Tertiary+Material+Sp2011

Post your tertiary research. Please take a moment to Bold the names, events or issues. Philip Carpenter, James S. Olson, Editor. // Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: from Inauguration to preparation for war //. Greenwood Press, 1985. Pgs127-129, Ref #E806.H58 1985 ** Dust Bowl ** 1930’s-40 -Located in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. -A series of disasters of these dust storms. -The north was also struck by these dust storms, but more intrigue in the south. -Long periods of a drought season. -Drought was severe during 1932-1939 in the Plains, in which denied full growth of the crops being cultivated. -Prevented wheat crops in the winter. -Lasted through the 20’s until the end of WWI. -“// Converted millions of acres of grassland used for into cropland devoted to wheat //”. -This was an expansion of a rapid mechanization, by emphasis on wheat as a cash crop. -Technique of dry farming preserved little crop residue. -“// Another contributing factor, was the prevalence of absentee ownership and suitcase farming //.” People left their land in which they owned and moved to the city side. Just doing more research on this topic, but not able to come up with ant essay topic. any please give me options. need topic and suggestions. please email me. --- pcarpenter_7728@ric.edu Keith Croteau The Rise of American Communism during the Great Depression

In doing research I used the Encyclopedia of American History and The Encyclopedia of American Political History. My research was kind of aimless at first. I simply wished to do a paper on the rise of communism because of the great depression. I know now that the subject would have killed me. It was interesting to learn that the CPUSA was formed from joining together a variety of different socialist and communist factions. And that this joining was insisted upon by Communits Russia. I want my paper to consist of a few things, one being how much influence did the Russians have over the party, and in **William Z. Foster**, a man born in Taunton MA who became the head of the CPUSA and advicated violence as way to overthrow the gov't and create a communits one in the United States.

Gregory Rounds Education During the Depression My topic from the start has been education. I am currently doing research on the effects of the Depression on Rhode Island College for another class so I felt that this would help broaden my awareness of the important details that may have affected not only Rhode Island College but schools around the country. For my sources, I have looked at a few different references in the library which have become very helpful. **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression**, **The Great Depression in American**, **Modern America 1914-1955**, **The New Era and the New Deal 1920-1940**, and **The Dictionary of American History**. At first, educators failed to the severity of the Great Depression, and it quickly impacted the national education system. Enrollment patterns declined in elementary schools due to the postponement of marriages and a decline in birth rates. By 1940, there were 2.3 million fewer children in elementary schools than in 1930. HIgh School enrollment skyrocketed however. Many kids stayed in school because they could not find jobs, and more stringent laws were enacted that kept youths out of the workplace and in school. School spending decreased and most importantly the spending in the south was much less than in the north. African Americans were hit the most because of segregation in most schools. Schools for blacks received less spending money and the average amount spent per black student was around $12 per student compared to the $34 per white student. A telling statistic. Schools began to close (an estimated 20,000) and the schools were cut short to save money. Educators fought back and different organizations began to pop up. Teachers helped with money and pushed for child education laws. The New Deal provided aid to youth administrations to provide jobs for poor children. It most importantly provided education for the people the schools ignored. Poor students suffered from anxiety, they felt that left out from the materialism of school culture. They could not afford many of the same clothes as the wealthier kids. However some kids saw school as refuge for water, food, showers, and heat.

Kevin Levesque Education Although my topic began with child labor, it is now branching out to children during the great depression and the impact the depression had on the life of a child. For my tertiary sources I used **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression** to find information on education during the depression. By 1940 there were 2.3 million fewer children in the nation's elementary schools than in 1930. However, high school enrollment skyrocketed, jumping from 4.8 million students in 1930 to 7.1 million by the end of the decade. This can most likely be linked to teenagers being put out of work during the depression and being forced to go back to school. By 1934, the nation's school spending had declined by 34 percent from pre-Depression levels. Administrators stopped school construction, discontinued classes, eliminated teaching positions, and reduced salaries. Some of the worst cuts took place in rural districts, particularly in the South, which spent the least money on education. Arkansas, for example, spent only $33.56 per student annually, while New York invested $137.55 on each of its pupils. The New Deal provided help for Education. New Deal programs provided aid without taking control by granting assistance directly to students and providing money for capital improvements. The National Youth Administration (which I need to do more research on) provided poor high school and college students with part-time jobs so they could stay in school. New Deal programs also provided free hot lunches to poor children, funded 70 percent of all new school construction, and helped build playgrounds and athletic fields.

