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Stock Market Crash
The New York Stock Exchange crashed on October 29, 1929. This day is referred to as Black Tuesday. The Great Depression was caused by consumers who purchased stocks with borrowed money, and in turn, went bankrupt. -
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Of Mice and Men
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Election of FDR
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected because he promised to pass a New Deal to help the American people. He passed many bills to relieve poverty, reduce unemployment, and speed economic recovery. -
Dust Bowl
The dust bowl which effected areas from the midwest toward California lasted approximately 6-10 years depending on the location. Tons of topsoil were blown off barren fields and carried in storm clouds for hundreds of miles. The dust could potentially harm the lives of workers in George and Lennie's shoes. -
Farmers MIgrate to California
During the Dust Bowl, hundreds of thousands of workers left their farms to move to the West Coast. A popular state for migrants was California, because it promised a great climte and a need for workers in the agricultural industry. In 1936, the migrations got so out of hand that the Los Angeles Police Department had to turn away mirants who didn't have any money. -
Roosevelt Recession
The New Deal eventually caused unemployment to rise instead of aiding people with finding jobs. This caused it to be given the name Roosevelt Recession because they blamed FDR's New Deal policies. -
Farm Security Administration
This act, part of the New Deal, loaned more than 1 billion dollars to farmers to help them be economically stable. -
The Lady with the Red Dress
Some time before George and Lennie worked on the ranch described in Of Mice and Men, they were forced to leave where they were working before. Lennie's mental disability causes him to have a big interest in feeling soft things. Before the novel took place, Lennie pet a woman's red dress until he was chased away. -
Lennie Kills Curley's Wife
Curely's wife offers Lennie to pet her hair since it is so soft. Lennie pets her hair for such a long time that when she yells for him to stop, he panics for fear of being caught with her. Lennie then underestimates his strength and accidentally strangles her to death. This event is forshadowed by the incident with the red dress. -
George Kills Lennie
When Curley's wife is found dead, Curley immediately knows that Lennie killed her. He orders everyone to search for him. George runs to find Lennie by himself to make sure he's still okay. When George finds Lennie he shoots him so that Lennie won't have to face being brutally murdered by Curley.