Texas And Why It Matters Now 1 The Great Depression Many Of The Social .

476-493TXSE 6 23 p11/18/02110:50 AMPage 476Texas andthe Great DepressionPage 1 of 5Why It Matters NowMany of the social programs thatwe take for granted today werecreated to provide relief from theGreat Depression.TERMS & NAMESOBJECTIVESMAIN IDEAstock, stockholder, speculate,crash, Black Tuesday,Great Depression, HerbertHoover, unemployment rate,Dust Bowl1. Identify and describe the GreatDepression.2. Analyze the impact of national andinternational events on the productionof goods and services in Texas.3. Analyze the effects of physical andhuman factors on Texas during theGreat Depression.The stock market crash of 1929brought hard times to Texas andthe rest of the nation and world.During the era that followed, knownas the Great Depression, manyTexans were out of work andsearching for relief.WHAT Would You Do?Write your responseto Interact with Historyin your Texas Notebook.Imagine that your family farms cotton in East Texas in 1931. Texasfarmers produce so much cotton that the price drops by five cents apound. When your family sells the crop, there is not even enoughmoney to pay off debts, much less support your family and pay for nextyear’s seed. You have to leave school to take a job just so your familycan buy food to eat. Write a letter to your state legislator asking thestate government to step in and offer relief to your family and othercotton farmers.From Boom to Buststock ownership in a corporation, usually divided into sharesand represented by a certificatestockholder owner of stockspeculate to buy or sell in hopesof profiting from changes in themarketcrash a sudden decline or failure476 Chapter 23Many U.S. businesses prospered in the 1920s, but farmers did notdo well. Crop prices fell by about 40 percent at the beginning of the1920s and remained low throughout the decade. Some banks went outof business because farmers could not pay their debts. Coal miners andworkers in the railroad and textile industries also suffered. Althoughproduction was at an all-time high, these workers’ wages rose slowly.Many people who made money during the 1920s invested heavilyin stock. Normally, corporations sell stock, or shares in their company,to raise money to buy equipment and grow. If the company does well,then the stockholders get money back from their investments. In the1920s, however, some people began to speculate on the stock market,where stocks are bought and sold. That is, they risked their moneyhoping that prices would rise rapidly and they could sell their stock fora quick profit. Others used credit to buy stocks they could not afford,hoping to use quick profits to pay for the stocks. For a while, risingprices made these people rich. Then, in October of 1929, came thestock market crash.

11/18/0210:50 AMPage 477Page 2 of 5 476-493TXSE 6 23 pThe stock market crash caused manybanks to run short of money. Afraidthe banks would fail, their customersbegan taking their money out, whichdrained the banks of money evenfaster. Why do you think the government insures bank deposits today?ANTI-HOOVERSENTIMENTThe Stock Market Crash of 1929The final week of October 1929 was a rocky time for investors. OnThursday, October 24, investors sold more than 13 million shares ofstocks. Prices dropped sharply. To help the market recover, bankersbought stocks to level out the stock market on Friday and Saturday. OnMonday, however, prices fell again. On Tuesday, October 29, investorssold off their stock, hoping not to lose any more money. By the end ofthe day, more than 16 million shares had been sold. So much money waslost that the day became known as Black Tuesday.During the weeks after Black Tuesday, stock prices on the New YorkStock Exchange fell by 40 percent for an overall loss of 26 billion. Pricesfell so low that stocks were no longer worth the money people hadborrowed to buy them. As a result, many people were left with debts theycould not pay. Banks ran out of money because they could not collect themoney they were owed. The government did not insure banks at thattime, so the people who had accounts in these banks lost their savings.Because people had no money to spend, factories and stores also closed,and thousands lost their jobs. The stock market crashmarked the end of the boom years and set off a series ofevents that led to the beginning of the Great Depression.Texans were strong supporters of Herbert Hoover for thefirst two years of his presidency but later blamed him forthe Depression. As a result, thename Hoover became associated with poverty and misfortune. For example, largecamps of tin and tar-papershacks that popped up aroundthe edges of cities becameknown as Hoovervilles. Emptypants pockets turned insideout were “Hoover flags.”Armadillos became “Hooverhogs.” Why do you thinkpeople blamed PresidentHoover for the Depression?The Great DepressionThe Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to thebeginning of World War II, was the longest and worstdepression in U.S. history. President Herbert Hoover hadbeen widely supported before the Depression hit. Nowmillions of citizens blamed him for their losses. Throughoutthe nation, people lost their homes and farms. They roamedfrom place to place searching for work or built temporaryshacks to live in. At the height of the Depression, almostone-fourth of all workers were without jobs.At first, the Depression did not affect Texas as badly So many people were out of work during the Depressionthat many became hoboes, homeless people who driftedas other parts of the United States. Relatively few Texansfrom town to town looking for work. Here, two peoplehad invested in the stock market. Also, because Texas hadcamp outside San Antonio. Why do you think hoboesmore farmers than industrial workers, fewer workers lostfrom other states often passed through Texas?The Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II 477

