The 1930s: How did the Great Depression affect the livesof Americans? (Part I)The Great Depressionbegan in the late 1920s,when consumers purchasedfewer products and factoriescut production, wages,and jobs. Consumers, inturn, had little or no moneyto buy products. By 1932,one-quarter of the Americanworkforce was unemployed.At the same timeof this slowdown, the Midwestwas struck by a terribledrought, creating a “DustBowl” that ruined farms.Jobless Americans traveledthe countryside lookingfor work, unable to findemployment in factoriesor farms. Those who hadjobs often had their wagescut. At the time, there wasno federal relief program tohelp the jobless or elderly,so Americans had to turn tocharities for help. The government’sinaction led manyAmericans to question theideas of American capitalism.In 1932, Franklin D.Roosevelt was elected, andhis “New Deal” programswere more responsive to the

demands of average people.While the “New Deal” didnot end the Depression, itrestored Americans’ faith inthe economy and the government.You will learn more aboutFDR’s “New Deal” in a laterclass meeting. Today youwill examine the impactof the Depression on variousgroups of Americansthrough photographsand oral histories. Youwill see the poverty that hit

African Americans, AngloAmericans, and MexicanAmericans; you will seepoverty in the city and inthe country and among the

young and the old. As youlook at these sources, youwill compare what picturesand interviews tell youabout historical events.

Final Assessment:Briefly answer the question using the oral and visual histories you analyzed regarding Americans during the Depression.

What was the impact of the Great Depression on different groups of Americans?