rous stock prices dropped to fraction of their value. Banks lost money from the stock market and from Americans who couldn't pay back loans. Many factories lost money and went out of business because of this great tragedy (Drewry and O'connor By the 1930's, thirteen million workers lost their jobs which is 25 percent of all workers. The blacks and unskilled workers were always the first to be fired. Farmers had no money and weren't capable of paying their mortgages. Americans traveled throughout the country looking for a place to work to support themselves and their family (Drewry and O'connor 560-561). John Steinbeck, born in 1902, grew up during the Depression near the fertile Salinas Valley and wrote many books of fiction based on his background and experiences during that time and area of the country. One of his great works would be the Grapes of Wrath In this book, Steinbeck describes the farmers plight during the Great Depression and drought. When the rains failed to come, the grass began to disappear. As the farmers watched their plants turn brown and the dirt slowly turn to dust they began to fear what was to come. In the water-cut gullies the earth dusted down in dry little streams. As the sharp sun struck day after day, the leaves of the young corn became less stiff and erect; then it was June and the sun shone more fiercely. The brown lines on the corn leaves widened and moved in on the central ribs. The weeds frayed and edged back toward their roots. The air was thin and the sky more pale; and every day the earth paled. (qtd. Steinbeck 2-3). The farmers worst fears were realized when their corn and other crops began to die. The dust became so bad they had to cover their mouths with handkerchiefs so they could breath (Steinbeck 3- When the drought hit the Great Plains and the soil turned to dust, many farmers moved to California because they could no longer farm their land(Drewry and O'Connor 561). The drought began to affect...
