The Great Depression Essay Research Paper by — страница 2

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farmers moved to California because they could no longer farm their land(Drewry and O’Connor 561). The drought began to affect other parts of the country. In 1930, Virginia’s belt of fertile land dried up. Ponds, streams, and springs all dried up and the great Mississippi River water level sank lower than ever recorded. Small farmers every-where began to feel the drought. Their small gardens were ruined and their corn crop was cut almost down to nothing. The hay and grass needed to feed their livestock was no longer available. They now faced a major problem -how to feed their livestock. The silos were rapidly emptying and the barns in many cases were empty. The farmers were terrified that the government feed loans wouldn’t be available to keep the livestock from dying. In

many cases, the Red Cross was making allowances for feed to keep alive livestock (Meltzer 121). The small farmers of fruit trees and vegetable plants depended on others who ran canneries to bottle and can their produce. The people they depended upon were the same people that hired scientists to experiment on the fruits and vegetables to come up with better tasting and yielding produce. Thus the small farmers were dependent on these same rich landowners for almost everything. They couldn’t harvest their produce on their own so they sold it to the rich landowners and thus made very little money on their produce (Steinbeck 444-447). The farmers found themselves in debt caused by the purchase of land, tools, animals and other items bought on credit. This credit was due to the bank

and when the farmers found them- selves unable to repay the debts the bank took away everything they had – their land, homes, animals and equipment. When the banks took over, they went in with tractors and destroyed everything on the farms which included their homes and barns. This is best por- trayed in Steinbeck’s description of how the tractors destroyed everything in its way. “The iron guard bit into the house corner, crumbled the wall, and wrenched the little house from its foundation, crushed like a bug (50). “In the little houses the tenant people sifted their belongings and the belongings of their father and of their grandfathers” (Steinbeck 111). This describes how after many generations of farming on their land these people had to gather their property and

memories and then try to sell whatever they could. The farmers were so desperate for money that they had to sell for literally pennies.Steinbeck describes the desperate conversation of a farmer to a persepective buyer “Well, take it-all junk-and give me five dollars. You’re not buying only junk, you’re buying junked lives” (Steinbeck 112). The desperation for work and money became so bad that they were willing to work for as little as was offered just so they could have some sort of job and make any amount of money. Soon it was a fight for life or death (Steinbeck). In a desperate search for a job farmers moved themselves and their families all over the country. As people wandered the country looking for work they were unable to live in one place. Large numbers of

homeless people led to Hoovervilles. The farmers and their families had to build homes out of anything that they could acquire as Steinbeck describes “The south wall was made of three sheets of rusy corrugated iron, the east a square of moldy carpet tacked between two board, the north wall a strip of roofing paper and a strip of tattered canvas, and the west wall six pieces of gunny sacking”(Steinbeck 310-311). The homes were usually near water source so they could have water to drink from, cook and wash their clothing (Steinbeck 311). To cut down the number of people seeking jobs or needing help, the government decided to try to come up with some sort of relief. Among other things, they limited immigration, returned hundreds of Mexicans living here,and sought other methods

to help the farmers. Hoover’s Federal Farm Board urged farmers to plant less so that prices would go up but there was no encouragement to do so.From 1920 to 1932 farm production did drop 6 percent but prices fell ten times as much-by 63 percent. Farmers watched prices hit new lows-15 cents for corn, 5 cents for cotton and wool, hogs and sugar 3 cents, and beef 2.5 cents(Meltzer 123). With farm prices so low, most farmers, living under the fear of their mortgages, knew that sooner or later they will lose everything. In 1932 the farmers declared a holiday on selling. They picketed roads asking people to join the. They gave away free milk to the poor and unemployed rather then let it spoil because they refused to sell it. A thirty-day holiday on farm selling was begun August 8 and