Cloze Exercise

Life in the Great Depression

The Great Depression – In Statistics

• By 1933: Industrial production had fallen by 40%; prices 50%; wages 60%

• More than 7,000 banks had gone bankrupt.

• 11.5 million unemployed in 1932 – a quarter of the workforce

• In Atlanta 70% of black workers unemployed.

• In one steel town, 80% of workers were unemployed.

• 17,000 families evicted each week/ 1,000 mortgages foreclosed a day

• 2 million Americans ‘on the road’

• In 1931, 20 people starved to death; in 1934 110

• In 1932, 23,000 people committed suicide.

Those who suffered

African Americans

• Lost unskilled jobs to white workers (96% of black workers in South were unskilled).

• Discriminatory layoffs ('last hired, first fired').

• Earned 75% of white worker wages; poverty even with jobs.

• Faced housing discrimination, rent exploitation.

• Black banks hit hard (only 12 out of 134 survived by 1936).

Women

• Worked up to 50 hrs a week for low wages to ‘save family.’

• Single women (esp. minorities) = marginalised; a Chicago study found most under 40, 15% with mental illness.

• On the road = extra danger.

Farmers

• Depression + Dust Bowl = severe hardship; 100k sharecroppers evicted (esp. in South).

• Migrant ‘Okies’/ ‘Arkies’ faced Los Angeles’s ‘’ turning them back; in California, competed with immigrant labour → starvation wages.

Unemployed

• Crowds sought work at docks/ factory gates; rural migrants flooded towns.

• Overwhelmed councils = bankrupt; breadlines/soup kitchens common.

• Mothers with children suffered acutely.

Lost everything

• 1m lost everything in Wall St Crash; others wiped out by bank failures.

• Many too old to work, no welfare support.

Mine workers

• Mining towns (‘patches’) = exploitative: 'pluck-me' stores, wooden ‘shotgun homes,’ scrip pay, police.

Union activists

• African American Angelo Herndon jailed for cross-race protests (18 yrs on a chain gang).

• Ned Cobb led sharecropper resistance; jailed 13 yrs.

Other hardships

• Avg. pay cut by 33%; hours reduced.

• Esp. middle class too proud for relief = hidden suffering.

• Families collapsed: fathers lost status, mothers worked & managed home, kids forced to take jobs.

Agency: How did people cope?

Mutual support

• Bread/soup kitchens run by towns, Salvation Army, even Al Capone.

• Farmers drove off bank repossessors with pitchforks.

• Harlem rent parties; shared rooms, clothes, even ; < 2,000 mutual aid societies.

• Homeless built shanty towns called ; farmers in California built 'Okievilles.'

Activism

• 702 protests nationwide (1930: Communist march on DC tear-gassed; 1932: 60k-strong hunger march blocked by police with machine guns).

• School (1932) trained Union organisers; Sharecroppers Union had 5,500 members by 1933.

• WWar (1931–35): strikes over scrip pay cuts → famous protest song Which Side Are You On?

• Communist Party gained members; activists like Hosea Hudson blamed capitalism, faced violent clashes.

Moving out

• 200k midwest farmers (‘Okies’/‘Arkies’) left for California fruit-picking (cf The Grapes of Wrath).

• rode railroads, incl. singer Woody Guthrie (Hard Travelling).

Scrimping

• Families scavenged food, coal; sold apples, took in lodgers, begged.

• 'Depression recipes' (eg ‘ stew’, eggless, butterless depression cake).

• Cars = last possessions to sell.

Relaxing

• Radio, books (Gone with the Wind, How to ), pulp fiction.

• Movies (30c tickets), dances, sports, marathon dancing, Harlem rent parties.

Farmers

• ‘Farm strike’ in Iowa (1932–33): food trucks attacked, bridges burned, judge kidnapped over foreclosures; '' at foreclosures helped save farms.

African Americans

• Leaders like Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) organised for rights.

• Harlem was a centre for racial equality campaigns ('Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work').

• Harlem Communist Party grew to 1,200 by 1935; riots led to 57 injuries.

Army

• 20k ex-soldiers set up Hooverville in Washington (1932) to demand early payment of their wartime pension.

Those who prospered

Successful investors

• 75% of workers kept jobs; lower prices = better standard of living for wealthy/middle-class.

Efficient companies

• Firms like Decca (records) and chain stores like Woolworths grew via cost-cutting.

Large corporations

• Bought bankrupt businesses (cf It’s a Wonderful Life).

Finance

• Bank of Italy (later Bank of America) prospered via small loans; Life Insurance Co. grew as people sought security; pawnshops thrived.

Modern sectors

• Electrical goods/chemical industries expanded; Empire State Building finished (1931); Golden Gate Bridge started (1932).

Advertising

• Kept firms like Coca-Cola afloat.

Domestic essentials

• Firms like Procter & Gamble and utilities (e.g., Consolidated Edison) because they were essential.

Entertainment industry

• Hollywood (MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount), radio networks (NBC, CBS) flourished.

The Great Depression – In Statistics

• By 1933: Industrial production had fallen by 40%; prices 50%; wages 60%

• More than 7,000 banks had gone bankrupt.

