As you read about how people coped with hard times, use the headings below to summarize the Great Depression’s effects on various aspects of American life.
Employment - People lost their jobs, the overall unemployment rate was 25% and people were losing their steady incomes and in turn were losing their lives. They lost their homes, and most of them couldn't afford food. Huge lines for the soup kitchen would be a common sight, everyone was hungry and barely anyone had enough money to buy their own.
Housing - People were sleeping in sewer pipes or parks, wrapping themselves in newspapers in a sad attempt to keep warm. A few built houses out of scrap materials. This is how shantytowns came to be.
Farming - Many farmers lost their land due to foreclosure, and turned to tenant farming which barely scraped out a living for them. However one upside to being a farmer was the ability to produce food, rather than needing to buy it.
Race relations - White Americans were upset at Latinos and Africans because they were under the impression that these people were stealing all of the jobs in America. Conditions were worse for Africans and Latinos than for white americans, and most of the time the white americans would get the jobs, causing the African/Latino unemployment rate to be a lot higher than white american unemployment.
Family life - Family lives began to crumble. Women would go out in search of work, and men would be out of jobs. Sometimes when the men were out of jobs, they would wander the streets for days on end in search of work. They might even have gotten so upset that they would abandon their families. Some couples put off marrying and raising families in order to save money.
Physical health - People began to stop going to see the dentist and doctor, to pay less and save money. Also, suicide rates tripled during the depression
Emotional health - people began to feel very demoralized by their inability to work and lost their will to survive. Some people had to give up their dreams, and became very thrifty.
Explain or define each of the following:
Dust bowl - The dust bowl was the region that was the hardest hit by the drought - parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, new mexico, and Colorado.
Shantytown - A little town consisting of shacks
Direct Relief - cash payments or food provided from the government to the poor.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Schenck v US (Free Speech)
1. What was Justice Holmes’ main argument in the Court’s opinion in Schenck? Do you agree with the Court’s opinion?
Justice Holmes' main argument in the Court's opinion in Schenck was that just because of the time and circumstances, the first amendment was not able to protect his free speech like it normally would. Schenck had the right to express his opinion and try to spread his beliefs but because the United States was so caught up in the frenzy of the ongoing war, they took it to be more of an offense than it might have usually been seen as. I agree with the Court's opinion somewhat. At first as i was reading, i didn't but then i read further and the whole analogy that Justice Holmes made, made me rethink. It's almost like the boy who cried wolf, and in desperate times people tend to overreact a little.
2. Do you think some limits on the freedom of speech are necessary? Explain. (Use your own opinion and support it using information from the reading.)
I don't think limits are necessary on freedom of speech. Of course they'd be nice, and these limits could probably solve a lot of problems before they happened (like in the case of Schenck), however this country was based on the moral that everyone would be free, which is why i think freedom of speech is crucial in it's purest form, without restrictions.
3. List three examples of the "historical impact" of the Schenck decision.
First of all, this decision led to the court being asked to decide whether or not young, school children should have the same freedom of speech right as adults. The court then decided that they should, and a whole bunch of students were readmitted to schools, after being punished for their words when they didn't get their full rights. Next, it caused a lot of arguments to start on what should be considered your right with freedom of speech, and to what extent you can express your opinion.
Justice Holmes' main argument in the Court's opinion in Schenck was that just because of the time and circumstances, the first amendment was not able to protect his free speech like it normally would. Schenck had the right to express his opinion and try to spread his beliefs but because the United States was so caught up in the frenzy of the ongoing war, they took it to be more of an offense than it might have usually been seen as. I agree with the Court's opinion somewhat. At first as i was reading, i didn't but then i read further and the whole analogy that Justice Holmes made, made me rethink. It's almost like the boy who cried wolf, and in desperate times people tend to overreact a little.
2. Do you think some limits on the freedom of speech are necessary? Explain. (Use your own opinion and support it using information from the reading.)
I don't think limits are necessary on freedom of speech. Of course they'd be nice, and these limits could probably solve a lot of problems before they happened (like in the case of Schenck), however this country was based on the moral that everyone would be free, which is why i think freedom of speech is crucial in it's purest form, without restrictions.
3. List three examples of the "historical impact" of the Schenck decision.
First of all, this decision led to the court being asked to decide whether or not young, school children should have the same freedom of speech right as adults. The court then decided that they should, and a whole bunch of students were readmitted to schools, after being punished for their words when they didn't get their full rights. Next, it caused a lot of arguments to start on what should be considered your right with freedom of speech, and to what extent you can express your opinion.
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