The Great Depression Widens

From Great Depression 22-2 Reading

1. How did the Great Depression affect minorities?     

It was harder for the minorities than for the rest of population. They had the highest unemployment and they were lowest paid. They also had to deal with discrimination, and the violence that came with it, because white people were competing for the same jobs as the American Americans and Latinos. A total of twenty four African Americans were killed from lynching in 1933. Latinos, some of which were born in America, that lived in the Southwest were targets to be deported. Some of them went back to Mexico willingly, while others were forced by the federal government. 

2. Why did so many men leave their homes during the Depression?    
Many men left their homes during the Depression. The men were so used to being out all day and working that they couldn't stay in the house. Instead they would wander the streets all day in search for a job. Some, after years of not being able to find work, gave up, and some men even left their families. Many men wondered the country on railroad boxcars and slept under bridges, these men were homeless. Most of the men would eventually find their way to a homeless shelter. 


3. How did the Great Depression affect women and children?    
The woman spent their time trying to do everything to save every penny they had. Some of the women even went out and tried to get jobs, even though they would get paid less than men, they did everything to help support their family. Eventually the married women stopped getting jobs because it was looked down upon because married women shouldn't have jobs when men were unemployed. Some cities even refused to hire women as school teachers. People thought that women had it easier than the men did because there were few women beggars that were seen. The truth was that the woman were starving to death in rooming houses and attics and they were too ashamed to show their hardships. The children also had hardships during the Great Depression. There wasn't any money for healthcare for the children, and there wasn't enough food for them either. There were many causes of malnutrition related diseases that showed up among kids. Also there wasn't enough tax money for school; schools had to shorten their year or shut down the school completely. Many kids had to work instead of school, and they had to work in horrible conditions.  Many teenagers would cross the country in freight trains in search for jobs and to escape poverty. The freight trains were very dangerous for the teenagers and many were killed or injured for trespassing railroad property and some were even accidentally locked in ice cars for days. 

From Great Depression 22-3 Reading

4. What were some of Hoover’s key convictions about government?     

Hoover believed that the economy would fix itself, and the government should help as little as possible. He believed that the government should help companies should be competing because that's what helped companies grow. He thought that if there was a problem between businesses and labor that the government should help them find a solution but not force them to do anything. Hoover also thought that the federal government should not give the poor federal welfare because it would weaken people's "morale fiber" and instead charities and local organizations should help the poor. 

5. Why do you think people blamed Hoover for the nation’s difficulties?    

People blamed Hoover for the nation's difficulties because he would not give direct relief or some form of welfare to the poor, which the people wanted and when they did not get it, it angered them. They were blaming Hoover because he did nothing about the economy and provided no help because he believed that the economy would fix itself. When the people didn't get the welfare that they needed they turned against Hoover and blamed the nation's difficulties on him because he did nothing about it. The people were even naming things after Hoover, like when the homeless used newspapers as blankets they called them 'Hoover blankets.'

6. What were some of the projects proposed by Hoover, and how effective were they?    

Hoover proposed many projects to help the economy. One of the projects that he proposed was Federal Farm Board, which was an organization of farm cooperatives which was created to help raise the praises of crops by helping members to buy crops to keep them off the market temporarily so that the prices would rise. Another thing that Hoover proposed was the National Credit Corporation. Hoover convinced the largest banks to start it; it was made for the bigger banks to lend money to the smaller banks in order to help them stave off bankruptcy.  When it became obvious that these programs were not working, Hoover got the Congress to pass the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, which lowered mortgage rates for homeowners and let farmers refinance so they wouldn't lose their land to foreclosure. Hoover's biggest act that he proposed was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. This approved to give two billion dollars to big businesses such as railroad companies, banks, and life insurance. Hoovers hope was the money would trickle its way down to the average citizen and produce job growth. In the end the companies were still failing, along with all the other things which Hoover proposed. 

7. What did the Bonus Army want?    
The Bonus Army wanted the Patman Bill to pass in Congress. The Patman Bill authorized the government to give World War I veterans bonuses to those who were not paid adequately for their wartime services. The Patman Bill gave the veterans a total of five hundred dollars and a life insurance policy. The Bill was not passed in Congress and President Hoover forced the Bonus Army to leave, out of fear that they would become violent. He ordered 1,000 troops to lead them out and gassed them, which killed an 11 month old baby and blinded an eight year old boy. People were horrified when they found out about the attack on the veterans.