Great Depression Sim Part 1

Journey Through Your Life

During the Great Depression

First Step

• Grab a pen and paper! (or use a notebook/the word doc!)
• Label a blank sheet as follows (leave space to write):
• 1.) Stocks-
• 2.) Bank Run-
• 3.) Make $-
• 4.) Bonus Marchers-
• 5.) Hobo Markings-
• 6.) Soup Kitchen-
• 7.) Road Problems-
• 8.) Bet it all!-
• 9.) End Story-

This sheet of paper will be your travel log!

Congratulations

• It’s 1929 and you are loving life. In the past year you got married and had a baby girl.

Your Home

• You want to make sure your family has the best things in life and a future of prosperity.
• You feel so confident in America’s financial security you decide to invest a huge portion of your savings into the stock market to start your new family off in the right direction

Stocks to Invest In:

1: Tel-Tone Telephone Company

4: Gotham Bank

Choose one of the stocks to invest your life savings into. Write the # associated with your stock on your Travel Log

2: Radio Corporation

5: Ford Motors

6: Kansas & Pacific Railroads

3: Mammoth Oil

The Great Crash

• By late 1929, a lack of new investors in the stock market caused stock prices to drop
• On October 29, 1929, stock prices fell drastically on Black Tuesday, resulting in a $10 to $15 billion loss in value. While this did not cause the Great Depression, it did undermine the economy’s ability to hold out against its other weaknesses.

The Great Depression Begins

The Stock Market crash signaled the beginning of the Great Depression The Great Depression is generally defined as the period from 1929 – 1940 in which the economy plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed

Worth of Your Stocks

4: Gotham Bank

1: Tel-Tone Telephone Company

1: TEL-TONE TELEPHONE COMPANY- This stock declined in value by 50%- You just lost ½ of your life savings. You put what you have left in the bank.

4: GOTHAM BANK- This stock declined in value by 90%. You just lost 90% of your life savings

5: Ford Motors

2: Radio Corporation

2: RADIO CORPORATION-YOU got lucky! This stock remained the same so you pull your money out and put it in the bank for safe keeping.

5: FORD MOTORS- This stock declined in value by 50%- You just lost ½ of your life savings

Click the stock to see what happened and note that on your Travel log

3: Mammoth Oil

6: Kansas & Pacific Railroads

6: KANSAS & PACIFIC RAILROADS- This stock declined in value by 90%. You just lost 90% of your life savings

3: MAMMOTH OIL- This stock is worthless & you now owe $ because you bought it on the margin

• You are now in despair as you and your family are barely hanging on to hope.
• With most of your savings depleted you cannot afford for anything more to go wrong so you look to president Hoover for answers

Hoover Elected in 1928

• -Republican Herbert Hoover ran against Democrat Alfred E. Smith in the 1928 election
• -Hoover emphasized years of prosperity under Republican administrations
• -Hoover won an overwhelming victory

• After the stock market crash, President Hoover tried to reassure Americans
• He said, “Any lack of confidence in the economic future . . . Is foolish”
• He recommended business as usual

I believe in “Rugged Individualism”…the idea that people succeed through their own efforts. People should take care of themselves, not depend on governmental hand-outs He said people should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”

H. Hoover

This article says that Hoover doesn’t believe it is the government’s job to fix the economy or provide financial assistance. Well… Thanks for nothing Hoover.

• Well thanks for nothing Hoover

RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT

As a result of the stock market crash it appears many people are not able to repay their loans to the bank. The banks may run out of money if this continues

You rush to your bank to pull out all of your money

Bank Run

Bank Failures

• After the crash, many Americans panicked and withdrew their money from banks
• In addition as a result of the crash many people were not able to repay their loans to the banks.
• Banks had invested in the Stock Market and lost money
• In 1929- 600 banks fail
• By 1933 – 11,000 of the 25,000 banks nationwide had collapsed
• When the banks collapsed depositors lost their savings

Bank Run

Choose one of the #s & write the # on your Travel Log

Bank Run

Click the number to see what happened and note your savings

2- The mob of people was too overwhelming. The bank ran out of money before you could withdraw anything

1- You pushed your way to the front but the teller was only able to give $50

3- You are arrive at the bank first thing in the morning but most of the money was withdrawn the day before so the most they can give you is $65

4- The mob of people was too overwhelming. The bank ran out of money before you could withdraw anything

Important!

