The Great Depression Widens

From Great Depression 22-2 Reading



1. How did the Great Depression affect minorities?    

 
For minorities the Great Depression was horrible. Their unemployment rates were higher than whites and if they had a job their pay was much less than their white counterparts. Also racial violence increased during this time, unemployed whites competing for the same job as a minority would beat them up/ even kill them. 24 African Americans were lynched in one year because of this.

 


2. Why did so many men leave their homes during the Depression?  

  
So many men left their homes during the Great Depression because they were accustomed to supporting their families and working. They got so discouraged that they would go out for days on a time just walking the streets looking for a job. It got so bad in some cases that they just got up and left because they were so embarrassed.

 


3. How did the Great Depression affect women and children?    


During the Great Depression many women struggled to survive. They couldn't get jobs because when men are out of work offices wont hire women in their place so they couldn't get any jobs, schools wouldn't even hire women to teach. They had to do chores around the house, like managing the budget, going shopping, doing things that women did before they were aloud to work. For children it was even worse. Schools shut down nation wide, some 300000 students were out of school because of this. because of this lack of school many children just gave up their hope. Many children would hitch-hike on trains around the country. Some of them were even killed because they didn't want the children on the trains.  
 



From Great Depression 22-3 Reading



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


Herbert Hoovers key convictions about government were that they play a limited role in helping solve the problems, he also believed that the government should help foster privet charities to help with the relief efforts. He believed that if the government gave handouts it would weaken peoples self-dignity and “moral-fiber”. His idea was that the government should direct relief measures. They should help fund privet charities and they would help the people.

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

 I believe that some people blamed Hoover for the nation’s difficulties because he didn’t do “enough”. He didn’t help the people out at all, he just let people fend for themselves. People didn’t want that, they wanted a president that would help them through tough times, to get them out of it. He was way to rugged, he didn’t do anything he basically let the country fail. 





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



One of the projects proposed by Hoover was the “Boulder Dam”(later renamed the Hoover Dam). The Dam was to generate power and help set arrangement of water rights between some of the states. The dam was very effective, it provided the power it was supposed to but it also provided a regular water supply the country needed. 



7. What did the Bonus Army want?

The Bonus Army wanted their bonus that was supposed to be paid in 1945 to be paid now. They all rushed to Washington D.C. to try and get the Patman Bill passed it was rejected by Congress. After the bill was denied Hoover asked the people to leave. Some did but the army forcefully removed those who didn’t.