The Topic:  The Great Depression

Easier - The 'Great Depression' was a period in United States History when business was poor and many people were out of work.

 

Harder - The Great Depression began in October 1929, when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of investors lost large sums of money and many were wiped out, lost everything. The 'crash' led us into the Great Depression. The ensuing period ranked as the longest and worst period of high unemployment and low business activity in modern times. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless, homeless, and penniless. Many people came to depend on the government or charity to provide them with food.

 

The Depression became a worldwide business slump of the 1930's that affected almost all nations. It led to a sharp decrease in world trade as each country tried to protect their own industries and products by raising tariffs on imported goods. Some nations changed their leader and their type of government. In Germany, poor economic conditions led to the rise to power of the dictator Adolf Hitler. The Japanese invaded China, developing industries and mines in Manchuria. Japan claimed this economic growth would relieve the depression. This militarism of the Germans and Japanese eventually led to World War II (1939-1945).

 

In the United States, President Herbert Hoover held office when the Great Depression began. The economy continued to slump almost every month. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President in 1932. Roosevelt's 'new deal' reforms gave the government more power and helped ease the depression. The Great Depression ended as nations increased their production of war materials at the start of World War II. This increased production provided jobs and put large amounts of money back into circulation.

 

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project,1936-1940

from American Memory, Library of Congress

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/wpaintro/wpahome.html

Here you can read life histories gathered and written by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects). The

histories describe the informant's family education, income, occupation, political views, religion and mores, medical needs, diet and miscellaneous observations.

Related Websites:

2) America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-

OWI, 1935-1945 from American Memory, Library of Congress

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html

3) By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943

from American Memories, Library of Congress

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaposters/wpahome.html

 

Surviving the Dust Bowl from PBS's The American Experience

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/

This site includes a timeline of the disaster, a map of the affected areas, and profiles of people who were involved.

More Dust Bowl Websites:

2) The Dust Bowl http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/drylands/dust.html

3) Drought from Discovery Channel Online http://www.discovery.com/news/features/drought/drought.html

4) Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection from American Memory, Library of Congress

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tshome.html

 

Main Causes of the Great Depression by Paul Alexander Gusmorino III : May 13, 1996

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/6854/greatdep.html

This is the site of a brief summary of the causes of the Great Depression, includes a bibliography.

Similar Websites Provide Different Viewpoints:

2) Causes and Effects of the 'Great Depression' by Mike Noble

http://oasis.bellevue.k12.wa.us/sammamish/sstudies.dir/hist_docs.dir/grtdepression.mn.html

3) The Easy Life of the '20s Contributed to Great Depression http://www.marist.edu/summerscholars/96/ovpe.htm

 

New Deal Network

http://newdeal.feri.org/

This great website has lots of information on the 'New Deal', photographs, articles, and lots more.

Related Websites:

2) Great Depression and the New Deal http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/depression/

 

Websites By Kids For Kids

Crash of 1929 from The Jazz Age Page

http://www.btinternet.com/~dreklind/thecrash.htm

This website account provides an economic summary of the crash and its causes.

 

Great Depression: Both Good and Bad

http://www.sd83.bc.ca/stu/9605/w2lcj1.htm

This Canadian student's essay contrasts the tragedies of this era with the positive memories that many who lived through it share.

 

Great Depression

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/1545/

This site features a time-line and biographies of Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt. It was created by high school students as a class project.

 

Great Depression, a Great Disaster (2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project)

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001569/

This site focuses on the causes of the Great Depression.

 

Great Depression (Part of a 1996 ThinkQuest Project titled 'Recent History')

http://library.thinkquest.org/3483/Rhist/gd.html

The website contains a brief summary of the Depression, plus a few memories added by visitors to the site.

 

Great Depression: A Decade of Hardship (Museum in the Classroom Project)

http://www.museum.siu.edu/university_museum/museum_classroom_grant/Museum_Explo

rers/school_pages/bourbonnais/

This website has information about the Great Depression, pictures of some art and artifacts, and interviews with people who experienced this difficult time in American history.

 

We Made Do-- Recalling the Great Depression (Mooresville High School, Mooresville, IN)

http://www.mcsc.k12.in.us/mhs/social/madedo/

This site presents first-person accounts and images of the era. Readers are invited to submit their own Depression memories.

 

More Websites About the Great Depression

1930s Project

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/front.html

This site examines the years between Black Tuesday and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, through the film, print, radio, and design of the era.

Related Website:

2) 20th Century: 1930-1939 Decade (Links-site) from Chico High School Library

http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/decs3.html

 

Depression News: The 1930s (Michigan Historical Museum)

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/depressn/labnews2.html

This is an online tour of the 'Great Depression Gallery.'

Not To Be Missed Section:

2) "I remember . . ." (Reminiscences of the Great Depression)

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/techstuf/depressn/teacup.html

 

Great Depression

http://xroads.virginia.edu/g/1930s/PRINT/newdeal/intro3.html

In the United States, the people reacted to this crisis by electing Roosevelt into office who vowed to experiment with unorthodox solutions for the economic dilemma. Other countries, however, reacted differently. This comprehensive website examines public policies chosen during the early thirties and American reactions to the crisis.