Melissa St. Jean The Dust Bowl For my tertiary source I used **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression Volume 1** to find information about The Dust Bowl it refers to a ninety seven million acre area in the southern Great Plains where drought and wind erosion were the most severe during the 1930s. It extended almost four hundred miles from north to south and three hundred miles east to west including Colorado, northeastern New Mexico, western Kansas, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. It became known as the dustbowl because of a gigantic dust storm known as the black blizzard that struck on April 14, 1935. The dust storms began in 1932 and peaked in 1935. By 1933 the wind erosion conditions in the southern became so serious that farmers looked to the federal government for technical and financial support to help them bring the blowing lands under control. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration became the most significant for economic relief for farmers. Without the aid of this program many farmers would have lost their land or suffered bankruptcy. Despite government aid many dust bowl residents did not have enough income to meet their financial obligations and were forced to migrate. What I find most interesting is how the dust storms effected the crops and the farmers which helped me narrow down my topic. where will this take you? how have you narrowed this? LS

Ryan Rafanelli I used the **__Women’s Atlas of the United States__** to find out more about **women during the time of the Great Depression**. I explored all aspects including women’s employment, women’s role in politics and other general facts about women during the depression. There was an increase in “white collar jobs” in the 1920’s for women. Women became telephone operators, clerks, bookkeepers and typists. Nursing, library work and social work was seen as good fields for women during the depression. The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 20 of 420 occupations were that the majority of women were employed in. Five of the top ten women’s occupation was clerical and sales jobs. Women received low wages and little opportunity for advancement in the labor force. They made a lot less money than men. There were also fewer women in politics than men. The rate of women who were abused and raped during the depression was high during this time. Women’s health was very poor. Divorce rates and separated and homeless people were higher in women than in male. The other source I used was **__The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression__** where I found out more about the **dust bowl**. Ninety-seven million acre area in the southern Great Plains is where the dust bowl mainly took place. It mainly affected Southeast Colorado, Northeast New Mexico, Western Kansas, and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Drought and wind erosion were most severe. There was sandy loess soil, drought lack of soil-holding vegetation, and wind effected farmers planting crops. Farmers lost a lot of money because of this. Farmer’s failed to focus on soil conservation. Railroad engineers missed stations and some railways had to shovel the tracks so the trains could pass. People would seal their windows with tape and putty to avoid dust getting into their homes. They would also hang out wet sheets in front of their windows to filter the air. At mealtime, plates, cups and glasses could be covered with a thin layer of dust. Travel on highways was hazardous. Static electricity caused automobiles ignition systems to fail and stall. Residents wore masks when going outside because dust contained silica which irritates the mucus membranes. It made many people feel ill and some people died from “dust pneumonia.” Surgeons and dentists faced problems with sterilization. Federal Relief eventually came. Property values declined as much as 90%. Tax delinquencies and bankruptcies increased. Combination of factors created the dust bowl which was: plowing too much land for wheat and corn, failure to practice soil conservation, drought and relentless winds. [Ryan - good research. The Dust Bowl was quite impressive and I'm sure just terrifying. LS]

Erica C. After reading the chapter on the Great Depression I found myself thinking about what I would want to write my paper on. I already knew I wanted to write about women, because it came most naturally to me. I narrowed down my topic pretty quickly to **labor unions and women in the textile industry in New York City**. I chose New York City because I love it now and would like to learn more about it and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to choose a topic for my paper and learn more.

I used the **//Encyclopedia of American History//** to look up unions and women. The information on unions did not prove to have anything useful so I turned over to women. There was a part of the section on women during the Great Depression that would help in my topic. I took some notes from there, which were basically the names of the important people listed. I found the **National Labor Relations Act, Secretary of Labor: Frances Perkins, and the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory Fire**. I also wrote down other books that were in the bibliography that may prove useful. I followed up, so far, on **Frances Perkins** and learned more about how she helped the labor unions and workers during the Great Depression. I am going to continue to follow up on more of what I found and hopefully be lead to secondary and primary sources through them. [Notice how Erica's interests in women and in NYC have led her to this topic. Erica - I'd continue to delve into the tertiary on these events and people to find YOUR topic. LS]

