1. Investigating the Causes of the Depression

Go to http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression

1)   When did the Great Depression begin? What event sparked it?

2)   Locate November 1930 on the timeline: What did many Americans do to earn money during the depression?

3)   Locate February and March 1931 on the timeline: What sort of actions were Americans demonstrations were Americans taking part in during the Great Depression? Why?

4)   Find on the timeline when FDR was elected President of the United States. Who was FDR’s opponent and why didn’t Americans elect him instead?

2. Evidence of the Depression

Go to http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/photos# , click on the picture and view each picture in the slideshow along with their captions. Then answer the following questions:

5)   Name 4 things people are waiting in line for:

6)   Before the state and federal governments provided assistance, who was providing relief to Americans?

7)   A subsistence level is the bare minimum of basic needs that a family requires to survive. What percentage of American families was living below this level? 

3. Voices of the Depression

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfY8kh5lUw&feature=related and watch selections from the video to answer the following questions. 

Watch 11:20 to 12:30 of the video:

8)   What happened to the narrator’s father’s job? How does he describe people’sclothing?

Watch 5:36-6:11

9)   Describe the houses that some families lived in.

 10)    What were the homeless called?

 11)    What were these families and homeless people looking for?

Watch 10:21 – 11:00

 12)    What did children do if they wanted to play a game like baseball? Why?

13)    Instead of buying food, what did the children in this particular story do?Why?

Go to: Teacher Resources - Feature - American Memory Timeline: Great Depression - For Teachers (Library of Congress)

 Read the “Overview” and answer below:

 14.         How many Americans were unemployed during the worst part of theDepression? _________________

15.         Explain one effect of the Depression in other parts of the world. 

16.         What finally brought an end to the Depression in the U.S.? 

Go to: Dust Bowl

 17.         Explain what the Dust Bowl was and its two main causes.

18.         Explain what the Dust Bowl caused people in that region to do. 

Go to: Stock Market Crash

 19.         Explain what happened with the stock market and banks to cause the Great Depression:

Go to: 1930's