 

Great Depression of Canada

http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/canadianhistory/depression/depression.html#CAUSES

This project describes events in Canada during the Depression in the 1930's.

Related Websites:

2) Great Depression http://www.swil.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/SWLCanMu/30shome.html

3) Great Depression by J. Struthers from The Canadian Encyclopaedia

http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/clerks_office/archives/great_depression.html

 

Great Depression from The WritingDEN (Grade 6-12)

http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/h15/direct.htm

WritingDEN is designed for students seeking to improve their English reading,comprehension, and writing skills. Multimedia presentations are divided into three levels of difficulty: words, sentences and paragraphs. This is the section on the Great Depression. To learn more about the WritingDen, visit http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/.

 

Great Depression and New Deal History Forum from History Matters

http://ashp.listserv.cuny.edu/archives/depression-newdealforum.html

This is a discussion forum. To post to the forum from this web site you will need to select a password and wait for e-mail verification. But you can visit the archives and search by topic.

 

Roosevelt's Tree Army: Michigan's Civilian Conservation Corps

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/techstuf/depressn/treearmy.html

Here is a historical summary of the development of the CCC program in the state of Michigan.

 

Riding the Rails from PBS's The American Experience

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/

At the height of the Great Depression, more than a quarter million teenagers were living on the road in America, many crisscrossing the country by illegally hopping freight trains. This site designed to accompany the film of the same name includes program description, a timeline, a teacher's guide, and more.

Related Websites:

2) Hobo History http://members.tripod.com/HoboJeepers/hobo.htm

3) Hobo Signs http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/hobosign.htm

4) Hobo Signs & Symbols http://www.slackaction.com/signroll.htm

5) Riding the Rails http://www.erroluys.com/frontpage.htm

 

Songs of the Great Depression

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/cherries.html

Here you can read lyrics to popular Depression-era songs including 'We're In the Money' and 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?'

 

Strip District: Shantytown: Looking Southwest

http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/strip/strip_n24.html

This site includes a photograph of a "Hooverville" in Pittsburgh during the Depression era. You will also find a quote from a guide book of the era about these shantytowns.

Related Websites:

2) Hooverville, 1937 (Photograph) http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/hstaa432/lesson_19/hooverville.html

3) Hooverville: Oakland, CA, 1937 (Click arrow to see photograph collection)

http://newdeal.feri.org/ron/ab04info.htm

4) Hooverville: The Great Depression in Seattle http://www.historylink.org/galleries/nowthen/hoover.htm

5) Hooverville: Shantytown of Seattle's Great Depression

http://www.historylink.org/output.CFM?file_ID=741

6) Hoovervilles During the Great Depression

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/depwwii/depress/hoovers.html

 

Then and Now Prices

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/kidstuff/depressn/costlist.html

How much did toys and clothing cost during the Great Depression of the 1930s? What would they cost today?

 

Websites for Teachers

'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime': The Effects of The New Deal on the Great Depression

http://www.adams50.k12.co.us/rhs/LLC/LOC_lesson/brodime.htm#Top

Investigate the circumstances and lives of those who endured this time of distress using their oral histories recorded by the Federal Writer's Project. Site contains ideas for teaching, an activity for students, and links to resources.

 

New Deal: North Carolina's Reconstruction? (Grade 9)

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/97/newdeal/lesson.html

This lesson plan is a guide for teachers that will result in imaginary Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Another Great Depression Lesson-site at American Memory, Library of Congress:

2) The Great Depression and the 1990s

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/97/depress/overview.html

 

Suggestions for the Classroom

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/tguide/

This extensive guide has been prepared to accompany the 'Riding the Rails' from PBS and to facilitate its use in educational settings. It has lots of good stand-alone classroom ideas.

 

Twelve Great Lessons for Teaching the Great Depression from Education World

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson147.shtml

Here are twelve activities for use across the curriculum and across the grades!

 

What Was Life Like During the Great Depression? from Michigan Historical Museum

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/techstuf/depressn/intervie.html

Life during the Great Depression was difficult for everyone. By asking questions and listening to stories from older relatives and friends, students can understand how much life has changed since the 1930s.

 

economic depression	dust bowl	Crash of 1929	unemployed	'Okies'	Dorothea Lange
'flophouse'	Works Progress Administration	low wages	'Riding the Rails'	transient	radio
government relief	John Steinbeck	'New Deal'	Herbert Hoover	Franklin Delano Roosevelt	drought
homelessness	'hobo'	Civilian Conservation Corp	economy	stock market	Farm Credit Administration
inflation	boom	bust	'go on relief'	soup kitchens	'Arkies"
California	Wagner Act	National Recovery Act	recovery	'Black Tuesday'	Woody Guthrie
Farm Security Administration	Hooverville	'Hoover blanket'	'Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?'	migrant labor camp	World War II