The Great Depression was very deep and long lasting it impacted many life causing them to lose their jobs and homes. Many people also lost their life during this hard time.

The stock market crash of 1929 is what started the great depression . In the 1920’s stock prices rose to all- time high. Americans took advantage of the “bull market” it was a time of rising stock prices. By 1929 four million Americans owned stocks. Despite of all the trouble most of the Americans had confidence in the economy. The hit song represented the feelings of the optimism in 1928 was “Blue Sky’s”.

The Dust Bowl was the name given to the great plains region it was devastated by the drought. The drought of the early 1930’s was the worst in Americas history. Crops production dropped seventy five percent in some areas. The Great Plains were hit by the massive dust storms. Years of overgrazing, drought, and very high winds created very big dust storms . April 14,1935 became known as “Black Sunday” as twenty of the worst dust storms hit the region. Many people where forced to move from the Great Plain because it was making people sick and killing them. Families on the Great Plains didn’t have it easy, they faced daily dust invasions that left homes and fields covered by sand. When they family would go to bed they would wake up covered in sand. The mother would clean her house daily but it didn’t do any good because after the storm you couldn’t tell she had cleaned. Dust Pneumonia is when they children got sick it was a lung element many young children and kids died from this because of dust in their lungs.

Big Black Blizzard is the big black dust cloud

Many homeless people built shacks in public places because they didn’t have a place called home. These shanty towns were called Hoovervilles after President Herbert Hoover. Hoovervilles were located in several large cities across the nation. Shacks were built out of scrap metal wood whatever materials were available.

Herbert Clark Hoover was the thirty first President of the Untied States, he was born on August 10,1874 in West Branch Iowa. He was the first U.S. president to be born the west of Mississippi River. Hoover attended Quakers schools, but he also became part of the frist class to enter Stanford University when it opened in 1891.He graduated with a four year degree in geology. Herbert Hoover was a very smart, hardworking , intelligent young man.Hoover ran as the Republican Party’s nominee. He promised to bring peace ad prosperity to the nation. On October 24,1929 only seven months after Hoover had took office there was a huge drop in value of the U.S. stock market and it spent the economy going downward and signaled the start of the Great Depression.

The Bonus Army March is in 1924 Congress passed a bill that would award World War 1 veterans bonuses, the bonuses would be available in 1945. In 1932 many of these veterans gathered in the capital seeking early payment. The march would be lead by Army Sergeant Walter waters. On July 28, 1932 President Hoover ordered to the veterans to leave government property. Washington, D.C. police faced off with the veterans two of the veterans were killed over one thousand were injured. General Douglas MacArthur led troops to end the protest. The veterans were driven out and their belongings was burned.

The New Deal focused on the three R’s Reform, Relief and recovery. Reform is a policy or program designed to ensure a Great Depression would never happen again. Relief is to provide Americans help with the basic necessities of life. Recovery is a policy or program designed to promote growth in  America economy.  Some felt that the New deal went to far but others felt as if the New Deal didn’t go far enough. Critics felt the New deal gave the President too much power, business leaders feared higher taxes would lower profits.

President Roosevelt used the popularity of radios to send his messages to the America people. In the beginning I 1933 Roosevelt spoke to America through his “Fireside Chats” these broadcast made Roosevelt popular and gained public for his programs. No matter where anyone was they could here the messages as long as they where near or had a radio.

During the Great Depression over 300,000 men became hoboes traveling across the country for work. Hoboes traveled and worked there transpiration was train boxes. Hoboes formed a unique society, jumping trains for travel, sleeping under bridges or in homeless shelters and creating hidden language to survive.

The Depression in rural areas had one advantage over those in the city and that was that most framers could grow there own food. However falling prices and rising debt led to over 400,000 farmers losing their land and property. Many framers lost their land and propetry