The Grapes of Wrath
“People caught in their own yards grope for their doorstep. Cars come to a standstill for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk...We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions” wrote Avis D. Carlson in the New Republic (Ganzel). Dust Storms and severe drought destroyed many farms in the Great Plains states in the 1930’s. This disastrous situation in history became known as the Dust Bowl. Author, John Steinbeck, based his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, on the problems encountered by farmers and their migration to California during the Dust Bowl. The Grapes of Wrath told the story of the Joad family who lost their farm during the Dust Bowl and …show more content…
“The town men, little bankers, hate Okies because there was nothing to gain from them”(Steinbeck 232). The local people looked down on the migrant workers and treated them as a lower class. “Those folks in the camps are getting used to being treated like humans. When they go back to the squatter camps they’ll be hard to handle”(Steinbeck 296). The local law enforcement used intimidation and force to keep the migrant workers down. “Well, you ain’t in your country now. You’re in California, an’ we don’t want you goddamn Okies settlin’ down”(Steinbeck 214). The rights granted to citizens were not followed in their treatment toward migrant workers. When one worker asked a landowner to see a license for hire and be informed a rate of pay, the hiring man instantly got the sheriff. “He’s talkin’ red, agitating trouble”(Steinbeck 263). These workers did not even have the basic right to ask an amount of pay. The sheriff responded by placing his hand on his pistol and arresting him. Newcomers to California faced extreme dislike and endured unfair treatment by the police and …show more content…
One of his first successful acts was the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to help repair the banking system (Roark). The FDIC guaranteed that the government would reimburse a depositor of his or her money if a bank went bankrupt. This act helped establish trust in the banking system and built confidence among Americans to begin to deposit money in the bank again. In 1934, Roosevelt created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whose job it was to oversee the stock market and monitor all stock transactions. The SEC created rules to regulate the stock exchange and restore confidence in potential investors to invest again. Another major relief program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which offered paying jobs while working to preserve natural resources (Roark). The CCC created jobs that consisted of restoring and protecting national parks. Roosevelt's New Deal focused on regaining confidence and the creation of jobs for
“People caught in their own yards grope for their doorstep. Cars come to a standstill for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk...We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions” wrote Avis D. Carlson in the New Republic (Ganzel). Dust Storms and severe drought destroyed many farms in the Great Plains states in the 1930’s. This disastrous situation in history became known as the Dust Bowl. Author, John Steinbeck, based his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, on the problems encountered by farmers and their migration to California during the Dust Bowl. The Grapes of Wrath told the story of the Joad family who lost their farm during the Dust Bowl and …show more content…
“The town men, little bankers, hate Okies because there was nothing to gain from them”(Steinbeck 232). The local people looked down on the migrant workers and treated them as a lower class. “Those folks in the camps are getting used to being treated like humans. When they go back to the squatter camps they’ll be hard to handle”(Steinbeck 296). The local law enforcement used intimidation and force to keep the migrant workers down. “Well, you ain’t in your country now. You’re in California, an’ we don’t want you goddamn Okies settlin’ down”(Steinbeck 214). The rights granted to citizens were not followed in their treatment toward migrant workers. When one worker asked a landowner to see a license for hire and be informed a rate of pay, the hiring man instantly got the sheriff. “He’s talkin’ red, agitating trouble”(Steinbeck 263). These workers did not even have the basic right to ask an amount of pay. The sheriff responded by placing his hand on his pistol and arresting him. Newcomers to California faced extreme dislike and endured unfair treatment by the police and …show more content…
One of his first successful acts was the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to help repair the banking system (Roark). The FDIC guaranteed that the government would reimburse a depositor of his or her money if a bank went bankrupt. This act helped establish trust in the banking system and built confidence among Americans to begin to deposit money in the bank again. In 1934, Roosevelt created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whose job it was to oversee the stock market and monitor all stock transactions. The SEC created rules to regulate the stock exchange and restore confidence in potential investors to invest again. Another major relief program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which offered paying jobs while working to preserve natural resources (Roark). The CCC created jobs that consisted of restoring and protecting national parks. Roosevelt's New Deal focused on regaining confidence and the creation of jobs for