initiatives in the construction of roads and railways
othe introduction of unemployment insurance and other forms of social security
othe re-introduction of protective tariffs for the shoe and textile industries.
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#3: New Political Parties
Questions:
1. Develop a chart that will compare the 3 new political parties formed in Canada. Use at least 3 criteria to compare them.
2. What were some of the ways the various levels of government tried to help during the Great Depression?
3. What did Quebec do during the Great Depression, that was different than the rest of Canada?
4. What was Prime Minister Bennett’s New Deal?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#4: Letters from the Depression
Questions:
1. These letters contain some grammatical and spelling errors. Suggest why.
2. Who are the authors of the letters? What does your answer suggest about the types of people who were most affected by the Great Depression?
3. a) What kinds of problems did people write about to Prime Minister Bennett?
b) What emotions are expressed in the letters?
c) What solutions were available to solve the problems? What did Prime Minister Bennett do?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#7: Photographing the Decade
Photographs are valuable primary resources which can reveal information about the people, places, and events of the past. Using photographs is a way to bring history to life pictorially.
Answer the questions to analyze each of the photographs you were given
What is happening in the picture?
What objects in the picture can you identify?
With which general time period are those objects associated? What would be the same or different if the photograph were taken today?
Is there anything in the photograph that you cannot identify?
How are people dressed?
What are they doing?
What do the facial expressions or body language suggest?
Why do you think the photographer shot this picture?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#5: Music/Entertainment
Listen to the three musical tracks provided (press play on the CD player). You can follow along with the lyric sheets that are provided. Answer the following questions:
1) What are the themes of each of the three songs?
2) What song do you think is the best representation of the Great Depression. Why?
3) What song(s) do you think were unrealistic? Why do you think they were written that way?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
#6: Childhood During the Depression
Interviews are valuable and interesting primary resources which can reveal information about the people, places, and events of the past. Oral histories, while full of problems (short memories, distorted facts) can add a very detailed perspective to what daily life must have been like during the time period.
Read the interview, and answer the following questions:
- How did the Great Depression affect the childhood of the person interviewed?
- What can you assume about the person’s family life?
- Do this person seem sad or upset about living through the Great Depression?
- Is there anything interesting or surprising in these interview?
THE DIRTY THIRTIES
Tracking Sheet
#1: An Overview / 1 2 3 4 5
#2:Prices Then and Now / 1 2 3 4 5
#3:New Political Parties / 1 2 3 4 5
#4:Letters from the Depression / 1 2 3 4 5
#5: Music/Entertainment / 1 2 3 4 5
#6: Childhood / 1 2 3 4 5
#7: Photographing the Decade / 1 2 3 4 5
#8: The Interview / 1 2 3 4 5
#9: The Situation Today / 1 2 3 4 5
Bonus Assignments /
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Overall Comments/Next Steps: