BOOM TO BUST

Many U.S. businesses did well (prospered) in the 1920s, except for farming.

Crop prices fell, causing banks to go out of business because farmers couldn’t pay their debts.

Coal miners, railroad, and textile workers did not make much money either.

STOCK MARKET

• Many people invested in stocks (ownership in a corporation, divided into shares).

More on stocks: companies sell shares to raise money to buy equipment and grow.

• Stockholder: owner of stock. If company does well, they get money back.

• Speculate – buying and selling in hopes of profiting from changes in the market.

STOCK MARKET

Some people would speculate on the stock market.

They risked their money hoping that prices would rise and they could sell their stock for a quick profit.

Others used credit to buy stocks they couldn’t afford. They hoped their quick profits would pay for the stocks.

STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929

• Thursday, October 24th, investors sold more than 13 million shares of stocks.

• Prices dropped sharply.

• To help the market recover, banks bought stocks to level out the market on Friday and Saturday.

• Monday, prices dropped again.

• Tuesday, so much money was lost, it was known as Black Tuesday.

AFTERMATH OF BLACK TUESDAY

• During the weeks after Black Tuesday, $26 billion dollars were lost.

• Prices fell so low that the stocks weren’t worth the money people borrowed to pay them.

• Result: Many debts were left unpaid.

• Banks ran out of money because they couldn’t collect the debts owed.

AFTERMATH OF BLACK TUESDAY

• The government did not insure banks in those days, so people lost their savings.

• People didn’t have money, so factories and stores closed.

• Thousands of people lost jobs. This began the Great Depression.

GREAT DEPRESSION

• Lasted from 1929 to the beginning of World War II.

• People lost their homes and farms.

• They roamed from place to place searching for jobs.

• Built temporary shacks to live in.

• One-fourth of all workers were out of a job.

• It was the longest and worst depression in U.S. History.

GREAT DEPRESSION

VIDEO - BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME

PRIMARY SOURCE IN SONG

• "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob, When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead, Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime? Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime; Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum, Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell, Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum, Half a million boots went slogging through Hell, And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time. Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

PRIMARY SOURCES IN SONG

TEXAS AND THE DEPRESSION

• At first, the depression didn’t affect Texas as much because many people did not invest in stocks.

• More farmers than industrial workers, so fewer people lost their jobs.

• Texas was a poor state before the stock market crash, so it didn’t experience a big change.

TEXAS AND THE DEPRESSION

The Depression spread worldwide, affecting European markets for Texas goods.

1931, cotton crop was the largest in Texas.

Cotton went from selling at 18 cents a pound to 5 cents a pound.

Demand for other crops dropped, causing Texas businesses to close.

THE DUST BOWL

Mid-1930s, terrible drought hit Texas and other states in the Great Plains.

Also, from 1925 to 1930, millions of acres of grassland had been plowed under to grow crops.

Once the prairie grasses were gone, there was nothing left to hold the Texas soil.

Soon, the dust began to grow.

DUST BOWL

DUST BOWL

• Fierce dust storms with enough force to blast the paint off a car.

• Clouds of Texas soil could block the sun for hours. Destroyed crops and damaged eyes and lungs.

• 1935 – 1937: many families in the Texas panhandle packed up and left.

• Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma were all part of the Dust Bowl.

DUST BOWL

VIDEO – THE DUSTBOWL

FDR AND THE NEW DEAL

Who is this man? Name two things he did for America.

-Franklin D. Roosevelt: President of the U.S. during the Great Depression and WWII

-Created the “New Deal”

FDR AND THE NEW DEAL

NEW DEAL

• Program created by Roosevelt to help create jobs and save the economy

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA)

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA)HOOVER DAM AND ELECTRIFICATION VIDEO

Alternative V

ideo

TEXAN - JOHN NANCE GARNER• Texan, Vice-President to F.D.R., but didn’t always agree with his policies, especially the

NEW DEAL

WORLD WAR II

• The Great Depression made life hard in all parts of the world, leading to the rise of dictators- who promised to make life better

• Once in power these dictators began attacking neighboring countries and the world went to war

• Allies are against the Axis Powers

• Allies (Great Britain, France, U.S., and Soviet Union)

• Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

• To bring the U.S. into war Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

TEXAS AND THE 2ND WORLD WAR

• Airplanes rolled off assembly lines in Dallas and Fort Worth

• Shipyards along the Texas Gulf Coast launched warships and cargo vessels

• Texas oil helped fuel airplanes, tanks, and trucks.

• Texas became a training ground for the armed services

• New bases and camps came to Texas (15 major bases and 40 airfields)

• Texas had more than 40 prisoner of war camps and more than 50,000 prisoners

FAMOUS TEXANS DURING THE WAR• Doris “Dorie” Miller: African American soldier who is noted for his bravery at Pearl Harbor

during WWII.

• Audie Murphy: Most decorated American soldier of World War II. Became a big

Hollywood movie star

After the war.

FAMOUS TEXANS DURING THE WAR• Oveta Culp Hobby: Was the first commanding officer of the Women’s Air Corps.

• Chester W. Nimitz: A German Texan, who was a Admiral in the Navy and was in-charge of the Pacific Fleet

TEXAS AFTER THE WAR

• Business was booming

• Huge demand for oil, tools, and aircraft gave need to increase many Texas cities

• Texas was able to pay $42 million in debt from the depression

• Continued migration to urban areas

• Economy now depended on industry

• African Americans, Mexican Americans, and women want equal rights