Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Signs of the Times

Welcome Mrs. McDowell's 3rd grade class!  We have officially begun our unit on the Great Depression and I am excited to take part in all of your learning!  Have fun as you navigate my blog to find out imporatant information and facts!


The Great Depression

South Carolina and the nation were moving twoard some hard times.  There were growing problems in business.  A DEPRESSION  is a time hwen many people can't make enough money to carefor their families.  They want to work, but they can't find the jobs.  The depression of the 1930's was the worst the United States has ever known.  It is called the GREAT DEPRESSION.

Eyes of the Great Depression - 007

Son of sharecropper family at work in the cotton near Chesnee, South Carolina 1937 June.  photographer: Dorothea Lange

Unemployment

In South Carolina, theings got even worse.  Cotton prices fell even more.  Farmers where now making less than five cents a pound.  Many of the cotton mills let workers go. Some of the mills just shut down.  People who borrowed money from the banks couldn't pay the money back.  This meant that banks didn;t have any money, so they closed.  They could not give people their money Many people lost their life savings.

Poverty

People were out of work and hungry.  Where could they go for help? Back then, there were no laws that let the government give aid.  Poverty was every where. In many counties, one out of every three people was out of work.  Many families lost their homes. Many moved in with relatives.  A newspaper in Columbia reported that over 100 people were living in the city dump.  The depression was hard on African American families.  Their incomes had been low even before the depression.  Often, black workers lost their jobs before white workers.  people tried to help each other as much as they could.  They opened soup kitchens to serve meals to hungry people.  Local police and firemen collected food and gave it to families who had no money.  Children were hungry and without proper clothing. Children went without shoes and warm clothes for the winter, and were forced to work at such a young age. 


Port Royal, South Carolina. Oyster Shuckers 1910-1930

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