Andrew Belanger I used **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression** and the **American National Biography** to look up information. I wrote down the sources that are relevant to my interests I know I want to write my paper about relief agencies. Religious based charities appeal to me most. I have looked up topics like **Soup Kitchens** and **breadlines** to get additional information--one out of five children suffered from malnutrition at this time wow! . Between 1910-29 private charities equaled one quarter of the aid. Some other prominent agencies/people that i took notes on include: **Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Lady Bountiful, Mr. Glad**, **Father Divine.** However, **Dorothy Day** & her efforts appeals to me the most. She founded the Catholic Worker Movement. She became a socialist in college & then converted to Catholicism in her late 20s after the birth of her daughter. She was influence by the **Catholic Social Doctrine** which called for redistribution of wealth, the right to private property, and just wage. Essentially she reconciled her beliefs of an interventionist government with her religious beliefs of social responsibility. Interesting - wonder what others thought of her? Where did she do her work?

Jennifer McGill For my tertiary source I used the **Historical Dictionary of the Great Depression 1929-1940** to look up information on the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was the largest and most extensive of the New Deal’s work relief agencies. It was established by executive order number 7034 by Franklin D. Roosevelt on **May 6, 1935** to implement the dictates of the Emergency Relief Appropriation act. Its specific goal was to get out of the “relief business” and to help solve the unemployment problem through legitimate, useful government works programs. **Henry Hopkins** headed the WPA, with **Aubry Williams** as his assistant, and **Ellen Woodward** in charge of the WPA’s women’s division. one of the first women in govt. LS The WPA had two basic divisions the non-construction division and the construction division. The non-construction division included various projects in the arts, education, and public services. A total of 500.000 women were employed in many of these non-construction projects. The construction division of the WPA operated on a massive scale. Between 1935 and 1943 it constructed or improved 2,500 hospitals, 5,900 school buildings, 3,000 storage dams, 78,000 bridges, 1,000 airports, more than 10,000 public parks, and 650,00 miles of rural roads, sidewalks, park trails, and urban streets. At its peak, the WPA had 3.3 million people on their payroll. There were critics of the WPA, businessmen complained that it competed with them. Conservatives argued that its arts projects were to liberal, and called it “boondoggling”. Labor Unions complained that the average WPA wage of $50 a month eroded wage levels of the economy at large. In **June 1943** the WPA was eliminated. c I didn't know so many women were involved. what did they do? This also suggests that opposition to the WPA might be a good topic for someone LS.

Britni Gorman I used the **Encyclopedia of the Great Depression A-K,** to explore how **Communism** came to be popular **in the South, especially with African-Americans**. The African-American communities started to suffer economically long before the Great Depression. Many were farm workers in the south, and once the onset of the Depression hit, crop prices dropped well below a livable amount, thus many African-American farmers. Since the decline in cropping, some African-Americans moved to the cities to find jobs, but found none due to racism of hiring. When President Roosevelt was elected he showed little interested in the African-American community, and many of them found to be more in line with the Republican party than with the Democratic. The “New Deal” programs gave little benefits and representation in programs such as the NRA, almost until the end of the 1930’s.

African-Americans started to notice the Communist party when they saved 9 black youths from execution .Scottsboro Boys Case! The Communist party also took notice became noticed? when the help organize hunger marches, unemployed councils, farm labor unions, rent strikes and mass demonstrations to prevent blacks from being evicted from their homes. The leader of the American Communist party was taken over in 1930 by **William Z. Foster, William Weinstone and Earl Browder.** Browder took control on the party after 1934 and into the war years. In the 1930’s the specifically outreached to the African-American people, saying they were an “oppressed nation within a nation requiring special attention”. They also tried to have blacks and white come together in the south. Great subject. Any narrow topics that arise from this?

