Great Depression Scavenger Hunt
1. 1929: Celebrating on the Brink
a) How many shares of stock were sold on October 29th "Black Thursday"?
b) What was Trenton celebrating on October 29th and how did they celebrate it?
2. Life During the Great Depression
a) What was unemployment in 1930? and at the end of the Depression?
b) How many children between the ages of 10-18 worked in factories, canneries, mines and on farms for low wages during the Great Depression?
c) What was the "eviction game"?
d) What is a "Hooverville"?
e) Name two of the lessons learned during the Great Depression.
a) What did Roosevelt mean when he said: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"?
b) What is the “New Deal”?
c) Roosevelt faced high unemployment levels when he came into office. He addressed this problem by starting several programs. Write 2-3 sentences on each of these programs: CCC, PWA, TVA, and FRA.
d) By 1940 2.5 million people had moved out of the Plains States. Where did 200,000 of these people go?
e) Who was Roosevelt’s opponent in 1936?
a) Using the Timeline how many dust storms were there in 1932? In 1933?
b) Using the Timeline what happened to help stabilize the nation in March 1933?
c) Using the Timeline how many states were affected severely by the drought in May 1934?
d) Using the Timeline in 1935 the Soil Conservation Service developed an extensive soil conservation program. What farming practices were “advocated”?
a) How high did the employment rate get during the Great Depression?
b) What was the average yearly salary during the Great Depression?
a) Looking at the Wages table, how much per week did a cook make then? Now?
b) Looking at the Wages table, how much per week did a doctor make?
c) How many weeks would a cook then need to work to buy a woman’s winter coat?
a) How is social security funded?
b) When was it signed into law?
a) What did the proponents (those who favored Social Security) argue that got the Social Security Act passed?
b) What did the act pay?
c) In what year were payroll taxes first collected?
d) The 1935 Act also included three other programs. What were they?
e) The Act was amended in 1939. What were the three changes?
9. To answer the questions below click on the links after each topic. Read the excerpt and write your answer.
Gene Wadsworth: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/sfeature/taleslostbrother.html
a) What did one of Gene’s cousins tell him that made him leave home?
b) What was the name of the boy that Gene traveled with and considered to be much like a brother?
c) What happened to Jim?
10. Look at the symbols at http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/hobosign.htm
a) Draw the symbol that means “Can sleep in barn”?
b) Draw the symbol that means “Police officer lives here”?
Created by Linda DeVore
Last Updated Monday, May 14, 2012