The Great Depression
By: Daniel Grigsby 3rd period
What Was It?
The Great Depression started way back on October 29, 1929 (also known as Black Tuesday) when the stock market crashed. Stock prices dropped and people rushed to sell their stock but nobody was buying. Banks soon ran out of money because they invested large amounts of money into the stock market. Many rushed to the bank to save their life savings but some were too late. After a short time millions were unemployed and poverty could be seen everywhere. People hit the road in search of work but some never found the job they were looking for. On top of all this, the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma had a horrible drought. Years of overgrazing caused topsoil to become exposed to the winds that swept across the plains. Large dust storms formed causing farming to become nearly impossible. Crops failed season after season and farmers quickly fell into debt. This drove people off their farmlands and into the cities where they hoped to find work. This event later became known as the dustbowl. The depression finally came to an end as president Roosevelt took office. Roosevelt did his best to employ the millions of Americans that lost their jobs by creating multiple projects. A couple years later World War II started and that put many other Americans back to work. Our economy was slowly improving and by the time the war was over the depression had finished too.
Who Was Effected?
The truth is, really everyone was effected by the Great Depression. Almost every shareholder in the country lost money. Fortunately, many rich people did not loose their jobs, however, some were not so lucky. Many of the working class people became poor because they lost their jobs. All throughout the American cities middle class people searched for a job. The cities were not the only place where people had lost their jobs though. The Dustbowl caused many farmers and ranchers to loose their land too. Altogether this turned out to be a disaster for the whole Nation.
How Is The Great Depreesion Shown In ''To Kill A Mockingbird''?
Maycomb in reality is a great example of what the Great Depression did to many people. Atticus explains how the Cunninghams are very poor.''...The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, the crash hit them hardest.''(pg. 27) This quote explains how the stock market crash hit all the farmers in Maycomb county the hardest causing them to become poor. You can also tell that the Cunninghams are poor because Mr. Cunningham cant pay Atticus back in money but in other random thins such as a bushel of potatoes. The author also tells us that the dust bowl might have even had a small effect on Maycomb county. The author states,''...the soil erosions bad enough as it is.''(pg.188) Soil erosion was part of the dustbowl and that was happening in Maycomb.Overall, The Great Depression had a mojor impact on Maycomb. The Finches, Radleys, Cunninghams, and many more were greatly effected by the Great Depression.