Life During the Depression

Soup Kitchens and Bread Lines

By 1933, over 12 million were unemployed ¼ of the workforce

Bread line and Soup Kitchen – receive free food

Soup Kitchen

Circa 1930-1935

Bread line in New York City near the Brooklyn Bridge

Shantytowns and Hoovervilles

People who couldn’t pay rent, evicted and kicked out by bailiffs

Hooverville – blaming President Hoover for their situation Built shacks in unused or public

land▪Central Park in NYC

Dust Bowl

Farmers have more problems1932 – Drought

No crops planted to keep topsoil down No rain, soil turned to dust

Mortgage farms and turn over to banks

Migrate west Okies to California

Feb/Mar 1936

Migrant Mother, 32 years old, seven children. Had just sold her car tires to buy food.

Entertainment to Escape

Movies See rich, happy,

successful people▪ release from worry

Cartoons▪Walt Disney – Snow White (1937)▪ The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Entertainment to Escape

Radio News reports Comedy Acts – Jack Benny, George

Burns Adventure stories – The Green

Hornet; The Lone Ranger Daytime radio – soap operas –

sponsored by laundry soap

Hoover’s Response

Promoting Recovery

Public Works – government-financed building projects

How do you get funding for them? Help replace lost jobs Urged state and local gov’t to do

the same Doesn’t replace enough jobs

Promoting Recovery

Gov’t needed to increase spending dramatically Need tax revenue – who does that

hurt? Or increase the debt, deficit

spending▪ Take loans from banks, less money for people

Government Lending

Banks did not have the money to loan

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) Loans to banks, railroads, agriculture Didn’t meet needs

Relief

Emergency Relief and Construction Act July 21, 1932 $1.5 bil for public works $300 mil for direct relief

Too little, too late

Anger and Protests

Hunger Marches

Farmers Revolting Foreclosed on

mortgaged farms Destroy their crops

to raise prices

Anger and Protest

Bonus Marchers 1924 – Congress passed $1000 bonus for WWI vets

1932 – bill proposing early pay Vets marched, road rails to Washington Stayed in Hoovervilles, abandoned buildings in D.C. for

weeks Bill was voted down in Senate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkmo4ygPTjc Brother Can You Spare a Dime? Hoover Spurns

the Bonus Army http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU&feature=kp