The Start of the Great Depression
Extremely inequitable distribution of wealth Efficiency efforts of WWI lead to major surpluses following the war Speculative stock purchasing with only 10% down Bull Market- Values of stocks on the rise and investors are positive the trend will continue Black Tuesday- October 29th, 1929: The stock markets droped dramatically and panic selling ensued. In the next 10 weeks, 50% of the value in the market was lost The Fallout
Corporations and Wealthy Americans horded their money, cashed out investments Huge layoffs, 12.6 Million Workers Unemployed Panic caused a bank run, many banks failed, people lost all their savings Farm prices dropped even further, 86% between 1929-1933 Depression Era Work
Men in heavy industry lost their jobs first Then women who worked in food plants and garment and textile factories Women's white collar office and sales jobs hung on for a couple years longer but by the early 1930s they were suffering heavy layoffs as well Employers were more inclined to hire women or keep women's jobs because they were paid less 26 states passed laws prohibiting the employment of married women Women took off their rings and applied for jobs to try to keep their families a float The number of working wives increased from 11.7% to 15.2% during the Depression How the Depression Experience Differed…The Middle Class The growing middle class was dependent on wage income Accustomed to electricity, indoor plumbing, an automobile, & disposable income Few Middle Class Americans went hungry during the depression They were more likely to struggle with the general uncertainty, financial cutbacks, and reduced job opportunities The average family income dropped 40% Many Middle Class Families were forced to default on mortgages and return to renter status More than half of families with mortgages defaulted on them by 1934 How the Depression Experience Differed…The Upper Class
Mostly, struggled to keep up appearances despite lack of hired help Although some were doing fine and failed to hide their wealth In protest against the extravagance of the wealthy a ballet dancer rode into a ball on a white horse completely nude (in reference to Lady Godiva of English legend) How the Depression Experience Differed…African American Women In 1932, 56% of African-Americans were jobless They were either turned away, or offered only a fraction of the relief funds that were offered to whites In the South, black families faced starvation and terror In the North, urban black ghettos formed with horrible living conditions To keep their families afloat, black women continued to work as maids, cooks, and laundresses but pay decreased substantially How the Depression Experience Differed…Farming Families • Dust Bowl- • Millions of acres of natural grasses (that held the soil in) had been plowed over and replaced by wheat. • After a drought plagued the region for several years in a row, tens of millions of acres of rich topsoil became raging dust storms “Okies” Come to California
“Okies”- Derogatory term for migrants coming from the dust bowl to California. • Usually, they had to live in shanty towns near the agricultural fields • Worked for extremely low wages • Worked along with the INS to deport Mexican farm workers in California Migrant Mother Photo by Dorothea Lange
Why did this photograph become the most iconic image of the Great Depression? What does it say about gender? How the Depression Experience Differed…Working Class Poor
The constant issue of unemployment left working class families in desperation Some left their cities behind and road the rails. Many women dressed as men. Other women slept in city parks Many families ended up in shanty towns There was solidarity among the working class who’d take in and feed those in need when they could Why might working class women be less likely to ask for aid than their male counterparts? Depression Era Effects on Womanhood
The marriage rate dropped & magazines began running articles about women who found happiness without a husband “Live alone and like it.” was a bestseller The national fight against contraceptives also came to a virtual halt Partially because of the outcry against women who had no homes and we're still having children 1936 the federal court struck down all federal restrictions against birth-control