In the Great Depression the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the
land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and
optimism had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the
maxims on which they had based their lives - democracy, capitalism, individualism. The best
hope for a better life was California. Many Dust Bowl farmers packed their families into cars,
tied their few possessions on the back, and sought work in the agricultural fields or cities of the
West - their role as independent land owners gone forever. Between 1929 and 1932 the income
of the average American family was reduced by 40%, from $2,300 to $1,500. Instead of
advancement, survival became the keyword. Institutions, attitudes, lifestyles changed in this
decade but democracy prevailed. Democracies such as Germany and Italy fell to dictatorships,
but the United States and its constitution survived. Economics dominated politics in the 1930's.
The decade began with shanty towns called Hoovervilles, named after a president who felt that
relief should be left to the private sector, and ended with an alphabet soup of federal programs
funded by the national government and an assortment of commissions set up to regulate Wall
Street, the banking industry, and other business enterprises. The Social Security Act of 1935 set
up a program to ensure an income for the elderly. The Wagner Act of 1935 gave workers the
legal right to unionize. John L. Lewis founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and
conditions for blue-collar workers improved. Joseph P. Kennedy, a Wall Street insider, was
appointed Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commissions.
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