476-493TXSE 6 23 p11/18/0210:50 AMunemployment rate thepercentage of people who areout of workTo the ArtsOneway Texans and otherAmericans dealt with hard timesduring the Great Depression wasthrough movies and music.Movies such as Gold Diggers of1933 told happy stories andfeatured musical numbers tohelp people forget their problems. Many popular Depressionera songs, such as “Life Is Justa Bowl of Cherries” and “We’rein the Money,” used peppyrhythms and upbeat words tohelp lift people’s spirits. Othersongs, like “Brother, Can YouSpare a Dime?,” pointed out theunfairness of the times andhelped remind people that theywere not alone. Why do youthink movies and music remained popular even thoughfamilieshad littlemoney tospend?Two San Antonio girls who performed inan operetta to raise money for orphans Many Texans who were financiallysuccessful before the Depressionfound themselves penniless. Here,people line up for what might betheir only meal of the day. Howdo you think the Great Depressionaffected urban and rural Texansdifferently?478 Chapter 23Page 478Page 3 of 5their jobs. Thus, the unemployment rate was not as high in Texas as inthe North. In addition, Texas had been a poor state before the stockmarket crash. Therefore, it did not experience such a big change whenprofits dropped off. As long as Texans had land, they could at least feedthemselves.The Depression soon spread worldwide, however, affecting Europeanmarkets for Texas goods. In 1931 the cotton crop was one of the largestin the state’s history. But cotton that had sold for 18 cents a pound in1928 brought only 5 cents a pound three years later. Demand for otherproducts decreased as well, causing crop prices to drop about 50 percentbetween 1929 and 1933. Texas finally felt the crisis. Soon, more Texasbusinesses began to close, and more people lost their jobs. By 1933 manyTexans were out of work. About 13 percent of Texans had to ask thegovernment for help.Cities Try to Help Texans CopeAs conditions became worse, people’s money ran out. Families beganturning to charities, which soon ran out of money as well. In Texas thestate treasury had little, so Governor Ross Sterling could not offer muchassistance. With no state funds available, some city governments andcivic organizations pitched in to help. In Temple, for example, the RetailMerchants Association began issuing scrip—pieces of paper printed with25 , 50 , or 1—that residents could exchange for goods. In Dallas andFort Worth, the chambers of commerce sponsored gardening projects tohelp people grow vegetables to feed families. Some cities also organizedcharity plays and musicals to raise money to help the needy.Some city governments paid Texans to work on streets and sewers,build parks and buildings, and take part in city cleanup efforts. A fewcities allowed people who were homeless to live in public buildings.However, these opportunities were limited. Most Texas cities had to cutor reduce public services because of a lack of funds.

476-493TXSE 6 23 p11/18/0210:50 AM120 WPage 479110 WPage 4 of 5100 WDust Storms, 1930–194090 WC A NAD AWANDMTMNORIDWISDWYIANENVILUTCOCAKSOKAZMO 40 NA “black blizzard” could completelyblock out the sun for hours andforce people to wear damp clothsover their mouths in order to breathe. Which of the four regions of Texaswas most affected by the dust storms?ARNMMS30 N00TXLA400 Miles800 KilometersArea of mostsevere damageOther areas hitby dust stormsM E XIC O Parts of the Texas Panhandle and the surrounding regionwere devastated by drought in the 1930s. Which stateswere hit by the terrible dust storms of this time period?Drought and Dust Torment Rural TexansIn the mid-1930s a terrible drought hit Texas and other states in theGreat Plains. During the years from 1925 to 1930, millions of acres ofgrassland had been plowed under to grow crops. Once the deep-rootedprairie grasses were gone, nothing was left to hold the dry Texas soil inplace. Soon, the dust began to blow.Some dust storms were so fierce that they were called black blizzards.Dust and sand could whip through an area with enough force to blast thepaint off a car. Great clouds of Texas soil could block sunlight for hours ata time. Afterward, people swept huge amounts of dust from their housesand shoveled giant piles of dust from their yards. The dirt destroyed crops,killed animals, and damaged people’s eyes and lungs. It was especially hardon babies, the elderly, and people with breathing problems. WoodyGuthrie, a songwriter from Oklahoma, was living in the Texas Panhandleon “Black Sunday” 1935, and wrote a song about the storm:TEXAS VOICESIt covered up our fences, it covered up our barns,It covered up our tractors in this wild and dusty storm.We loaded our jalopies and piled our families in,We rattled down that highway to never come back again.Woody Guthrie, “The Great Dust Storm”HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTRELATIONSHIPSThe first U.S. explorers tocross the Great Plains calledthe region a desert. Later,farmers settled in the area,thinking it would be a goodplace to grow crops. However,intense dry spells often drovethem away. Eventually, peoplerealized that the climate ofthe Great Plains follows apattern of wet and dry periods. Severe droughts occurabout every 20 years. Thishelps explain people’s different perceptions of the region. What measures might helppeople farm in this type ofclimate?The Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II 479