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The Great Depression - Business and Economy

Pre-Statehood Era: 1700-1818

Early Statehood: 1818-1861

Civil War Era: 1861-1865

Late 19th Century: 1866-1900

Early 20th Century: 1900-1914

World War I: 1914-1918

Roaring Twenties: 1918-1929

Great Depression: 1930-1941

World War II: 1941-1945

Cold War Era: 1946-1991

Millennium: 1991-Present

Lesson Plans

Resources

Agriculture

Letter Concerning an Appointment to the State Agricultural Conciliatory Committee, January 12th, 1934

  • This letter was sent to the Governor from William Tanner, a farmer in Kankakee, who was selected to be on the State Agricultural Conciliatory Committee. This group helped farmers prepare applications and other processes to work out debt payments.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 22. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed on 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc22.html

Letter Requesting Free Garden Seeds, February 16th, 1934 / Transcription

  • This letter, from a farmer named Peter Van Trigt, is a request for seeds from the State Department of Agriculture. Van Trigt was unable to work, and did not receive enough yield on his crops to pay taxes on his land and feed his family.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 26. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed on 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc26.html

Letter Complaining of Unfair Treatment Under a Feed and Seed Loan Program, February 22nd, 1935

  • This letter from a farmer named Alex Birchler to the Governor of Illinois complains that feed and seed loans in his county were not being distributed in as high of quantities in Randolph County. However, this loan act came from the federal, rather than state, government.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 36. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed on 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc36.html

Letter Concerning the Depressed Livestock Industry, March 5th, 1935

  • This letter from J.E. Quinn, a Chicago cattle merchant, to Governor Horner discusses the frustration with the reduction in commissions for the middlemen who negotiated with farmers and the meat packing industry.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 37. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc37.html

Plains Farms Need Trees WPA Poster, 1936-40

  • This poster, associated with the Prairie State Forestry Project, encourages planting trees as a method of soil conservation. It depicts two farms: one with trees and one without.

  • Citation: “Plains Farms Need Trees: Trees Prevent Wind Erosion, Save Moisture … Protect Crops, Contribute to Human Comfort and Happiness / J. Dusek,” Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project, 1940, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/98517930/

Letter Requesting Drought Relief for Fayette County, August 1st, 1936

  • This letter from the Board of Supervision of Fayette County to Governor Horner requests assistance from the WPA to build silos and to help harvest failing crops.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 41. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc41.html

News Release from the State Rural Electrification Committee, 1938

  • The Great Depression caused many businesses to have to downsize, reduce wages, and sometimes close. The livestock industry was no exception.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 47. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/26/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc47.html

14th Cattle Feeders Meeting, WPA Poster, 1940

  • This poster announced the 14th annual cattle feeders meeting at the University of Illinois in Urbana, and it depicts the head of a cow.

  • Citation: “14th Illinois Cattle Feeders Meeting: Nov. 8, 1940, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill.,” Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project, 1940, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/98508190/

Annual Farm and Home Week, WPA Poster, 1941

  • This poster advertises for the Annual Farm and Home Week at the College of Agriculture, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana for January 6-10, 1941. It shows a snow-covered barn, silo, and mailbox.

  • Citation: “Annual Farm and Home Week,” Chicago: WPA Art Project, 1941, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/92500875/

Worker Service Program, WPA Poster, 1941

  • This poster, showing factories and farm buildings, advertises for the Workers Service Program in Rockford.

  • Citation: “Workers Service Program … Rockford, Illinois,” Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project, 1941, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/98508955/

Banks and Economy

Letter Concerning a Bank Closing in Herrin, November 24th, 1931 / Transcription

  • This letter to Governor Emmerson pleaded for assistance for a man whose house was destroyed by a fire. He received an insurance check, but the bank failed to cash the check, and shut down before it was paid out.

Letter From the U.S. Reconstruction Finance Corporation Concerning Federal Dollars Made Available as of April 15, 1933, May 6th, 1933

  • The federal government made available financial assistance to each state. Each county in Illinois was allowed to apply for a portion of the funding.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 16. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc16.html

Letter Concerning an Appointment to the State Agricultural Conciliatory Committee, January 12th, 1934

  • See above Agriculture section.

