Life in the Great Depression

By: Ali M. and Kelli K.

Women in the Depression• Women in the workplace - Female salesclerks and secretaries faced little competition from men. - These jobs were less likely to disappear than the men's factory jobs. - Women that trained to be librarians or school teachers found themselves competing with men who lost their jobs. - Many women such as maids, seamstresses, and housekeepers were out of work because fewer people needed domestic help. - African American were also out of domestic jobs.- More women canned fruits and vegetables, sewing clothes, and baking bread to save money.

Women in the Depression• An Active First Lady - Eleanor Roosevelt - After FDR was stricken with polio, Eleanor overcame her shyness. - She began speaking and traveling on her husband’s behalf. - Eleanor helped transform the first lady’s role by becoming active and coming out of the background. - In 1933 alone, she logged forty thousand miles including a trip down into a West Virginia mine. - Eleanor made frequent radio speeches and had a daily newspaper column. - She used her position to champion women's rights. - She held an all female reporter press conference and urged her husband to appoint more women government positions.

African Americans in the Depression

• South and North - Many African American sharecroppers were forced off their land due to plunging cotton prices. - Many black jobs in southern cities such as cleaning streets were given to jobless whites. - By 1932, more than half of the southern African Americans were unemployed. - Even though many African Americans migrated North, more black and white factory workers were losing their jobs. - African Americans were usually the last to get hired and the first ones to get fired once they got a job.

African Americans in theDepression

• FDR’s Mixed Record - The President still had a mixed record on civil rights even though many African Americans backed him. - FDR failed to support an antilynching bill that his wife strongly supported. - Due to his wife’s prodding, FDR appointed 100 African American government positions. - Mary McLeod Bethune became one of the top ranking African Americans in the government. - Bethune was a member of FDR’s “Black Cabinet” which consisted of high ranking appointee’s that informed FDR of black issues. - Another member of this cabinet was William Hastie, the first African American judge.

African Americans in the Depression

• A Symbolic Moment - The Daughter’s of the American Revolution (DAR) would not let African American Marian Anderson perform at their hall. - Eleanor Roosevelt protested and organized for Marian to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. - The performance brought 75,000 listeners and became a key symbol in the struggle for civil rights.

Other Americans in the Depression

• Mexican Immigrants are Deported - Migrant Workers are people who travel from farm to farm picking crops. - Farmers were welcoming during good times when Mexicans would work for low wages under harsh conditions. - During the Depression, thousands of whites came looking for jobs. - Many Americans wanted the government to force Mexicans out of the country. - Federal immigration officials deported thousands of people to Mexico. - Some were even citizens born in the United States.

Other Americans in the Depression

• The Indian New Deal - 170,000 Indians lived in poverty on reservations administered by the government. - John Collier became the Commissioner of Indian Affairs under FDR. - He became embarked in a program called the Indian New Deal. - He hired Native Americans to build schools, hospitals, and irrigation systems. - He hoped to put Indian reservations under Indian control, stop Native American land sales, and enforce Native American teachings in Indian schools.

The Dust Bowl• Black Blizzards - Modern faming methods contributed to the dust bowl. - Farmers we encouraged to clear huge plots of land with mechanical faming equipment. - The sod layer that was clear blew away like powder. - Some dust storms erupted so quickly, many called them black blizzards. - Noon seemed like midnight - The dust came into houses and killed many people and animals.

• Okies Head West - Thousands of farming families abandoned their homes to seek work elsewhere. - In the worst hit counties, as many as 1 in 3 families left. - Californian residents called them Okies because many came from Oklahoma. - Police eventually closed roads off, but they kept coming

Arts and Media of theDepression

John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath to capture the miseries of the depression. This novel became the classic example of how American writers and artists tried to cope with the Great Depressions human toll.

• Visual Arts - Photographers and painters used the depression as an art theme. - Dorothea Lange, a photographer, recorded experiences of Dust Bowl migrants. - The WPA hired muralists to paint on public walls.

Arts and Media of the Depression

• Movies and Radio - Some movies dealt with social problems The Grapes of Wrath The Public Enemy

- Some movies mad people forget about their problems Mickey Mouse King Kong - The most popular star was Shirley Temple, a little girl who symbolized optimism in the face of trouble. - The radio was a vital part to everyday life - People gathered in their living rooms to listen to…• FDR’s fireside chants • popular bands • comedians • dramas sponsored by soap companies (soap operas)

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