Minorities in The Great Depression
By: Mackenzie Bluman and Hasan Hamoudi
Women
-Overall percentage in the workplace for women drastically increased during this time
-Althougn ambitious, the New Deal programs still allowed for women to receive a lower pay than that of men
African Americans
-African American unemployment rates were higher than the national average, and they were left out from national relief programs
-Civil Rights leaders received little support from President Roosevelt, who sought to preserve the white, southern Democratic votes
-Some New Deal programs provided jobs for African Americans, however they tended to be low-paying and also segregated
-African Americans during this time began to receive moral support from government executives such as Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady), and Harold Ickes (Secretary of Interior)
-Many African Americans were granted middle-level positions in federal departments by President Roosevelt
-The Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) was set up to assist minorities in gaining jobs in the defense industries
Unions
-Strikes were very common in the workplace with unions
-The Fair Labor Standards Act instituted workplace policies such as:
1.) Minimum wage of 40 cents/hour
2.) Maximum workweek of 40 hours, not including overtime which was given extra pay
3.) Child labor restrictions on hiring people under 16 years old
Mexican Americans
African Americans in the Workplace
Union Strike
Treatment of Mexican Americans during this time period
American Indians
-Won President Roosevelt's support to withdraw the Dawes Act of 1887, returning lands to the control of the tribes and supporting the American-Indian culture
Dust Bowl Farmers
-"Okies" (farmers from Oklahoma) and people from surrounding states moved west searching for jobs and farmland that they could not find back home
-The federal government created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 to teach farmers about proper farming techniques