1. Chapter 23: The Great Depression

2. TOO MUCH OIL! In 1930, a wildcatter named Columbus Marion “Dad” Joiner drilled a well in East Texas His well was called Daisy Bradford #3, it provided high paying jobs at $10 – 12 a day It produced more oil than the rest of the state combined.

3. East Texas Oil Fields

4. TOO MUCH OIL! Texas Railroad Commission limited the production of East Texas oil East Texas oil was considered “hot oil” because it was produced in violation of TRC orders

5. Cotton Crisis The Great Depression caused the price of cotton to drop People stored cotton and caused surplus Huey Long proposed “drop-a-crop” to prohibit planting cotton in Louisiana Texas Governor Ross Sterling called for a reduction of cotton planting

6. Texas Cotton Fields

7. Dust Bowls When farmers in the Plains plowed grasses under, there was nothing left to hold the soil when the wind blew. So much dust was blown that it could darken the skies for hours and look like night People became ill from lung diseases.

8. Dust Bowls

9. Mexican & African-Americans Mexican-Americans and African- Americans were hit the hardest. Some Mexican-Americans migrated voluntarily, were deported, or forced back to Mexico to open jobs for Anglo Texans African-American unemployment was twice that of the rest of the population

10. Mexican & African-Americans

11. Other Important Facts! President – Republican, Herbert Hoover When stocks (shares of ownership in companies) fell, companies and banks were wiped out (no money) Unemployment – factories closed and forced loss of jobs, unemployed people couldn’t buy products.

12. Herbert Hoover

13. Other Important Facts! Lumber workers were laid off because people couldn’t buy houses. Hoover believed relief should start at state and city levels.

14. Most famous photo!