Great Depression Dbq

The years prior to World War II little hope or improvements for Blacks. It was a time characterized by the realities of Jim Crow and poverty. The Great Depression of the 1930's had double the impact on many Blacks, who were already living below the poverty level before it began. For Southern Blacks, the burden of day-to-day struggle to survive in a society of sanctioned racism had gotten heavier. The Great Depression in the United States began in August 1929, when it first went into a recession. The country was already in a two months economy decline when Wall Street crashed on October 29,1929 (also known as Black Tuesday). The world would eventually feel the full effects of a global economic downturn. The market crash displayed the beginning

A large number of immigrants went back to their native countries, and some native U.S. citizens went to Canada, Australia, and South Africa. Blacks whom were third and fourth generation of slave parents did not have nor knew of any native country to retreat to. So the migration of Blacks resulted in the mass migration of people from depressed areas in the Great Plains and the South to places such as California and the North, respectively.

The New Deal (1933)

Major political changes in America occurred during the depression. Three years into the depression, Herbert Hoover lost the 1932 presidential election to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt's economic recovery plan, the New Deal, instituted unprecedented programs for relief, recovery and reform that brought about a major realignment of American politics. Until the New Deal, Blacks had shown their traditional loyalty to the Republican party based on President Lincoln a republican, who served the Emancipation to free all slaves. And with the 15th Amendment (Voting Right) was passed in 1870, all men regardless of race or color were able to vote. All ex-slaves became a republican due to President Lincoln actions. But even with the Voting Right amendment passing, it was more difficult for ex-slaves in the South to exercise the voting right then those in the

It is also important to recognize that this hope was not merely based on empty promises of change, but on the actual words and deeds spoken by President Franklin Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor. This was taken by the federal government at a time when racism was deeply seared into the American minds. FDR did much to reshape the United States. With Roosevelt as its presidential candidate, the Democratic Party won again in 1936, signaling the beginning of 30 years of political