The Great Depression: Important Role of Banks, Money in the United States Economy

The Great Depression was an economic breakdown in the history of the United States during the years of 1929 to 1939. When the Dust Bowl occurred it was not much help to people with jobs in the Middle East. Their only option was to become migrant workers and go to a remote area of the West, Salinas, California. All theses events rose during the Great Depression. These occurrences helped shape the United States today. As well, The Great Depression is brought up in the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. It greatly impacted the lives of the two main characters. Though these days greatly struck migrant workers, it also stuck women and other minorities. The Great Depression indicated the crucial role that banks, money and most importantly the stock market played in the United States economy.

The Great Depression was the worst economic destruction from 1929 to 1939. It happened after the stock market crash of October 1929. Cities and states had attempted efforts to assist the citizens with jobs and financial states. In the summer of 1929, the economy was beginning to decrease where business firms began cutting manufacturers. The loss of wealth from the recession resulted where people spent less but didn't cause it. The effect the Great Depression had on farmers was that the demand for crops during World War I. In the early 1930s prices dropped so low that many farmers went bankrupt and lost their farms. Women and other minorities affected them during these years because the jobs available to women paid less, but were more stable. Many employers with jobs got their payments lowered during that time. Women were forced to take a more active role in the continuation of their families, by working outside the home. Children stopped attending school and went to work in factories and such. Most children suffered from malnutrition and diet-related diseases. Managers preferred white men and white women, over black or Hispanic women in most instances. But when it came to agriculture all, they needed was workers. Many city citizens lost jobs, ended up in the streets, established camps and took food from soup kitchens. Both farmers and dwellers lost their jobs and homes. The Dust Bowl was a major part that moved migrant workers to Salinas, California, for work due to the amount of available work.

The Dust Bowl started in the 1930s and lasted for about 10 years, but its long-term impacts on the region remained much longer. Severe drought hit the Midwest and Southern Great Plains in 1930 in the united states, especially in areas like Texas and Oklahoma. Massive dust storms began in 1931, wiping out farmlands making areas unable to produce crops. The term Dust Bowl was named by dust storms that struck the region in the 1930s. The area's grasslands had supported mostly stock raising until World War I when millions of acres were put under the plow to grow wheat. The Dust Bowl down points went up and down from year to year. The drought period occurred from 1931 to 1936. The most proceeding period was in 1934 and was the worst for the last 1,000 years in terms of extremity. The multiple droughts were bad in the southern parts of the United States, such as Oklahoma, Texas. Also in the northern plains as in Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Montana. The Dust Bowl affected farmers by causing a drought having a difficult time to produce crops. This period of drought destroyed millions of acres of farmland. Workers in the depression lost homes because of the low pay income. They could not rely on the products they were making to live no more. Also, The massive dust storms forced farmers out of employment in search of other jobs. They lost both their source of income and their homes. Prices for the crops they could grow fell below poverty lines. So then people become migrant workers, finding employment with a good source of income for their families.

A migrant worker is a person who moves around in search of employment for money. They had to move from their homes to produce food for themselves. Migrant workers emerge during these years because of the demand of work needed during the great depression. Most of the people who lived in Texas or Oklahoma and other parts were hit by the dust bowl wiping out the farmland clean from doing agriculture. It forced farmers to sell their farms and become migrant workers. They traveled from farm to farm to collect fruit and other crops at a low price only able to buy food. Atypical life of a migrant worker during this period was 'Life became busy sometimes even hectic, learning crops and problems in such a large new area. Life became full of things to do sometimes even restlessly. Learning crops and complications in foreign areas migrant workers were exposed too”. During this time were migrant workers who came out in search of work. They heard of a popular place called Salinas, California. Salinas Valley has always been a large farming region during the Great Depression, many people worked there.

The geographical features of the Salinas Valley in California are formed by Gaian and Santa Lucia Mountains. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected people's jobs and lives. It forced them to move from place to place just to provide for themselves. For years workers in the Dust Bowl region only found a way to get past this which was to look on forward typically out in California. It was advertised everywhere in flyers and handbills. Talking about land available. California agricultural relied on the migrant farmer's laborers for crops. The benefits and drawbacks of such land were to get away from the dust bowl and life was simple there everything was a bit easier. Migrant workers were able to get a job and be able to provide for themselves through hard work. Some drawbacks were the hard work and commitment they would have to do just to provide for themselves and the crucial hot weather. For example, in Of Mice and Men, the two main characters want to achieve their American dream but to do so they move to Salinas, California. For example, in Of Mice and Men, the two main characters want to achieve their American dream but to do so they move to Salinas, California.

The United States economy took a fall between 1929 to 1939. This was known as the Great Depression when the stock market crashed in October, causing people to lose jobs and be unable to provide for their families. When the Dust Bowl occurred it was not much help to migrant workers. These days greatly impacted people with their jobs forcing most to become migrant workers. The Great Depression indicated the important role that banks, money and most importantly the stock market plays in the United States economy.