Derek Ethier I used both **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression** and the **American National Biography** to do tertiary research on a topic that interested me. I investigated **Migrant Farmers** or as they were known during the Depression, **Okies**. The migrant labor force of low paid workers formed in the U.S. after the Civil War to meet the growing demands of expanding capitalist agriculture. Farmers recruited poor disenfranchised workers who were easy to manipulate. Dispossessed farmers, tenants and sharecroppers also joined this work force. Federal, local and state governments supported the interests of large farmers, so these migrant farmers were easily exploited. In 1924, immigration laws prevented illegal immigrants from protective labor laws, which prevented many of these migrant farm workers from receiving equal treatment under law. On top of this, New Deal legislation sponsored contract labor programs which undermined their unionization efforts. Despite these obstacles, the workers did manage to secure some rights. They were turned away by the American Federation of Labor, but the Communist Party's Trade Union Unity League and the Cannery and Agricultural Workers Industrial Union provided help in organizing these workers throughout the late '20s and early '30s. Throughout the 1930s, over 140 farmers' strikes erupted in California alone, one of which contained over 18,000 cotton workers. Despite multiple attempts at organization, it was not until 1965 that the United Farm Workers were officially organized under Cesar Chavez.

Another topic that I researched was the **Dust Bowl**. During the 1930s, immense dust storms blew across the Great Plains. The name Dust Bowl actually applied to the severe drought across the high plains of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas. At its peak, the storm covered over 100 million acres with almost 850 million tons of topsoil lost. The darkened sky left these soil deposits hundreds of miles eastward. The saddest part about these conditions is that they were probably preventable. During the 1920s, wheat farming expanded rapidly in America. This overgrowing led to high profits and abundant wheat until drought hit. The drought accompanied by years of poor farming techniques led to agricultural devastation. The conditions mixed with the ongoing economic depression turned many people into refugees. The constant wind erosion led to severe drops in farming income, impaired health and enormous damage to houses and machinery. In the worst affected areas, a third to a half of the population headed west, mainly to California. Those who remained faced bankruptcies and foreclosure.

Steven Muccino I used the **The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and the Encyclopedia of the US in the 20th century.** I did my research on **The Dust Bowl.** I learned that it took over Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It caused many people to move and eventually they had all moved to California where overpopulation was an increasing problem. Prior to the dust bowl farmers had to increase areas of production so they plowed land that was mainly prairie grasses. When the depression struck in the late 1920's demands for certain goods decreased rapidly. Farmers eventually restricted their farming lands to almost 50% of their land. In the early 1930's a drought hit the great plains and the wind lifted dirt into the air. It sent thick black clouds all along mid- western United States. After years of unused soil the dirt was dry causing the wind to blow it around like a feather. Eventually farmers lost all their money and couldn't pay the banks what they had owed. This caused bankruptcy and banks to close. The **Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)** provided aid for the farmers. It paid farmers to reduce production by withdrawing a specific acreage of land from production. AAA checks became the main source of income for farmers.

Trevor Holden Using the **American National Biography** I found that **Doretha Lange** was living in San Francisco having been affected by the depression she and her then husband **Maynard Dixon** had sent their children to a boarding school and were living separately. Lange began documenting the bread lines at the nearby docks. This work was seen by **Paul Schuster Taylor** another photographer. Taylor had been commissioned to work for **FDR** on the **Farm Security Administratio**n and hired Lange due to the work he had seen. This allowed Lange to go to California and focus on the documenting the existence of the **Oakies**. It was while doing so that Lange photographed a woman who was existing off of frozen peas and birds that her children were able to catch. The photograph became an icon for the era.

Similarly, **Walker Evans**, another documentary photographer of the period struggled with paying work. He chose not to shoot commercial work, as he did not want to be dictated as his subject matter. For this matter the **FSA** program gave him employment while retaining creative freedom to capture life as it truly was. Evans was the senior photographer among a group of FSA photojournalists that included Doretha Lange. After the depression Evans claimed that the photographs that he took during this period were his “passport to professional recognition.

Joshua A. Monahan As I began my research, I decided to go to very basic sources to get a rough idea in regards to what topic to focus in on. One think I grew interested in was the farming situation and the impact it left due to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Turning to **The World Book Encyclopedia** to get a general idea about **the dust bowl** and **farmers**' hardship became an objective focal point for me. Farmers had not only dealt with economic hardships but due to a drought that lasted from about 1934-1941 and the formation of the Dust Bowl Storms had devastated the farming communities of the farming states. Overall, this led to very poor production, if any, or else all that they had owned were practically destroyed. This resulted overall in a great migration west because conditions were almost completely unlivable: crops were unable to grow, there were no additional jobs to support their families, dust storms caused suffocation and health issues, massive damage to farming equipment, machinery, and homes had occurred, and even banks evicted the farmers (if they were not tenant farmers). These American citizens become exiles and refugees in their own country.