1929 1939 Stock market crash was the catalyst

1929 -1939 • Stock market crash was the catalyst or “spark” • Didn’t realize the effect it would have • No money to replenish what was borrowed Many found being broke humiliating.

The Roaring 20’s • The new concept of “credit” • People were buying: – Automobiles – Appliances – Clothes • Fun times reigned – Dancing – Flappers – Drinking

Why was this bad? • Credit system – People didn’t really have the money they were spending • WWI – The U. S. was a major credit loaner to other nations in need – Many of these nations could not pay us back

The Stock Market • People bought stocks on margins – If a stock is $100 you can pay $10 now and the rest later when the stock rose • Stocks fall – Now the person has less than $100 and no money to pay back

And then…. • With people panicking about their money investors tried to sell their stocks – This leads to a huge decline in stocks – Stocks were worthless now • People who bought on “margins” now could not pay • Investors were average people that were now broke

• Herbert Hoover was president at the start • Philosophy: We’ll make it! • What He Did: Nothing • Preached self reliance and charity • The poor were looking for help and no ideas on how to correct or help were coming

• Farmers were already feeling the effects – Prices of crops went down – Crop surpluses – Many farms foreclosed • People could not afford luxuries – Factories closed – Businesses failed – Banks had no money – People could not pay their taxes – Schools shut down due to lack of funds • Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties

Consequences of everyday living • Marriage rate dropped • Birth rate dropped • Divorce on the rise • Suicides increased • Men and Children as young as 12 leaving home to find jobs

Many waited in unemployment lines hoping for a job.

People in cities would wait in line for bread to bring to their family.

Some families were forced to relocate because they had no money.

“Hooverville” • Some families were forced to live in shanty towns – A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots • They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of help during the depression.

A drought in the Mid West leads to dust storms that destroyed crops. “The Dust Bowl”

The Mid. West Was Buried • Crops turned to dust=No food to be sent out • Homes buried • Fields blown away • South in state of emergency • Dust Bowl the #1 weather crisis of the 20 th century • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=x 2 Ci. Da. UYr 90

Two Families During the Depression

A Farm Foreclosure

Some families tried to make money by selling useful crafts like baskets.

*FDR* • When he was inaugurated unemployment had increased by 7 million. • Poor sections (like Harlem) had 50% of the pop. unemployed • Instated the “New Deal” • Yea! Frankie!

• People everywhere were effected by the depression • It wasn’t till President Roosevelt took over and tried to put the economy back together that people even saw a glimmer of hope

First Hundred Days • Created a Brain Trust of Elite Harvard and Columbia Professors • Congress pass over 70 pieces of legislation in the first 100 days • First up: • Fix the banking crisis

Fireside Chat on Banking • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=z 9 CBpb u. V 3 ok

Major Historical Happenings Life for African Americans. . . • Jim Crow Laws • Recovering from the Great Depression • Racial Injustice • Poor South

Jim Crow Laws • After the American Civil War most states in the South passed anti-African American legislation. These became known as Jim Crow laws. • These laws included segregation in… – Schools -- Hospitals – Theaters -- Water fountains – Restaurants – Hotels – Public transportation – Some states forbid inter-racial marriages

• These laws were instituted in 1896 and were not abolished till the late 1950’s (even then still not completely).