EQ: How did the Great Depression affect Americans lives?

Transcription

1 EQ: How did the Great Depression affect Americans lives? HW: Study for test (castle learning and review packet) and prep for essay Do Now: Take out HW and notes from last class. 1

2 Working Women Faced many problems, such as: some new deals did not apply to women even though there were less jobs, men were still hired over women Some women were still able to support themselves by getting jobs as secretaries, social workers, & teachers. Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged women to become politically active Traditional gender roles were not reinforced. 2

3 African Americans Often the first to lose their jobs & recieved less pay. Most New Deal programs discriminated against blacks. Threatened and beaten at relief centers FDR creates a "Black Cabinet" of African American advisers The Black Cabinet urged FDR to pass an anti lynching law, but he refused on the grounds that he would lose the support of the southern states for his New Deal programs. 3

4 Native Americans Indian New Deal introduced by John Collier (head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs) which helped restore Native American culture and heritage. stopped the sale of reservation land jobs for 77,000 Native Americans in CCC 1924 Native Americans were granted citizenship from congress Indian Reorganization Act (1934) restored traditional tribal gov. & provided $ for land purchases to enlarge some reservations. Indian Emergency Conservation Groupemployed N. Americans for land development Mexican American Resided mainly in California and Southwest Mexican Americans lost jobs and labor unions demanded Mexican Americans to leave the U.S. Gov. encouraged them to return to Mexico. Gave one way tickets or rounded Mexican Americans and shipped them across the border. (repatriated) Did not receive a lot of relief and were not offered the same benefits as whites hospitals and schools denied them Tried to form a union but officials and local food producers refused such organizations. 4

5 Asian Americans Faced discrimination Chinese americans born in China were not permitted to become American citizens and could not own property. They were barred from schools, jobs, neighborhoods. De facto segregation segregated by social pressures, not by law. In 1935 FDR signed the Repatriation Act. This provided free transportation for Filipinos that agreed to go back to the Philip. 5

6 Entertainment Art Escapism light or romantic entertainment that helped people forget about their problems. Social criticism portraits of the injustice and suffering of Depression America Artists: Thomas Hart Benton (frontier), Grant Wood (farms related to the hardships of farmers) Radio and Movies Radio became popular, esp. soap operas. People went to movie theaters to escape their cares/ worries (movies: "Snow White", "The Wizard of Oz", "Gone With the Wind") Literature & Arts Writers and painters portrayed the realities of the Depression. EX: John Steinback's The Grapes of Wrath (Okies); Dorothea Lange's photographs (Dust Bowl; Richard Wright's Uncle Tom's Children (African Americans) 6

7 IMPACTS.notebook Dust Bowl Severe Drought (Great Plains) High Winds = dust storms (Okla. NY) overgrazing cattle and plowing soil Okies and Arkies became migrant workers Went to West Coast Not wanted 7

8 The Second New Deal Roosevelt's Second New Deal introduced new programs to help jobless workers, the elderly, and labor unions. Revenue Act of 1935 raised taxes on wealthy people and corporations. accused of "soaking the rich" to pay for his programs August 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act (SSA) created a tax on workers and employers provided monthly pensions for retired people took responsibility for the welfare of all citizens 8

9 Labor unions grew stronger during the Depression Most unions in American Federation of Labor (AFL) represented skilled workers John L. Lewis helped form Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) set out to organize unions that included all workers, skilled and unskilled, esp. in industry National Labor Relations Act also called Wagner Act after Senator Robert Wagner guaranteed workers the right to form unions to bargain collectively with employers Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) banned child labor and set a min. wage of 40 cents per hour. 9