✖Great Depression

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This is the photo taken by Dorothea Lange during the Great Depression in 1932. I have found it in my bookshelf which is contained with my old books and old albums, I picked up and took a look at it. It has made me think of the story that my grandparents told me about their lives in that time.

The woman in a photo was my grandfather's mother. Yes, she would be my great grandmother.
The boy on the right was my grandfather and another boy on the left was his brother.

My grandfather told me how hopeless it was in that time. Everything seemed to be bad.
It was a period of protests and hunger marches and unionism spread out, but many people suffered quietly, ashamed of their poverty.

Before the Great Depression began, economy was going so well. There were ways to get rich quickly, such as the speculation and buying on margin. The stock market had been crowded by investors. People thought they would never be falling down again. But things did not end up with what they thought.
In October 1929, the Great Depression began, when the stock market in the United States dropped rapidly. A lot of investors lost money and were wiped out, lost everything. The 'crash' sparked the flame of the Great Depression. The ranked of high unemployment and low business activity were the longest and worst. Banks, stores, and factories were closed and left millions of Americans jobless and homeless. Many people came to depend on the government or charity to provide them with food.

My great grandparents were farmers. Their farmland was attacked by the great dust storms for seven years. They could not plant anything. They had no money, no food, and no hope.
They suffered under the dust storms. My great grandfather went into the cities, tried to find a job. But It was not that easy to find a job during that time. The men could not get jobs, and especially the black men. Even the people who graduated with a degree in chemistry or whatever, they could not get a job. So, there was no way for my grandparents and their siblings to go to school anymore.

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My grandfather told me he was unhappy. Even if he was still so young. There was no any fun things for kids at all.

President Herbert Hoover was president when the Great Depression began. The economy continued to drop almost every month. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President in 1932. Roosevelt created so many new deals for American people, it gave the government more power and helped the U.S. get out of the depression.

Yes, my great grandparents and my grandparents were helped by the President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The Agricultural Adjustment Act was enacted in 1933, protected farmers from price drops by providing crop subsidies to reduce production. And my great grandfather got to learn about the methods of preventing soil erosion. When the National Youth Administration was enacted, my grandfather's big brothers got a part time job, so they were able to help family and we started to go to school again. There are still many new deals which I have not mentioned, such as the Civil Works Administration, Social Security Act, Public Works Administration, and Works Progress Administration.

By 1939, the New Deal had run. New Deal programs improved the lives of people suffering from the depression. But not everyone agreed with President Roosevelt and his new deal. Some people thought that the government should not spend millions on public work, going into dept.

Some people argued that the New Deal would not go far enough. But it helped my family to get out from a hard time through that time of the Great Depression.

✖Working Conditions

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I will take you to the factories in the 1800s today for seeing working conditions in that time!

You would guess it must not be good working conditions, do not you?

No, it is not good at all.

As we have known from US history class. Besides that terrible living conditions, working conditions in the 1800s are awful.

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Let's go inside the factory.

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Inside of factory are dark, dirty and crowdes with a lot of workers. It looks pretty dangerous.

Passageways are narrow. There are no any safty system, window, air conditioner, or good bathroom. I see many young children in here. They are too young to be working like this.

Source : clike here

I am walking around with one lady telling experiences about working in factory.

''Children as young as six years old are working hard hours for little wages or no pay. Sometimes they work up to 19 hours a day. Not only are those children work long hours, but they also are in horrible conditions. Dangerous machines are very common for children to be using or working near. Many accidents injured or killed children on the job.''

Source : clike here

''Some metal workers don't have all of the eye protection. People got stuff like lung cancer. Some died due to diseases spreading through the cramped living conditions, Chest diseases from the mines.
''The fire escapes are in disrepair.''

There are machines in here. I thought that is good if they are helped by machines. But then I realized when this lady told me that machines are really good helpers but people would be placed by those machines and lost their job.

She said the workers often work twelve hours and six to seven days a week. The pay is low and working conditions are poor.

''The factory owner does not care anything but money.''
That was the last sentence of her.

But the sentence from her which surprised me was ''They feel lucky because they have a job.''

✖Living Condition'

Today is the second day of second week since I have been here.

I am walking around the town, looking at people are rushing down the streets. My target is the area where immigrants are living, to see their living conditions during this time, the 1800s.

I feel like I am a stranger here. Almost everything are different. I hardly see a car. There are no Cub food, Rainbow, or Walmart. Even what I am now wearing are so different that I do not comfortable. (Many people looked at me when I walked through.)

Here I am on cramped street where are so many small houses. The streets are overcrowded. I see those children are playing outside with their bare feet.

Source : click here

I decided to come in this small house, which is on the last corner of cramped street. I asked an old man at the front door for seeing their house. Lucky me. they allowed me.

At first glance, I can tell that I would not be happy if I had to live in the house like this.
That does not mean I want to live in a very big house. But this is too bad. Listen to me.

There are just two small rooms in this house, no bathroom, kitchen, living room or anything.
There is no even indoor water supply.

''There are 4 families in this house.'' a man said.
''How many people in total?'' I asked.
''17'' He answered.

