Unit 5 Lesson 7: life during the depression Flashcards
What was the dust bowl like?
Dust storms buried farmhouses, fences, and even trees over large areas of the plains. People put shutters over doors and windows, but the dust blew in anyway.
What caused the dust bowl?
Years of overgrazing by cattle and plowing by farmers destroyed the grasses that once held the soil in place. The drought of the 1930s and high winds did the rest.
What does migrate workers mean?
people who move from one region to another in search of work
What was life like for mirgate workers?
They became migrant workers—people who move from one region to another in search of work. They hoped to find jobs in the orchards and farms of California, Oregon, or Washington.
Once they reached the West Coast, the migrants faced a new hardship—they were not wanted. Local citizens feared that the newcomers would take away their jobs. Sometimes, angry crowds blocked the highways and forced the migrants to go elsewhere. Those migrants who did find work were paid little.
Who were okies?
Hardest hit by the drought and dust storms were poor farmers in Oklahoma and other Great Plains states. Hundreds of these “Okies” packed their belongings into cars and trucks and headed west
How hard was it for a woman to find a job?
If jobs were available, employers hired men before they would hire women. In order to spread jobs around, the federal government refused to hire a woman if her husband had a job.
How much did the number of married women in the work force increase during the 1930s?
During the 1930s, the number of married women in the work force increased by 52 percent. Educated women took jobs as secretaries, schoolteachers, and social workers. Other women earned livings as maids, factory workers, and seamstresses.
Eleanor Roosevelt created a new role for the First Lady. Acting as the President’s “eyes and ears,” she toured the nation. Explain more on how she changed the role of the first lady
She visited farms and Indian reservations and traveled deep into a coal mine. She talked to homemakers, studying the condition of their clothing on the washline to measure how well they were doing.
The First Lady did more than just aid the President. She used her position to speak out for women’s rights, as well as other issues. In her newspaper column, “My Day,” she called on Americans to live up to the goal of equal justice for all. By speaking out on social issues, Eleanor Roosevelt angered some people. However, many other Americans admired her strong stands.
When the great depression hit which people were the first to lose there jobs?
When the Great Depression hit, African American workers were often the first to lose their jobs.
How was life like for African Americans during the Great Depresion?
By 1934, black workers were suffering a 50 percent unemployment rate, more than twice the national average. Often, they were denied public works jobs. Some charities even refused to serve blacks at centers giving out food to the needy.
Eleanor Roosevelt and others close to the President urged him to improve the situation of African Americans. The President responded to their needs. For example, thousands of young African American men learned a trade through the CCC. This lead to FDR winning the support of…
In aiding African Americans, FDR won their support for the Democratic party.
Who were the black cabinet?
The President invited African American leaders to the White House to advise him. These unofficial advisers became known as the Black Cabinet.
Who were some notable people int he black cabinet?
- They included Robert C. Weaver, a Harvard-educated economis
- Mary McLeod Bethune, a well-known Florida educator.
- Roosevelt appointed Bethune to head the National Youth Administration’s Division of Negro Affairs. She was the first African American to head a government agency.
What was Roosevelt’s relationship with the black cabinet like?
Often, Roosevelt followed the advice of the Black Cabinet. However, when African American leaders pressed the President to support an antilynching law, he refused. He feared that by doing so he would lose the support of southerners in Congress for his New Deal programs.
