Causes of The Great Depression

1. THE GREAT DEPRESSION Grade 7 Social Studies Unit: 11 Lesson: 01 ©2012, TESCCC

2. CAUSES: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  The Stock Market is a place people buy (invest) money in companies in hopes that they will earn more money.  October 29, 1929 – known as Black Friday – the stock market “crashed” (stopped working to make people money).  Banks failed and people lost all their money.  Drought (no rain) conditions in the central U.S. caused agriculture to fail. 2 ©2012, TESCCC

3. EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  $26 billion that had been invested in the Stock Market was lost!  25% of people in the U.S. were eventually unemployed . 3 ©2012, TESCCC

4. EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  In 1930 Texans did not feel the impact right away.  Many Texans had farms or worked on farms, so they could grow food and not go hungry.  The oil industry was still flourishing.  Construction was still growing. 4 ©2012, TESCCC

5. EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  However, in 1931, oil prices fell.  As the depression worsened across the United States in 1931 and 1932, Texans eventually had to recognize that the Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis . 5 ©2012, TESCCC

6. EFFECTS: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Banks closed and people lost all their money, and some families found themselves homeless.  Cotton prices dropped to 5 or 6 cents a pound.  People lost their farms and their jobs. http://www.erroluys.com/HowAmericansHelpedEachOtherDuringtheGreatDepression. htm TESCCC 2012 6

7. HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Private charities were set up to help the poor.  In major cities, soup kitchens and bread lines began to spring up where the homeless and starving could be fed. Source: http://www.history.com/photos/soup-kitchens-and-bread-lines/photo4 TESCCC 2012 7

8. HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Civilian Conservation Corps , (CCC)  Government funded work relief program for young men  Built recreational parks and worked in forest and soil conservation projects  Workers were given food, shelter, and $30 a month.  Workers lived in barracks much like a military camp.  $25 had to be sent home to their families. TESCCC 2012 8

9. HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Public Works Administration (PWA)  Government funded work relief program for unemployed men  Hired to build canals, tunnels, bridges, highways, streets, sewage systems, as well as hospitals, schools, and universities  Housing was built for people in poverty. 9 ©2012, TESCCC

10. HELP: THE GREAT DEPRESSION  Works Progress Administration (WPA)  Government agency that hired workers to build public buildings and roads  Employed artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects  600,000 people in Texas were helped by the WPA. 10 ©2012, TESCCC

11. THE GREAT DEPRESSION  When World War II began, the effects of The Great Depression began to decline.  Millions of workers were hired to work in the factories that built war materials such as airplanes, guns, tanks, and ammunition.  Due to 17 million people being employed in the war effort, the economy began to improve. 11 ©2012, TESCCC