Of Mice and MenInfo

By Holly Stone

The American Dream

• The American dream is the idea that everyone is promised prosperity and success regardless of social class if they tried hard.

• It was rooted when America became independent on the 4th July 1776… “all men are created equal”.

“life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for

each according to ability or achievement"

“life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for

each according to ability or achievement"

The Wall Street crash• In October 1929 the Wall Street

stock market crashed and the world economy was swallowed into the great depression.

• In September that year the stock market had been at an all time high, however 12,894,650 shares were sold and prices dropped dramatically as the heavy selling of shares were becoming under-priced. The market lost 47% of its value in 26 days.

The Great Depression• In 1932 after the Wall

Street crash America was in the depths of the greatest economic depression in its history.

• More than 13 million were unemployed.

• people lived in primitive conditions close to famine.

• Between 1 and 2 million went into the country to seek out work, however there was none.

• The American economy did not fully recover until the USA entered WW2 in December 1942.

Itinerant Farm Workers in the 1930’s

• In the 1930s, a combination of droughts, the depression, and the increased mechanization of farming prompted a migration of farmers and laborers.

These workers would earn $2.50 or $3.00 a day, plus food and shelter.During the 1930s, the unemployment rate was high in the U.S., and with so many men searching for work, agencies were set up to send farm workers to where they were needed.Over 3 million migrants in the 1930’s alone moved to the countryside in search of work.

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