• 11.5 million unemployed in 1932 – a quarter of the workforce

• In Atlanta 70% of black workers unemployed.

• In one steel town, 80% of workers were unemployed.

• 17,000 families evicted each week/ 1,000 mortgages foreclosed a day

• 2 million Americans ‘on the road’

• In 1931, 20 people starved to death; in 1934 110

• In 1932, 23,000 people committed suicide.

Those who suffered

African Americans

• Lost unskilled jobs to white workers (96% of black workers in South were unskilled).

• Discriminatory layoffs ('last hired, first fired').

• Earned 75% of white worker wages; poverty even with jobs.

• Faced housing discrimination, rent exploitation.

• Black banks hit hard (only 12 out of 134 survived by 1936).

Women

• Worked up to 50 hrs a week for low wages to ‘save family.’

• Single women (esp. minorities) = marginalised; a Chicago study found most under 40, 15% with mental illness.

• On the road = extra danger.

Farmers

• Depression + Dust Bowl = severe hardship; 100k sharecroppers evicted (esp. in South).

• Migrant ‘Okies’/ ‘Arkies’ faced Los Angeles’s ‘BUM BLOCKADE’ turning them back; in California, competed with immigrant labour → starvation wages.

Unemployed

• Crowds sought work at docks/ factory gates; rural migrants flooded towns.

• Overwhelmed councils = bankrupt; breadlines/soup kitchens common.

• Mothers with children suffered acutely.

Lost everything

• 1m lost everything in Wall St Crash; others wiped out by bank failures.

• Many too old to work, no welfare support.

Mine workers

• Mining towns (‘patches’) = exploitative: 'pluck-me' stores, wooden ‘shotgun homes,’ scrip pay, YELLOW DOG police.

Union activists

• African American Angelo Herndon jailed for cross-race protests (18 yrs on a chain gang).

• Ned Cobb led sharecropper resistance; jailed 13 yrs.

Other hardships

• Avg. pay cut by 33%; hours reduced.

• Esp. middle class too proud for relief = hidden suffering.

• Families collapsed: fathers lost status, mothers worked & managed home, kids forced to take jobs.

Agency: How did people cope?

Mutual support

• Bread/soup kitchens run by towns, Salvation Army, even Al Capone.

• Farmers drove off bank repossessors with pitchforks.

• Harlem rent parties; shared rooms, clothes, even HOT-BEDDING; < 2,000 mutual aid societies.

• Homeless built shanty towns called HOOVERVILLES; farmers in California built 'Okievilles.'

Activism

• 702 protests nationwide (1930: Communist march on DC tear-gassed; 1932: 60k-strong hunger march blocked by police with machine guns).

• HIGHLANDER FOLK SCHOOL (1932) trained Union organisers; Sharecroppers Union had 5,500 members by 1933.

• HARLAN COUNTY WAR (1931–35): strikes over scrip pay cuts → famous protest song Which Side Are You On?

• Communist Party gained members; activists like Hosea Hudson blamed capitalism, faced violent clashes.

Moving out

• 200k midwest farmers (‘Okies’/‘Arkies’) left for California fruit-picking (cf The Grapes of Wrath).

• HOBOES rode railroads, incl. singer Woody Guthrie (Hard Travelling).

Scrimping

• Families scavenged food, coal; sold apples, took in lodgers, begged.

• 'Depression recipes' (eg EDIBLE WEED stew, eggless, butterless depression cake).

• Cars = last possessions to sell.

Relaxing

• Radio, books (Gone with the Wind, How to WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE), pulp fiction.

• Movies (30c tickets), dances, sports, marathon dancing, Harlem rent parties.

Farmers

• ‘Farm strike’ in Iowa (1932–33): food trucks attacked, bridges burned, judge kidnapped over foreclosures; 'PENNY AUCTIONS' at foreclosures helped save farms.

African Americans

• Leaders like Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) organised for rights.

• Harlem was a centre for racial equality campaigns ('Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work').

• Harlem Communist Party grew to 1,200 by 1935; riots led to 57 injuries.

BONUS Army

• 20k ex-soldiers set up Hooverville in Washington (1932) to demand early payment of their wartime pension.

Those who prospered

Successful investors

• 75% of workers kept jobs; lower prices = better standard of living for wealthy/middle-class.

Efficient companies

• Firms like Decca (records) and chain stores like Woolworths grew via cost-cutting.

Large corporations

• Bought bankrupt businesses (cf It’s a Wonderful Life).

Finance

• Bank of Italy (later Bank of America) prospered via small loans; METROPOLITAN Life Insurance Co. grew as people sought security; pawnshops thrived.

Modern sectors

• Electrical goods/chemical industries expanded; Empire State Building finished (1931); Golden Gate Bridge started (1932).

Advertising

• Kept firms like Coca-Cola afloat.

Domestic essentials

• Firms like Procter & Gamble and utilities (e.g., Consolidated Edison) because they were essential.

Entertainment industry

• Hollywood (MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount), radio networks (NBC, CBS) flourished.