Well today we talked about the hobo language. Dust Bowl: Overfarming leads to bad farm ground. Roots from grasses and trees are gone, nothing to hold ground down. Dust storms. Farmers lost jobs, migrated to bigger cities (Okies). Dust storms settled over Atlantic coast. Men in the streets: Men felt ashamed that they didn't have jobs, would do anything just for a job. No welfare then but NY gave people $2.39 a week. Women's struggle to survive: Women took charge because husbands lost jobs. Found odd jobs themselves. Found ways to preserve food and make their own clothes. Women were discriminated against because men didn't have jobs so they didn't think women should. Children: Children were more imaginative. Children would leave their families because they felt they were a burden. Hopped trains. 250,000 homeless children. School funding was cut. Children started working where they could until child labor laws were passed. "Wild Boys". A lot of kids had rickets (softening bones, disfiguration) because of malnutrition. Social and psychological effects: Young adults and adults engrained in their brain the concept of saving money so they would never go through that again. People had lost trust in banks so they stashed money in their houses and around their houses. Children didn't go to the doctor, dentist, etc, health issues. People were very depressed, suicide rate was over 30%. Recap, people were very tight with their money and depressed. Hoover's background: Born in 1874, died 1964. Father was a blacksmith, 9 yrs old when he became an orphan. Learned the basics in school, went to Stanford University. A Quaker. He was a trained engineer, no military background. Elected in 1928. Humanitarian.
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