Hoboes during the Great Depression

"There was so many people on it, it looked like blackbirds,"

As a result of a lack of jobs as well as misfortune for farmers struggling to support their familes after years of drought and then the dust bowl , millions of men and thousands of women with left their families and traveled west in the search for jobs they heard were available. At the same time the number of married women in the workforce was increasing but was still only seen as a temporary thing by both the adults and thier kids having grown and known gender specific roles.There were variouse ways to get to the west but the most known and widely used method of transportation was to travel by train by hitching a ride when it was going slow enough to climb on. For the people who owned cars they traveled following the road to their promised destination with all their belongings including chicken cages tied to the sides.

The people who headed west on train faced many dangers with the main danger coming from "the bulls", or hired guards who were most often brutal in their attempts to make sure that the trains were only carrying paying customers and no one else. Once they managed to not get harmed the hoboes still had the risk of encountering the bulls yet again at the stops and so would have to get off before and then hitch back one again or risk getting arrested or beaten. Then they also faced the danger of getting into freak accidents and ran the risk of losing their limbs. Boarding the trains could result in a person missing and falling down causing them to get killed or lose limbs. In all there were an estimated 6,500 deaths every year caused by both predicaments to the hoboes in search for jobs

Source: http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_07.html

Relief emphasized in the New Deal

"Many historians have boiled the goals of the New Deal down to three concepts: Reform, Relief, and Recovery. Watch the documentary clips and decide which of the three the New Deal emphasized."

The Great Depression was a major panic that struck the nation with 25% of the labor force unemployed and no places to look for jobs within a year 2 ½ million become jobless. People started to get evicted from the homes also becoming homeless and poverty swept the nation. Food became unfairly priced where there was no reduction in food and hunger became a growing thing. Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy was a bright light to ending the depression and of improvement and helping people get through the tough situations that made people suffer.

Roosevelt new program was described in two words “New Deal”. Relief is emphasized due to the main things of the New Deal was to become stable and improve the economy, living conditions, and give people hope for change. New organizations began to transform due to the acts and adjustments put to help people. These acts included Farm Credit Act (June 16, 1933) in which set up the Farm Credit Administration to help those in danger of losing their farms.There was immediate help for farmers who suffered from the low prices on their farms; oversupply was a problem people couldn't afford the food and it was spoiled and thrown away, what the FCA also helped farmers by doing something that involved them buying up their cattle then taking the kill(food), and distributing parts of the food back to the farmer and helping many others who were suffering from hunger. This brought prosperity among people lifting up their spirits in seeing a new beginning and not the end. In the Second deal, there was also the Rural Electrification Administration (1935) made low-interest loans to electric companies to provide power to 90 percent or rural America. By 1941 40 percent of American farms enjoyed electric power. This created a real help in creating better living conditions for farmers that produced people's food. Becuase if their farms died due to poor conditions or people selling their farms who's going to produce people food source?

To help build up the economy which was also a major problem since it was build up by the industries and labors but due to the lack of money a chain reaction lead to the closing down of many companies and industries the problem of unemployment need to be dealt with as well because there is still no way to be able to afford all this with no money. To deal with this People were put to work, given jobs in projects that would help the society and economy at large. Unemployment Relief Act (March 31, 1933) "which was designed to put urban young men to work with conservation projects such as reforestation." Pretty much an Act came into distress the tension build on by the depression to help people with their financial issues and help build up people confidence in their work. In the Second Deal act like the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act (1935) the Established the Work Progress Administration. The WPA established a system of work relief for the unemployed. Created an increase in wealth among people helping them stabilize their economic problem/ difficulties. And give them sort of a beginners boost a person's income. "By increasing the flow of money into people’s hands it also stimulated the economy. Also contributed to the National Youth Administration (NYA) being established. This organization provided employment for 2 million high school and college youths." This gave security to people who had unstable jobs and were at risk to poverty once again.

This relief gave people a new view of things. When people got jobs and finally saw the money they earned, it made a new difference in the world new views that the country was getting back on their feet and people were going to be successful. People can have  more confidence and a sanctuary where the could begin to feel comfort that things would be okay and if this were to happen again the government and the economy the nation would be ready and prepared.

The Reforms of the New Deal

 


    Through the chaos and economic downturn of the Great Depression, the New Deal was an attempt by the United States government to offer American society a breath of fresh air. Focused around what many have dubbed as the "three R's" (reform, recovery, and relief), the New Deal was a series of liberal social and economic programs installed by the government in an attempt to repair the economy and calm the citizens who had gone into a frenzy after many of them lost their jobs and money. While each of these three R's carried large importance and presence within the New Deal in their own respect, reform seemed to be at the very core of the whole program, as its various social and economic changes that it incorporated into American society seemed to be of the greatest importance to the American government in their efforts to repair national life.

