SOCIOLOGIST

BY: SARAH GARCIA

MADELINE GARZA
GABRIELLE DOUCET
INTRO
What was the Great Depression?
What were some of the causes?
Who were the migrant workers?
Do migrant workers exist today? Where?

WHAT WAS THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
Importance of the Great Depression: The Great Depression was a tragedy
that placed millions of Americans out of work. It was also the beginning of
government involvement in the economy and in society as a whole.
Dates: 1929 -- early 1940s

Fun Facts about the Great Depression
Zippers became widely used because buttons became too expensive.
The biggest hit song of 1932 was "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by Bing
Crosby.
John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men"
about the lives of these people and the devastating effects of the Dust
Bowl.
GREAT DEPRESSION TIMELINE
1930
The Dust Bowl started
affecting Crops so not a
lot of food went around.
Dust was everywhere:
lungs, food, drinks,
houses, furniture, and
bodies.
President
Hoover was
blamed
for the beginning
of the Great
Depression.
The Stock Market
Crash was on
October 29, 1929
There was no
government
programs
to help those
effected by the
Great Depression
1920s 1929
Frank D.
Roosevelt
was elected
president
1939
FDR
encouraged
the nation with
speeches over
radio
The great
depression
was said to
have ended.
1939
*Farmers were
producing more than
American consumers
could consume
*Productions
increased by 50% but
wages were not
increased therefore
workers couldnt buy
goods as fast as
industries produced
them.
*The U.S passed the Hawley Smoot act and instituted
high tariffs and other nations retaliated and there
was a lack of world trade.
There were five essential causes of The Great Depression
*People
invested a lot
into the stock
market which
caused it to
crash. Then the
banks loaned
money however
the savings
werent
insured.
What caused The Great Depression?
The Government
tried to control
ALL of the money.
A LITTLE MORE OF THE STOCK MARKET
CRASH AND THE DUST BOWL.
Stock Market Crash
On October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday
hit Wall Street as investors traded
some 16 million shares on the New
York Stock Exchange in a single day.
Billions of dollars were lost, wiping
out thousands of investors. In the
aftermath of Black Tuesday, America
and the rest of the industrialized
world spiraled downward into the
Great Depression (1929-39).
The Dust bowl
Dust blew everywhere
uncontrollably though out northern
Texas, south-western Oklahoma, and
Kansas. A lot of these people moved
to California in the hopes of a better
life. Living during the Dust Bowl was
harsh. People suffered not only from
the Great Depression, and also lived
with tons of dirt, covering everyone.
WHO WERE THE MIGRANT WORKERS OF
THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
When the 7 year drought in 1939 occurred along with the Dust Bowl,
many farms dried up and blew away. Driven by the Great Depression,
thousands of farmers packed up their families and journeyed to
California to find work.
But why would refugees go to California? The reason was the climate
allowed for a long growing season and for people whose lives revolved
around farming this seemed like the best place to be.
Route 66 played a significant role during the period of the
Great Depression. Due to the hardships of Great
Depression and Dust Bowl many families were forced to
leave their homes and migrate in order to seek a better
life. They usually migrated west to California through the
Route 66

Migrant Workers of Today
Migrant farm workers live in a combination of poverty, limited health
care, and hazardous working conditions.

A migrant farm worker is defined as a individual who is absent from a
permanent home and seek employment in agricultural work.

Most farm workers earn annual incomes below the poverty level and
half earn below $7,500 per year.

They are proud people who choose to do backbreaking labor than
depend upon charity or welfare.