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.