Letter Concerning a Bank Closing in Chicago, February 13th, 1934 / Transcription

  • This letter to Governor Horner requested he open the banks to pay out forty percent of their owed money to the patrons. However, the control of funding for banks was ordered at the federal level, which would prevent Horner from acting.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 25. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc25.html

Letter Concerning the Collapse of the Chicago Housing Market, February 2nd, 1935

  • The Building Recovery Committee of Chicago was organized to help the Federal Housing Administration. They looked for ways to help home owners who were not eligible for the National Housing Act.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 35. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc35.html

Industry and Labor

Letter From the U.S. Secretary of State Requesting Information for the Austrian Government, October 13th, 1931

  • This letter from the United States Secretary of State to Governor Emerson of Illinois requested laws about unemployment to provide to the government of Austria. Austria was suffering from a great period of unemployment following World War I and the collapse of their economy.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 7. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc7.html

Letter From the Moweaqua Coal Corporation Concerning Operations, July 28th, 1932

  • The Moweaqua Coal Corporation requested financial aid from the state of Illinois. The governor at the time, L. L. Emmerson, suggested contacting the U.S. Reconstruction Finance Corporation to see about qualification for the federal aid application.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 10. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc10.html

Letter Concerning the Depressed Livestock Industry, March 5th, 1935

  • The Great Depression caused many businesses to have to downsize, reduce wages, and sometimes close. The livestock industry was no exception.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 37. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc37.html

Boys-Are You Interested in a Job?, WPA Poster, 1936-37

  • This is a poster for the Illinois branch of the National Youth Administration (NYA) promoting educational opportunities for young men seeking training for employment. It shows a young man admiring his work.

  • Citation: “Boys – Are You Interested in a Job?: Find Out What an Occupation Has to Offer You in Pay, Employment, Security, and Promotion: Free Classes in Occupations,” Illinois: Federal Art Project, 1936-1937, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/98518248/

Girls-Are You Interested in a Job? WPA Poster, 1936-37

  • This poster advertises for the Illinois branch of the National Youth Administration (NYA) promoting educational opportunities for young women seeking training for employment. It depicts four women engaged in various job pursuits.

  • Citation: “Girls – Are You Interested in a Job?: Find Out What an Occupation Has to Offer You in Pay, Employment, Security, and Promotion: Free Classes in Occupations,” Illinois: Federal Art Project, 1936-1937, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/98517815/

Jobs for Girls & Women, WPA Poster, 1936-41

  • Designed by Albert M. Bender, this poster for the Illinois State Employment Service promoted jobs for women as domestics offering "good pay, good meals, good surroundings, [and] good working conditions." It depicts a smiling woman washing dishes.

  • Citation: “Jobs for Girls & Women: If You Want a Good Job in Household Employment Apply at – or Write to Illinois State Employment Service,” Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project, 1936-1941, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/item/96524664/

Resolution of the United Electrical and Radio Workers of America Protesting the Treatment of Edward Parker, July 10th, 1937

  • Edward Parker was arrested after leading a group to occupy the local relief office in Cairo, Illinois. His decision to occupy the office was due to the fact that relief workers, who helped build the levee on the Ohio River to block from flooding the city, had not been paid after two months. This resolution of the United Electrical and Radio Workers of America protested his arrest.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 42. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed on 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/documents/archives/wpapos/item/doc42.html

Workers Service Program, WPA Poster, 1941

  • See above Agriculture section

Jobs - Get the Facts About Occupations, WPA Poster, 1941

  • This poster for the National Youth Administration (NYA) of Illinois promoted free job training classes. It shows a young woman holding books and a young man holding machine parts, with factories and a city skyline below.

  • Citation: “Jobs – Get the Facts About Occupations – Free Classes for Young Men and Women 16 to 25 Yrs. – National Youth Administration of Illinois / Dusek,” Illinois: Federal Art Project, 1941, accessed through WPA Posters collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Accessed on 10/27/2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/98509768/

Transportation

Letter from the U.S. Secretary of State Concerning the Graf Zeppelin, October 19th, 1933

  • This letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor of Illinois discusses the visit of the Graf Zeppelin to Chicago for the "Century of Progress" expedition. The Secretary of State asks for security from attack for the airship, which displayed the symbols of the newly formed Nazi party.

  • Citation: Bailey, Robert and Elaine Shemoney Evans. Hard Times In Illinois: 1930-1940. Springfield: Illinois State Archives, 2002. Document 20. Used by permission of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Accessed 10/27/2016. https://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/teaching_packages/hard_times/doc20.html