 
     Firstly, the New Deal installed a series of new economic reforms into American society that provided the nation with several hundreds of millions of dollars for relief programs and funded public and civil works. Such money grants were given by the Civil Works Administration as well as the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in order to facilitate the reconstruction of American economy and lifestyle as well as to boost American morale through opportunities for more impressive/extravagant public works. This also showed the relief programs' dependence on reform to a degree, highlighting the importance of reform to American recovery at the time. Furthermore, the government installed several bank-related reforms such as the Emergency Banking Act and the 1933 Banking Act in order to prevent banking crises and also passed the Securities Act of 1933 in order to guard the economy more effectively against large stock market crashes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even declared bank holidays in order to prevent people from withdrawing money from untrustworthy or shaky banks, allowing him to see which banks were worth keeping in service and which insolvent ones to close.

   Putting its economic effects to the side, the New Deal also had substantial effect socially to the United States and seemed to effect each social class with its various reforms. The lower class enjoyed new benefits such as the installment of the Social Security Act as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which put minimum wages and new maximum working hours into place and also provided for easier tracking and recognition of common people. New, more expansive labor unions were also put into place and the farmers were provided with insurance on their crops. As for the people who had a larger amount of money to lose (the middle and upper class), insurance programs were started up in order to avoid another large scale economic decline and the eventual removal of prohibition gave birth to a new revival of nightlife as well as the production of new jobs in the alcohol production/sale business. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president during much of the New Deal program, also made sure to project a confident, secure image during this time, as he understood the difficulty that many American citizens had to endure and used such an image to increase their drive for national rehabilitation.

 

       Overall, while not excepted by all due to its liberal ideological roots, the New Deal was a good idea for the recovery and restoration of American society and economy after the devastation of the Great Depression. It had several components, however the effects of reform seemed to be the most substantial in both rebuilding what existed before and putting new systems into place in order to prevent a major economic disaster from ever disrupting the country's progress ever again. Overall it's reforms were innovative and many of its provisions still lie in a position of great importance to today's society.

Speakeasies in the Bay Area

After the 18th Amendment was ratified, Americans started the new year of 1920 with the immediate prohibition of alcohol—a constitutional ban on all alcoholic beverages. The 1920s would later earn the name of “the Roaring Twenties” where everyday life was redefined and there was an all-time high of bootlegging. To many Americans, prohibition could not and would not prevent and limit their fun.

When San Franciscans were first informed that the federal government deemed the sale of alcohol illegal, they began to rebel; and despite the law, many of the people continued to sell and consume alcohol through speakeasies, defined as “an illicit liquor store or nightclub.” The people found various ways to fuel their liquor consumption and did whatever it took to do so. Bars were hidden behind different businesses from soda shops to cafes, and sales even continued in hotel basements and underground tunnels.

Liquor came all the way from Canada to the coast of the Bay Area by boats, and ferry boats loaded with shipments of alcohol made their way back and forth from cities like Marin and Sonoma back to the heart of San Francisco. However, places like Napa Valley, with an abundance of grapes vineyards, were still able keep their wine businesses alive because the production of wine for religious purposes was still legal.  

Even government officials such as policies and mayors turned a blind eye towards the bootlegging that was very evident in San Francisco. In the summer of 1920, the Democratic National Convention was held in San Francisco where James Cox was nominated to be President with Franklin Roosevelt as the Vice President. James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. was San Francisco's’ 30th mayor during the DNC, and he went as far as to provide a bottle of whiskey to every delegate attending the convention.

The legalization of alcohol had its immediate effects—though they were not what was predicted, people did not allow the law to restrict their fun and take away alcohol forever. The 18th Amendment would be repealed in 1933 to end national Prohibition.

Works Cited

@carlnoltesf. "Prohibition Was Only a Rumor in S.F." SFGate. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

@onlyinsf. "The History of Speakeasies and Where to Get a Throwback Cocktail in San Francisco." San Francisco Travel. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

"Prohibition Enforcement in San Francisco - 1922." Prohibition Enforcement in San Francisco - 1922. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Roosevelt's Fireside Chats

During the depression, many relied on entertainment such as movies, sports and most common and cheapest of all, radio. Anyone who had owned a radio before the crash could listen for free. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first democratic president to be elected in 12 years. He had ideas of reform and sought to help people in the depression. One his most famous was the New Deal, which was a series of social liberal programs including laws passed by both Congressional and and presidential executive order.

To spread his idea throughout the country, Roosevelt would use radio broadcasting. Almost every house and every store had a radio and this enabled everyone to listen to his ideas. These broadcasts were called fireside chats. Roosevelt gave his first speech from behind his desk on May 7, 1933 and 10 PM eastern time. The term 'fireside chat' was a CBS reporter, Harry Butcher's idea of the talk. It later became popularized because of the warm and informal feel that the radio broadcasts invoked. It helped the people relax and enjoy the chat as if they would be sitting next to the fire and talking to him in person. Basically, it changed the people and their attitude towards life during the Great Depression. they began to have hope for a better future. 

He used many different methods to make his chats more interesting to listen. He would use dramatization and rhetoric to divert the people's focus and give them a morale boost. He had many scriptwriters for his talks, but his was very actively involved in creating them. He insisted on invoking the legacies of the Founding Fathers and willed the people to have faith and hope in God or Providence.