1920 1939 Roaring Twenties This was a result

1920 - 1939

‘Roaring Twenties’ • This was a result of the devastation of the First World War. • North America went through a period of massive rebuilding and modernisation. • The USA became the richest country in the world

Wall Street Crash - 1929 • The roaring Twenties ended with the crash. • The New York stock market was becoming unstable in 1929. • Millions of people tried to withdraw all their money at the same time (Black Thursday). • Banks all over the U. S collapsed because they had no more money to give.

• There is more ‘virtual’ money (in banks, bonds, internet banking and credit cards for example) then actual physical printed money. • If everyone in the world tried to withdraw their money today, the banks would collapse again as there would not be enough to go around. • In the Great Depression, a wheelbarrow full of money was worthless. The wheelbarrow was actually worth more.

The Great Depression • Because of the wall street crash thousands of professional jobs were lost. • Families lost everything including their homes • The only work many could find was agricultural work. • There were not enough of these jobs to go round and most of it was seasonal. • Whole families were constantly on the move.

• 50% of all children in America did not have enough food, water or shelter. • Thousands were forced to get food from soup kitchens • The Government felt that Americans had to et themselves out of trouble. They provided very little in the way of support.

The Dust Bowl

Farming and Food • Most food was produced in central America. • Over farming, pollution and a series of droughts destroyed most of the food growing areas in this region. • Many farms closed and this led to more unemployment and severe lack of food. • Many people sought farm work in California which had been unaffected by the dust bowl.

Ranch Houses • Thousands of recently unemployed people flocked to California to find any work to feed themselves and their families. • The only work available was agricultural. • Because of the huge numbers looking for work, farmers could pay low wages and treat workers unfairly. • If you didn’t like what was going on, move on.

Working Conditions • Workers were paid very little and generally the work was very dangerous. • You had to work 6 days a week and between 12 -15 hours a day. • Ranch owners would reduce pay for accommodation and food. • If you got ill or too old you would be sacked.

Racism

• Black people had been bought to America as slaves. They were seen as less then human. • Even though they were set free, many white Americans disliked black people. • The depression made these feelings even worse (people needed someone to blame) and many black people were persecuted.

The Scottsboro Boys - 1931 • Nine black boys were accused of raping two white women (both known prostitutes) on a train. • Even after the second trial, all the men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. • Eight of the nine were sentenced to death after only a few weeks of trials. • After a FOURTH trial in 1936, four men were found innocent and released. The other four were still found guilty. • The prosecution lawyer famously said during the trial. “Guilty or not, let’s get rid of these niggers”. • The Supreme court ruled against the conviction and called for a second trial. • On of the white women who said she had been raped told the courts she had made the story up. • Four more men were finally released in 1940. • The final man, Andy Wright, was not released until 1950. • They were only pardoned of their crimes in 1976. By then, there was only one surviving member of the original nine.

The Role of Women

• Women were treated as second class citizens. • They could not vote, very few were allowed to work and in some cases had little choice in who they should marry. • Women were seen by some men as only good for sex. • A few men treated women like their own property.