Context - OMAM Flashcards
Why was everyone poor at the time?
The Wall Street crash
The name for the financial situation at the time
The Great Depression:
Many people were unemployed, sick and hungry.
Lasted for 10 years.
How black people were affected.
The Jim Crow laws made black people become segregated at the time from white people, which is why Crooks had his own cabin, segregation was one of MANY absurd rules black people had to follow.
50% of black people were unemployed at the time, they were affected the worst. Some bosses even fired workers for being black, and replaced the, with white people. Black people weren’t provided with things like soup kitchens that white people could. Racism increased during the time, and lynching of black people was common.
The Dust Bowl
A drought and dust storms that affected several mid-west America. Crops were then poor quality, and prices for food weee also dropping. Small farmers were particularly affected. Farmers also lost their farms, due to bank repossession, due to a lack of crops.
Migration workers
Workers migrated, because of the Dust Bowl, to California, as it had spare work and fatta land. Due to a lot of people moving, work was hard to find. Ranch workers often moved from place to place, as jobs were temporary. Wages low, jobs scarce. This is why the dream was so important to George and Lennie
