D6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

D6 - Assignment Example People from Mid West and South West entered California in search of food, shelter, and work. But soon they became a burden on the state economy and in the cities like Oklahoma, San Francisco, etc. crowded refugee colonies could now be discerned. The Depression had worldwide presence and effects, but it hit California very severely due to its suddenness. â€Å"The ‘20s had been an optimistic time. The population had boomed. The Bay Area had grown and prospered, and the population of Southern California had tripled. California was the future. Suddenly, almost overnight, the mood darkened. Businesses that had been expanding suddenly cut back. People were laid off, couldn’t pay their bills, couldn’t find a new job. In those days, there was no such thing as unemployment insurance. No welfare, no social security, nothing.† (Nolte, Paragraphs 3-4) In his writings, Starr has depicted the situation as very pathetic indeed. There was a dramatic drop in the wages of the agricultural workers just in 4 years during the beginning of the 1930s. By 1934, the number of workers had become almost one and a half times the number of available jobs. The dream of economic boom had been turned into a nightmare. (Starr, 235-251) In the United States, there were two major political parties during the beginning of the 20th century. The Democratic Party had a center-left political position, while the Republican Party emerged had emerged as a right wing establishment. This situation continues even today. However, during the Great Depression, tensions increased considerably. There was the emergence of â€Å"red scare† (Nolte, Paragraphs 1) and public had become antagonized toward the capitalist order of American democracy. In such a crisis situation, the Democrats moved ahead with a sort of reform agenda and assured the people of a better future and a more responsible scheme of governance. This social democratic approach became the political