The Great Depression was the period following the stock market crash of 1929.  The exact statistics are not agreed upon, but the unemployment rate is widely agreed to have exceeded 20% at its worst point.  It was the worst depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.  America's GDP fell 30% over the course of The Great Depression.  During The Great Depression, many Americans became unemployed or struggled financially.  Soup kitchens had lines out the door, and almost no one could spare any money for luxuries. Many farmers travelled to California in search of agricultural jobs, and many unemployed people travelled around the country from place to place in search of a job.  The Great Depression was caused by an overconfidence in the stock market after the roaring twenties, and mass selling of stocks and withdrawing money from banks due to fear of not being able to access that money otherwise.

 

       The Dust Bowl

                                     

                                                     The Dust Bowl was a period of dust storms that severely                                                                       damaged the agriculture in the US and made The Great                                                                       Depression worse.