РефератыИностранный языкThThe Great Depression Essay Research Paper by

The Great Depression Essay Research Paper by

The Great Depression Essay, Research Paper


by steve Carson


AMERICAN HISTORY


THE GREAT DEPRESSION


Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929,


which may well be “the most serious problem facing our free enterprise


economic system”, few know of the many Americans who lost their homes,


life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the


depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the


eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life


was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed


in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government


did to end the Depression.


In the 1920’s, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent


that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression


was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this,


they couldn’t afford manufactured goods. While the factories were


still manufacturing goods, Americans weren’t able to afford them and


the factories made no money (Drewry and O’connor 559).


Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren’t doing to


well because they were producing more crops and farm products than


could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small


profit. This insufficient profit wouldn’t allow the farmers to


purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn’t produce goods


quick enough (Drewry and O’connor 559).


A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was


established because many Americans didn’t have enough money to buy


goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan


stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly


payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon


found out that they couldn’t afford to make the monthly payment(Drewry


and O’connor 559).


In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Americans purchased stocks


because they were certain of the economy. People started selling


their stocks at a fast pace; over sixteen million stocks were sold!


Numerous stock prices dropped to fraction of their value. Banks lost


money from the stock market and from Americans who couldn’t pay back


loans. Many factories lost money and went out of business because of


this great tragedy (Drewry and O’connor


By the 1930’s, thirteen million workers lost their jobs which is


25 percent of all workers. The blacks and unskilled workers were


always the first to be fired. Farmers had no money and weren’t


capable of paying their mortgages. Americans traveled throughout the


country looking for a place to work to support themselves and their


family (Drewry and O’connor 560-561). John Steinbeck, born in 1902,


grew up during the Depression near the fertile Salinas Valley and


wrote many books of fiction based on his background and experiences


during that time and area of the country. One of his great works would


be the Grapes of Wrath In this book, Steinbeck describes the farmers


plight during the Great Depression and drought. When the rains failed


to come, the grass began to disappear. As the farmers watched their


plants turn brown and the dirt slowly turn to dust they began to fear


what was to come. In the water-cut gullies the earth dusted down in


dry little streams. As the sharp sun struck day after day, the leaves


of the young corn became less stiff and erect; then it was June and


the sun shone more fiercely. The brown lines on the corn leaves


widened and moved in on the central ribs. The weeds frayed and edged


back toward their roots. The air was thin and the sky more pale; and


every day the earth paled. (qtd. Steinbeck 2-3). The farmers worst


fears were realized when their corn and other crops began to die. The


dust became so bad they had to cover their mouths with handkerchiefs


so they could breath (Steinbeck 3- When the drought hit the Great


Plains and the soil turned to dust, many farmers moved to California


because they could no longer farm their land(Drewry and O’Connor 561).


The drought began to affect other parts of the country. In 1930,


Virginia’s belt of fertile land dried up. Ponds, streams, and springs


all dried up and the great Mississippi River water level sank lower


than ever recorded. Small farmers every-where began to feel the


drought. Their small gardens were ruined and their corn crop was cut


almost down to nothing. The hay and grass needed to feed their


livestock was no longer available. They now faced a major problem -how


to feed their livestock. The silos were rapidly emptying and the barns


in many cases were empty. The farmers were terrified that the


government feed loans wouldn’t be available to keep the livestock from


dying. In many cases, the Red Cross was making allowances for feed to


keep alive livestock (Meltzer 121). The small farmers of fruit trees


and vegetable plants depended on others who ran canneries to bottle


and can their produce. The people they depended upon were the same


people that hired scientists to experiment on the

fruits and


vegetables to come up with better tasting and yielding produce. Thus


the small farmers were dependent on these same rich landowners for


almost everything. They couldn’t harvest their produce on their own


so they sold it to the rich landowners and thus made very little money


on their produce (Steinbeck 444-447). The farmers found themselves in


debt caused by the purchase of land, tools, animals and other items


bought on credit. This credit was due to the bank and when the


farmers found them- selves unable to repay the debts the bank took


away everything they had – their land, homes, animals and equipment.


When the banks took over, they went in with tractors and destroyed


everything on the farms which included their homes and barns. This is


best por- trayed in Steinbeck’s description of how the tractors


destroyed everything in its way. “The iron guard bit into the house


corner, crumbled the wall, and wrenched the little house from its


foundation, crushed like a bug (50).


“In the little houses the tenant people sifted their belongings


and the belongings of their father and of their grandfathers”


(Steinbeck 111). This describes how after many generations of farming


on their land these people had to gather their property and memories


and then try to sell whatever they could. The farmers were so


desperate for money that they had to sell for literally


pennies.Steinbeck describes the desperate conversation of a farmer to


a persepective buyer “Well, take it-all junk-and give me five dollars.


You’re not buying only junk, you’re buying junked lives” (Steinbeck


112).


The desperation for work and money became so bad that they were


willing to work for as little as was offered just so they could have


some sort of job and make any amount of money. Soon it was a fight


for life or death (Steinbeck). In a desperate search for a job


farmers moved themselves and their families all over the country. As


people wandered the country looking for work they were unable to live


in one place. Large numbers of homeless people led to Hoovervilles.


The farmers and their families had to build homes out of anything


that they could acquire as Steinbeck describes “The south wall was


made of three sheets of rusy corrugated iron, the east a square of


moldy carpet tacked between two board, the north wall a strip of


roofing paper and a strip of tattered canvas, and the west wall six


pieces of gunny sacking”(Steinbeck 310-311). The homes were usually


near water source so they could have water to drink from, cook and


wash their clothing (Steinbeck 311).


To cut down the number of people seeking jobs or needing help, the


government decided to try to come up with some sort of relief. Among


other things, they limited immigration, returned hundreds of Mexicans


living here,and sought other methods to help the farmers. Hoover’s


Federal Farm Board urged farmers to plant less so that prices would go


up but there was no encouragement to do so.From 1920 to 1932 farm


production did drop 6 percent but prices fell ten times as much-by 63


percent. Farmers watched prices hit new lows-15 cents for corn, 5


cents for cotton and wool, hogs and sugar 3 cents, and beef 2.5


cents(Meltzer 123). With farm prices so low, most farmers, living


under the fear of their mortgages, knew that sooner or later they will


lose everything. In 1932 the farmers declared a holiday on selling.


They picketed roads asking people to join the. They gave away free


milk to the poor and unemployed rather then let it spoil because they


refused to sell it. A thirty-day holiday on farm selling was begun


August 8 and extended indefinitely(Meltzer 125). In December 1932, 250


farmers from twenty-six states gathered together for a Farmers


National Relief Conference. They announced that they demand relief


from creditors who threaten to sweep them from their homes and


land(Meltzer 126).


In May 1933, the Agricultural Ajustment Act was passed. The aim


of this act was to raise the farm prices by growing less. The farmers


were paid not to use all the land to plant crops. The money came from


tax on millers, meat packers, and other food industries. In June of


that same year the Farm Credit Act was passed. This act helped


farmers get low interest loans. With this act, farmers wouldn’t lose


their farms to the banks that held the mortgages. The farmers who


lost their farms already would also receive low interest loans(Drewry


and O’connor 569).


The Great Depression was the end result of World War I. It


affected the rich and poor alike, factory workers and farmers, bankers


and stockbrokers. In short, it affected everyone; no one was left


untouched. But of all the people hurt, farmers were the worst off.


John Steinbeck chose to write about farmers hoping that Americans


would recognize their plight and correct the situation. The Great


Depression is known to be the worst economic disaster in U. S.


history. For this reason, the Depression caused many people to change


their ideas about the government and economy.

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