Colorado History. Social Changes Prohibition Education Hard Times Dust Bowl The Great Depression The...
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Colorado History 1920’s and 1930’s
Transcript of Colorado History. Social Changes Prohibition Education Hard Times Dust Bowl The Great Depression The...
Colorado History
1920’s and 1930’s
Social Changes Prohibition Education
Hard Times Dust Bowl The Great Depression The New Deal
Overview
Prohibition Anti-Saloon League Women’s Christian Temperance
union Both played roles in pushing for
prohibition For a long time the idea of “dry”
was voluntary 1912 was proposed as a law to
the legislature It was defeated
2 Years late was presented again Passed 1916 Colorado enact prohibition
in all of CO Illegal to make, sell, transport or
consume the liquid
Emily Griffith Opportunity School Educational institution
designed to meet the needs of all children and adults
All types of classesDay and Night classes Educational and trade It is Elizabeth Griffith
High School in DPSD
Social Changes
Education
The Great Depression Gold and Silver
markets never recover to what they were pre WWI
Agricultural has been in a depression before the stock market actual crashes
Once the stock market Crashes Agricultural prices
fall faster and further than pessimistic people thought1929=$12.101939=$3.10
Business Large corporations
started to fail Colorado Fuel and
IronDenver and Rio
Grande Railroad (Moffat Tunnel)
They fail Over 1/3 of all banks
in Colorado closed their doors
Failings
Banks
Farms Flight from the
farmlands Failing incomes
No more in savingsTax sales
Some places saw 40% of to the farms go through forced sales
Family Farms went to people who didn’t want to actual own the land Just wanted to make a
profit
Had to move to the city Tried to find jobs
thereWent West
California and pacific Northwest
Others only made it to the western slope
Dust Bowl Large scale production
(seen in WWI) plowed up too much land And too often
The soil wears out Large herds grazed the
grass till nothing was left Sheep Cattle
Drought hits Lasts a long time
Hurricane and tornado like winds blow in
Create HUGE dust storms Hazardous to people’s
health Killed animals
Animals were found dead with sand in their lungs and in their stomachs
Dust was known to blow all the way to NY harbor
The New Deal The country looks to
find a way out of the depressionThey look to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
His plan is called the New Deal Creates jobs that
are paid by the government
Workers would build town halls, schools, public swimming pools,
Fixed Highways and bridges
Artists paint scenes on buildings and
CCC Civilian Conservation Corp
Young men ages 17-23 Put to work building
roads and bridges, fire lanes and parks
Moved on to improving the national forests
CCC in CO alone had 30,000 men working (1933-1942)
Fun fact… This group built Red Rocks Amphitheater
Federal government calls for custody of all gold in the countryMines that had been
closed since WWI reopened to mine for gold $35.00 a month
New Deal in Colorado
Gold
Wagner Act Safeguards for labor
was now protected Legalized collective
bargaining Boycotts and
peaceful picketing were now allowed (CO Supreme Court)
Resettled farmersSan Luis Valley Grand Junction Delta
Farmers put on irrigated lands not arid acres
Built homes, farm structures, school, community centers and offices
New Deal in Colorado Farm Security
Administration
High/ dry land farming Universal practices for
farmersSoil conservation Dry farming techniques TerracingStrip faming Contour listing Summer fallowing
New types of wheat, oats, barleys replace the old strains
All unappropriated and unreserved lands in western states be withdrawn until their usefulness as range land could be determined
Create grazing districts
New Deal in Colorado
Taylor Grazing Act
Workers Progress Administration
The most impactful program of the
New Deal for ColoradansEarly 1936=43,000
Brought western slope water to the Easter plains
Twin Lake tunnels water to the Arkansas
Big Thompson Project
South Platte ValleysBoth irrigation
projects!
New Deal in Colorado
WPA
