During WWI, U.S. farmers in the Great Plains (the middle of the country) made lots of money growing and selling crops to the federal government to feed soldiers. Once the war ended, the government stopped buying the food. But, farmers kept planting the crops anyway. This damaged the earth and caused the price of food to go way up! People could not afford to buy the food. Farmers lost money and struggled to make ends meet.

Then in the 1930s, a drought struck the Great Plains. For 10 years, very little rain fell in the plains. Winds blew through the plains picking up and carrying dried dirt all the way across the country. Huge dust storms would appear out of nowhere leaving towns and fields looking like deserts. The Great Plains was nicknamed the Dust Bowl.  

          Huge black clouds of dirt and dust would roll in without warning. Children got lost on the way home from school during dust storms because they could not see. Cars stopped running because dust clogged the engines. Dust covered watering holes leaving animals without water. The dust storms were so strong that they blew away houses, barns, fences, and even roads! The dust killed plants, animals, and even people.  

Where did all of this dust come from? For years, farmers over-planted to produce food for the military during WWI. They did not follow the crop rotation science of George Washington Carver. Planting and replanting the same items year after year eventually turned the top layer of soil into something like dust. When the drought and strong winds hit, the dirt flew in the air for miles causing death and destruction!

During the Great Depression, approximately 12 million Americans - about 1 out of every 4 people - were unemployed. Without a job, people did not have an income to pay bills or to buy food. People became desperate for food. 

A nation-wide effort was created to feed hungry citizens. Churches and other volunteer organizations opened soup kitchens to help feed those in need. A soup kitchen was any place that served free, hot meals. 

Why soup? Soup was inexpensive to make, and it could be made in large batches to serve many people. Soup was also healthy and filling. At some soup kitchens, people received bread with their bowl of soup. Some soup kitchens served coffee and doughnuts, too.

Sometimes the soup and other supplies for soup kitchens came from the government. Most of the time soup kitchens relied on donations. In some communities, citizens donated food from their own gardens to soup kitchens. 

Soup kitchens were located across the country during the Great Depression. Some could only provide one meal a day. Others, with more resources, could serve three meals a day. People often stood in line for hours for a chance to eat a hot meal. In large cities, up to 3,000 people might come to a soup kitchen in one day. 

          Today, soup kitchens still provide food to those who need it most. Volunteers spend hours preparing and serving food to neighbors as a way to help in their communities.

 In 1932, the American people got the chance to elect a new president. President Hoover was still doing very little to help ease the pain of the Great Depression. Citizens were desperate for a new leader with fresh ideas. The people elected Franklin D. Roosevelt as their new president. 

          As soon as Roosevelt was elected president, he got to work. Roosevelt believed that the federal government should help citizens during times like the Great Depression. In one of his first speeches, Roosevelt told the American people: “I pledge to you…a new deal for the American people.” 

Roosevelt developed a plan called The New Deal. The New Deal had three main goals:

1. create jobs for the unemployed

2. use the federal government’s money to help the economy improve

3. create government programs to prevent another Great Depression

Roosevelt worked toward these goals by creating New Deal programs that provided food to hungry citizens, put people to work, and paid money to the unemployed and elderly (older people). His work helped set a system in place so that another economic crisis like this one would not happen again.

Roosevelt used the radio to communicate his plans to Americans. A few days after becoming President, Roosevelt delivered his first “fireside chat.” Families gathered around their radios, and sometimes their fireplaces, to listen to the president speak. He shared his hope for the future of the country by reminding Americans that this economic depression would not last forever.

          President Roosevelt was very popular with American citizens. He was elected president four times. That’s the most of any president before or after him. Today, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution limits a president to only two terms. 

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed 8.5 million Americans. Some WPA workers built many public buildings and resources. 

• schools

• libraries

• theaters

• airports

• roads and sidewalks

The WPA also provided jobs for artists, actors, musicians and writers. 

• Artists painted murals in public buildings.

• Actors performed free plays and musicals.

• Musicians gave free public concerts.

• Authors wrote brochures about cities and states.

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created for jobless, unmarried young men ages 18 to 25. Men in the CCC lived in camps for free. Their weekly pay was sent home to their families. About 2.6 million men served in the CCC. The CCC focused on conservation projects and protecting the nation’s wildlife. 

• Forests: planted millions of trees; worked to prevent forest fires

• Recreation: built campsites; picnic areas; parks; hiking trails

• Wildlife: improved streams; created ways to control mosquitos; cleaned lakes and ponds

• Flooding Prevention: dug many canals and ditches; built walls on beaches

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a utility corporation. A utility corporation is a company that makes electricity. The TVA built dams on rivers to prevent floods. The dams use the water to create hydroelectric power which is electricity created by water. 

Some people in Tennessee and Georgia got electricity for the first time thanks to the TVA. The TVA provided jobs to struggling farmers and their families. The dams created lakes where people can swim and fish. The TVA still exists today and is one of the largest electricity creators in the United States. 

Duke Ellington

During the Great Depression, a new form of upbeat music was popular. It was called “swing”. People listened to swing music on their radios and with records on their record players. Duke Ellington was the most famous swing musician in the country. 

Duke Ellington was a piano player who also wrote music. He had a band called The Duke Ellington Orchestra. They performed all over the country and in Europe. Ellington’s career lasted for over fifty years, and he earned many awards. Duke Ellington’s uplifting swing music helped people forget their troubles during the Depression. 

Margaret Mitchell 

Margaret Mitchell was from Atlanta, Georgia. During the Depression, she wrote a romance novel titled Gone with the Wind. The novel is about a Georgia woman falling in and out of love during the Civil War. The book sold millions of copies. A movie version of the book was also popular, and has made more money than any other movie!

Not everyone liked the book and the movie. Today, many view Mitchell’s description of African American characters in her book as offensive. But, during the Great Depression, Mitchell’s romance novel and movie helped distract people from their hard lives.   

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was a famous African American track and field star (runner and jumper). Owens was part of the 1936 U.S. Olympic team. The 1936 Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. Hitler was the dictator (a ruler with all of the power) of Germany. Hitler believed that people from Germany were superior to all other people. 

At the Olympics, with Hitler watching from the stands, Owens won four gold medals (first place) and broke two Olympic records! Owens’ victories gave Americans something to cheer about during the Depression. Owens inspired Americans through his athletic skill and his victory in front of a cruel leader.