SSUSH17:
The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.
Though the U.S. economy appeared to be prosperous during the 1920s, the conditions that led to the Great Depression were created during that decade. This standard will measure your understanding of the factors that led to the Great Depression and how it affected the people of the United States.
A. Describe the causes, including overproduction, underconsumption, and stock market speculation that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.
B. Explain factors (include over-farming and climate) that led to the Dust Bowl and the resulting movement and migration west.
New machinery and improved farming techniques made American farmers very productive. By producing more food each year, farmers thought they could earn more money. Instead, this overproduction helped drive down the prices of their products and made it harder for them to make a profit. In response, farmers tried producing even more food by taking out more loans to buy more land and farm equipment. As a result, most farmers were very vulnerable to economic and environmental disasters when banks started foreclosing on farms owned by farmers unable to repay their loans. To make matters worse, the Great Plains states were experiencing a severe drought. When a series of severe dust storms hit the prairies, they picked up the dirt loosened by the drought and the poor farming practices that had eroded the soil. This ecological disaster was called the Dust Bowl. Dry conditions and high winds made farming impossible. Tenant farmers and sharecroppers were among the hardest hit as their landlords evicted them and sold the land. Over 500,000 Americans were left homeless. Many farmers from Oklahoma, Texas, and the surrounding Dust Bowl states migrated to California in search of work.
C. Explain the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles.
Widespread Unemployment
As profits fell and it became clear consumers would need to reduce spending, workers began to lose their jobs. By 1932, the unemployment rate in the United States had reached 25%. Unemployed workers who had no savings could not pay their debts, and many lost their homes. Homeless and unemployed people settled in camps of shacks and tents in rundown areas. These camps became known as Hoovervilles, named after Herbert Hoover, the U.S. president when the
Depression started. Hooverville residents slept in packing crates if they were lucky; if not, they slept on the ground. They begged for food from people whostill had jobs and housing.
Depression started. Hooverville residents slept in packing crates if they were lucky; if not, they slept on the ground. They begged for food from people whostill had jobs and housing.