The next set of slides talks about sensitive topics. If you need to skip this set of slides, click the button below.

Suicide

STOP! Mr. Robinson. It’s not worth it!

• With the loss of so much so quickly many people unfortunately committed suicide
• The suicide rate climbed 30 percent between 1929 and 1932

But at least you still have your job

Low Sales

Downward Momentum of the Great Depression

Job Layoffs

Less Income

Fewer Purchases

Lower Sales

More Layoffs

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

?? WOULD YOU SURVIVE ??

Reduction in Purchasing

• Between 1928-1932, the U.S. Gross National Product (GNP) – the total output of a nation’s goods & services – fell nearly 50% from $104 billion to $59 billion

No Work

• By 1933 thousands of banks and closed and millions of Americans were unemployed
• 90,000 businesses went bankrupt
• Unemployment leaped from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933
• 14 million are jobless- 1933

Click the images to see the next one

New Ways to Make a Living

With the loss of our job we need to find new ways to save & make money. Choose one of the #s & write the # on your Travel Log

New Ways to Make a Living

1- Take in tenants

4- sell all of your furniture

Click the boxes to see new ways your family resorted to, to make extra money and note it on your travel log

5- Beg on the corner

2- Put your child up for adoption

3- Make your clothing out of flour sacks

6- Sell Apples

New Ways to Make a Living

1- Take in tenants

4- sell all of your furniture

Click the tiles to see images of the time.

5- Beg on the corner

2- Put your child up for adoption

3- Make your clothing out of flour sacks

6- Sell Apples

Your Home

It wasn’t enough to save your house!

With no home, you move to a Hooverville in Washington DC

HOOVERVILLES

• A "Hooverville" or shanty town was a community of houses or “shantys” made from scraps they could find
• By calling them “Hoovervilles” people conveyed their disgust and disappointment with Hoover.

Hi Neighbor!

Any spare food?

Life has changed a lot

In addition to the term “Hooverville,” President Hoover’s name was used mockingly in other ways during the Great Depression.

When soles wore out of shoes, the cardboard used to replace them was dubbed “Hoover Leather”

“Hoover Flags”

“Hoover Wagon”

“Hoover Blankets”

Click the pictures

Part of the reason you came to DC to set up your Shanty was to show your support for the passage of the PUTNAM BILL. If Congress passes the PUTNAM BILL it would be VERY beneficial for WWI Veterans like yourself.

Bonus Army

• Spring of 1932 about 15,000 World War I vets arrived in Washington to support the passage of the proposed Putnam Bill
• If the bill passed WWI Vets would be issued a $1000 bonus immediately instead of waiting until its scheduled date of 1945

Pay us our bonus early!

Putnam Bill Rejected

• On June 17, 1932 the Senate voted down the Putnam Bill
• Hoover called the Bonus marchers, “Communists and criminals”

Marchers Clash with Soldiers

• MacArthur’s 12th infantry gassed more than 1,000 marchers, including an 11-month old baby, who died
• Burned down Shantys
• Two vets were shot and scores injured
• Americans were outraged with Hoover

• Hoover told the Bonus marchers to go home– most did
• 2,000 refused to leave
• Hoover sent a force of 1,000 soldiers under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and his aide Dwight Eisenhower

BONUS MARCHERS

Choose one of the #s & write the # on your Travel Log

BONUS MARCHERS

1- Your baby died as are result of the gas

4- Your Shanty & belongings burned down

Click the boxes to see what happened to you or your family and note on your travel log

5- You left crying before the troops came

2- You were hospitalized & now have medical bills

3- Arrested for rioting

END OF PART 1 We will continue this game in our next live classroom!