John Steinbeck

September 1939.

Today I started reading a book called Grapes of Wrath by a famous American author who writes pieces of fiction set during the Great Depression. His name is John Steinbeck. The book is during the Great Depression. The novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and agricultural industries. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other Okies, they sought jobs, land, dignity and a future. This book is like being back in the Depression all over again. It's very interesting and I recommend you to read it.

Woody Guthrie

June 1938.

I've been listening to a singer and song writer named Woody Guthrie. Wow, his music is amazing! The lyrics are just so real and touching. I like his music because he is talking about how miserably hard life is during this Great Depression. He is basically telling us real stories that are happening and just adding a guitar.

Woody Guthrie

Father Charles and Huey Long Criticize Roosevelt

February 1937.

There are two men criticizing and talking bad about Roosevelt and making it public through the radio for everyone to hear. One of them is a Roman priest, Father Charles Coughlin, and the other is a senator from Louisiana, Huey Long. These two men are using the radio and media to vent their anger at Roosevelt, encouraging others to oppose Roosevelt and his New Deal. At first, Coughlin supported the New Deal but then changed his mind because he believes the New Deal is going too far and it's interfering with big businesses. Long is against it because he doesn't believe the New Deal is doing enough. These men have become loud critics of Roosevelt. I've heard some of the things they've said about Roosevelt and the New Deal and it just makes me so angry. Oh well, let them talk. What ever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right? Right.

Father Charles Coughlin

Huey Long

Alf Landon vs. Franklin D. Roosevelt

November 1936.

So I hear the governor of Kansas is running against Roosevelt for presidency. Alf Landon is a republican who, like Hoover, is strongly opposed to the New Deal. I think that he's going to get handily defeated. I mean, I think there are many people that are supporting the New Deal. We are seeing some good changes due to this plan, so majority of the votes are going to go to Roosevelt. I'm a supporter of the New Deal and I know Roosevelt is going to win this election, period.

WPA: Dorothea Lange, Public Art, Schools, Roads, and Bridges

May 1934.

Franklin D. Roosevelt has faced many problems but he has overcome many of them. One big problem we are having right now is unemployment and Roosevelt has found ways to fix it. He is using many policies such as the CCC, which is providing jobs for more than 2 million young men, the FERA, which is granting federal funds and local agencies to help the unemployed, the CWA, which is providing jobs on public-works projects, and also the WPA, which is providing money to build schools, roads, bridges, and other public projects. The WPA is one of my favorite policies, because we get more schools for the children to get educated, roads and bridges for easier transportation, and we get to publicize our art so everyone can see what inspires us. A person that has gotten very famous because of her art talent is Dorothea Lange, a female photographer who is traveling the country capturing the effects of the Great Depression. I really like her work.

Picture by Dorothea Lange

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, New Deal, and Fireside Chats

March 1933.

Now, the new president, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, has a plan to get the economy going restarted and to put people back to work called the New Deal. This plan is making people pay for these programs though taxes, which is making the wealthy and big businesses angry because Roosevelt wants to raise taxes to pay for the New Deal. These people are starting to hate him for this, but to me, a supporter of the New Deal, it's a good idea because I believe this is going to restart the economy. Roosevelt is using the radio to assure the American people that he is doing everything possible to provide relief, recovery, and reform. He is also using his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, who has become his eyes and ear, to help him understand a little bit more what the people want and need. I listen to his fireside chats all the time and I believe he is going to make a change and get us all out of this mess.

RFC, Emergency Relief Act, and Trickle Down Economics

October 1932.

Some of Hoover's plans to deal with the Depression are the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) using the concept of Trickle Down Economics, and the Emergency Relief Act. The RFC is a plan to get people back to work, which lets the federal government lend loans to banks, so the banks can loan money to businesses, making businesses expand and hire people, then that way people can earn a paycheck and start spending money, and people spending money puts back into the economy, people can pay taxes to the government, and put their money into banks. This plan has failed because banks held on to the money and didn't want to loan it out. The other plan is the Emergency Relief Act, which is a program the provides loans to small businesses and state governments to help provide relief, but has also failed because businesses and states didn't have the money to repay the loans.

Bonus Army and Volunteerism

July 1932.

I have heard that there is a group of veterans of WW1, who have been promised money after the war, and are being refused to get paid by President Hoover. What is that! I have heard these veterans, known as the Bonus Army, have marched into Washington and set up camps next to the White House to protest for the money they had been promised. Congress has refused to grant them the money and Hoover has ordered to have their hoovervilles destroyed! The veterans are being forced to leave and are not getting the money they had been promised. President Hoover has definitely lost all respect of the American People for rejecting and refusing to pay the men that risked their lives for their country in that war. This is something that has really angered me, and he still has the guts to call on the wealthy to volunteer by giving money and time to help those in need, but he can't even do that himself.

Dust Bowl, Okies, and Hobos

August 1931.

Thousands of people, desperate for work, are jumping on trains or hitch hiking from town to town as they search for jobs, food, and hope. Many, migrants that are referred to as Okies, have moved west to California in search of a better life because they have lost everything to the Depression and the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl has heightened desperation in the Midwest. There are these giant dust storms that have been brought on by droughts and poor farming methods on the Midwestern region and have killed livestock, covered homes and crops, and have gotten many people sick due to dirt in their lungs. These storms have made it hard to breathe and there is no way you can keep dirt out of your home and out of your face and lungs. I've seen people that have had their skin peeling off their faces and hundreds of jackrabbits and birds dead on the ground. The storms have blocked out the sun and all you can see are clouds of dust with very strong winds. It has just been hell. I can't even imagine how the hobos that are walking under those storms must feel. Hopeless, abandoned, and forgotten?

Unemployment, Bread Lines, Hoovervilles, and Foreclosures

March 1931.

Unemployment has rose to a record high of 25% nation wide! Wow! And another 25% can only find part-time work while others take major payment cuts. This has definitely been a direct result of business failure. I'm one of the 25% that has a part time job, and who knows how long it will last me. My father has taken a payment cut and my mother is unemployed and taking care of my younger brother and sister at home. It's hard for us, but it's harder for others who are starving and going to bread lines because they can't afford to buy any food. Others have no homes and have had to build hoovervilles, or homeless camps, to have a roof over their heads. Others have not even that. They walk and walk looking for ways to survive but have lost hope.

Stock Market Crash, Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929.

Today was one of the craziest days ever! The stock market crashed! 16 million shares were sold and the stock market collapsed as investors panicked and billions of dollars were lost in just a few hours. I have lost so much money! I bought my stocks on speculation and now that the stock market has crashed have lost everything! Today there was a major drop in prices that has caused investors to try to sell their stock quickly. People have totally lost their confidence in the market and the economy. I know I sure have and I can't trust anyone with my money. All of this chaos has caused people to run, like, literally run, and get their money out of banks. This is going to really cause banks and businesses to fail due to the lack of customers.

Overproduction, Buying on Credit, and Uneven Distribution of Wealth

January 1928.

There's this new thing called buying on credit. Everyone is using it to buy houses, cars, and appliances such as stoves, vacuums, washing machines, etc. When times were good, all of this buying on credit stuff was fine, but now that we see that the economy is collapsing, no one is going to be able to pay back the loans. Consumers have borrowed too much money and banks have made risky loans. Buying on credit has also expanded the gap between the rich and poor. The wealthy class seems to have gotten too small, as the middle class is getting too big, causing too much poverty in the U.S. Everything is going downhill.