The Great Depression Essays - U.S. Route 66, Dust Bowl, Great Plains

The Great Depression Essays - U.S. Route 66, Dust Bowl, Great Plains The Great Depression Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers during the time of the Depression, as portrayed in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and tells what the government did to end the Depression. In the 1920's, after World War 1, danger signals were apparent that a great Depression was coming. A major cause of the Depression was that the pay of workers did not increase at all. Because of this, they couldn't afford manufactured goods. While the factories were still manufacturing goods, Americans weren't able to afford them and the factories made no money (Drewry and O'connor 559). Another major cause related to farmers. Farmers weren't doing to well because they were producing more crops and farm products than could be sold at high prices. Therefore, they made a very small profit. This insufficient profit wouldn't allow the farmers to purchase new machinery and because of this they couldn't produce goods quick enough (Drewry and O'connor 559). A new plan was created called the installment plan. This plan was established because many Americans didn't have enough money to buy goods and services that were needed or wanted. The installment plan stated that people could buy products on credit and make monthly payments. The one major problem with this idea was that people soon found out that they couldn't afford to make the monthly payment(Drewry and O'connor 559). In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Americans purchased stocks because they were certain of the economy. People started selling their stocks at a fast pace; over sixteen million stocks were sold! Numerous 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 other parts of the country. In 1930, Virginia's belt of fertile land dried up. Ponds, streams, and springs all dried up and the great Mississippi River water level

Building Your Email List Part 2 How to Keep Your Readers Engaged

Building Your Email List Part 2 How to Keep Your Readers Engaged Last week I gave you tips for setting up your email list, whether starting from scratch or dusting off an old one. This week we’ll talk more about what to do with that list and how to create content that will keep your readers engaged. First, if you didn’t do it last week, sign up with an email management system (EMS). (I have used   MailChimp, Constant Contact and MyEmma and recommend all three.   Hope Clark uses Aweber.) Besides managing the data, they help you comply with privacy laws Next, you need to decide, and share with your list, how often you’ll be communicating. The two big factors in determining frequency are your audience and your ability to create material. A fiction author may want to have once-a-month check-ins, while a non-fiction author may easily fill a weekly newsletter. For more frequent schedules, offer your audience the option of a â€Å"Digest Version† - once a week for daily emails, once a month for weekly. You’d much rather send them less than have them unsubscribe entirely. Exceptions to the schedule: If you have something big and exciting to share and it’s out of cycle, that’s fine, as long as these random mailings don’t become the norm. If it’s timely, send a special email. If it’s going to be just as cool when it’s time for your next email, hold on to it. probably read it. A short, hyperlinked list of blogs you’ve written recently with a summary no longer than a tweet (140 characters) is okay to draw attention to anything they may have missed. Draft your newsletter in whatever word processor you chose, then copy and paste the text into your Email Management System. Once you’ve found a layout template you like, stick to it. It’ll make formatting future emails much faster, and readers like a familiar feel. Also, try to avoid writing/formatting and sending all in one day. You’re much more likely to catch mistakes if you let the material sit for a day or two between draft and distribution. Things to consider while writing and formatting: Write a greeting and ending (it is a newsLETTER, after all.) Keep blocks of text short and to the point. Lists (bulleted or numbered) make scanning easier. Make use of formatting (bold, italics, underlining) only as appropriate. Use proper grammar/spelling/etc. and have at least one proofreader. This may seem hard for the first couple of weeks or months, but eventually you develop a rhythm. When you provide engaging content on a regular basis, your fans sh