'What? that shocked me so much. How they all can live in this small house'
I am thinking to myself.

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They told me that many people caught diseases from the filth left outside the streets. even worse, children played in the filth with bare feet. this spread lots of disease.
Children would go to work when they were young, probably leaving school at about twelve years old, or even younger. There is no time to hang out with friends like children in 21st century.

It is bad living conditions, nobody should be treated like that. They deserve better than they recieved. They work so hard, and they have to live in the unhealthy place.

Source : click here

I am still on this cramped street. Some families live in apartment which is not good living conditions either. Watching them live like this makes me feel bad. Even if they work pretty hard, living in the place like this. But they never give up.

Why many people today in the modern era give up so easily?
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✖Greeting Inventors, 1800s

Do you want to come with me to go visit the inventors in the 1800s?
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Let's take a carriage !!

Source : click here

The late 1800s have seen many new inventions. People's mind was turned on when the year 1800 began. I wonder if they were light bulbs? Theie efforts brought a technology revolution that changed people's daily lives until nowadays. We owe them for that to the inventions of the 1800s.

The first inventor we will see is Thomas A. Edison who invented the electrical light in 1879.
People in 1865 did not have any indoor electric lightning. After the sunset, they lit candles or oil lamps or some houses did not have any.

Source : click here

Mr. Edison told me that he and his fellow inventors began experimenting with electric lighting, they tried different ways to produce the light bulb.

We have to thank to his desire to "let there be light". Today we can do anything at night with his invention.

say good bye to him!

The second one is Samuel Morse. He did not invent the telegraph but he prefected it. His system was called Morse code. He started of a communications revolution. So, people who left their homes like immigrations, they may have to leave their love ones. But they could make speedy contact with their families or friends through the written word.

Source : click here

Next, let's talk to Alexander Graham Bell! He experimented for several years with an electric current to transmit sound. In 1876, he invented the ''talking telegraph'' which developed to telephone. The one that so useful for us today.

Source : click here

These were the big inventions in America. There still were so many inventions were patented in the late 1800s all over the world !

Many of the conveniences that we could not live without today did not exist 300 years ago. And some didn't even exist 25 years ago. think of it, how could people in that time live without these things? and how could not we live without these things?

I appreciate how genius those inventors are.

Thank you all for these conveniences today!

✖Ellis Island, NY

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Here I am on the way to the United State during the late 1800s. I am in steerage with all these immigrants.

Source : clike here

And finally, we are arriving in America.

I have seen a crowd of immigrants here, Ellis Island, where the major of immigrants were processed. Who know, my ancestors may have been here from Asia too.

Source : click here

Around 14 million people around the world immigrated to the United States between 1860 and 1890. Most of immigrants came from northwestern and central European countries. If you did not know the reason before, what do you think why they wanted to move to the United States? ( I had not even known before that there were a lots of people immigrated to the U.S. until I get started studying American History at Simley High School)


I am sitting down on the floor at the Castle Garden, the old fort in Battery Park where visitors now buy their tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty and the Museum of Immigration at Ellis Island. I now feel hungry. If I knew that there would not any food or water around here, I would bring them with.

I begin to find someone to ask them some questions. I am wandering around until I see so many families, waiting for a required medical examination. I walk toward them and start to talk to them.

''If everything is going well at home, why do we want to move?''
''We decided to move in the hope of finding work.''
''I need more money or land so that I can feed my family better.''
''We dont have the right to practice our religion at home at all.''
''I have heard that I can get free land through the Homestead Act.''

There is one lady holding her child and start crying.
''I hope my son can go to school.'' she said.


There are many reasons from them. Some leave because of war. Their home country is not safe anymore. Some dream of getting rich.

In the 1890s, immigration moved dramatically. Most newcomers came from the countries of central, southern,eastern Europe and the Milddle East. About 80 percent of all immigrants came through this Ellis Island, New York city. It was called 'Golden Door'.


I am looking at some newcomers who are deported back to their country because of disease, criminal records, or dubious politics. Which choices would you choose if you were one of them between going back with all of you family and sacrificing one of your close ones.

Source : click here

Can you imagine if you are one of them, what will do you?

Just like me, I decided to come here in the name of an Exchange Student, representative from Thailand. It is not easy to decide to leave home. there are reasons to leave. But there also are some reasons make me want to stay home.

So, I can tell that it is a big change for them, a lot more bigger and mine.

✖1st post :)

Hi, my name is Warisa Tantiwut. My nickname is Mai. I'm 18 years old. I mean I'm really 18. I'm an exchange student from Thailand. I'm currently studying at Simley High School. I speak Thai and also I'm learning English and Japanese.

I'm in Mrs. Steinhoff class.
I worked so hard for American History class. it's so difficult(for me).
But I'm trying my best !

Next entry, I'll be writing about my experiences in the late 1800s.
Mrs. Steinhoff give me a chance to imagine I have traveled back in that time.

It sounds interesting, isn't it?

But this has worried me a bit.
How could it be well done by me?

I don't know...

How can I write all the things I want to write down on my blog in English?
I might take a long long long time to finish it.


I hope someone will understand my English.
it's a challenge.

:)