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15.3: Surviving the Great Depression

pp. 520-523

+15.3:Surviving the Great Depression

Key Qs 1. How did Americans overcome the difficulties related to

the Depression? 2. What signs of change did Americans begin to notice in

the early 1930s?

Key Terms Penny Auction 21st Amendment

+Americans Pull Together

Not all memories of the ‘30s are negative

Country pulled together in order to help one another

When farmers couldn’t pay mortgages, banks would foreclose & then sell it at an auction

In some communities farmers promised to keep bids low; “penny auctions”

Penny auctions combined w/ the threat of violence led some states to pass laws that stopped foreclosures on farms

+Monopoly

Created by Charles B. Darrow, an unemployed man from PA

Allowed people to live fantasy of acquiring land, houses, & hotels

First sold in 1935

500 million people have played the game since

+Young People Ride the Rails

In mid-1930s roughly 250K teens lived on the road

Many were riding freight trains

Lonely & dangerous

Some were forced to leave by family

+Seeking Political Solutions

Most Americans continued to trust democratic process

“10 million unemployed continue law-abiding. No riots, no trouble, no multi-millionaires cooked and served with cranberry sauce, alas.”—William Saroyan, 1936

However, both a communist and a socialist candidate ran for president in 1932

Socialist, Norman Thomas, won 881, 951 votes (2.2%)

+ Depression Humor

Jokes helped people survive the hard times

“Hoovervilles”—started as joke

“Hoover blankets”—newspapers

“Hoover flags”—empty pockets

Babe Ruth was criticized for making $80K, which was more than Hoover

His response, “I had a better year than he did.”

Will Rogers, most notable humorist of the time

“We’re the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile.”

“If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?”

“The only difference between death & taxes is that death doesn’t get worse ever time Congress meets.”

“When Wall Street took that tail spin, you had to stand in line to get a window to jump out of.”

+Signs of Change

1933—21st Amendment repealed 18th Amendment, Prohibition was over

“The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.”

Mostly welcomed; Prohibition seen as failed experiment

Control of alcohol returned to the states; 8 continued the ban

+Signs of Change

Construction on Empire State Building began in 1930

Cost $41 million

102 stories, 1’250 feet

Employed thousands of construction workers

Opened on May 1, 1931

+The End of An Era

1931—Capone gets locked up

1932—Lindbergh baby was kidnapped & murdered

1932—FDR, a Democrat, wins presidential election

1933—Coolidge died

1935—Babe Ruth retired

+15.3:Surviving the Great Depression

Key Qs 1. How did Americans overcome the difficulties related to

the Depression? 2. What signs of change did Americans begin to notice in

the early 1930s?

Key Terms Penny Auction 21st Amendment