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.