A WebQuest designed for 10th Grade

Language Arts

at the American School of Tampico

By the teachers: Mr. Dennis Spencer & Ms. Rocío Acevedo

             The Great Depression was a decade that seemed to go out of control. Americans did not consciously shape the events of the Depression; rather, they responded desperately to the seemingly uncontrollable forces that “sapped” the “lifeblood” of the nation. As the economy crumbled in the winter of 1929-30, hundreds of thousands of men and women fell out of work and faced a hungry, cold, insecure world. In spite of predictions during 1930 and 1931 that the economy would improve, conditions grew worse. In the cities, an overpowering, impersonal disaster called “unemployment” hit the unskilled workers, the factory employees, the young and the old. Unemployment grew worse and no one was able to stop the vicious cycle. Agriculture was destroyed as farmers faced a decade of the worst droughts and dust storms ever. Governments and business were unable to cope with the immense proportions of the problem   

    In this Web Quest you will research not only the causes and important events of the Great Depression, but also examine the personal struggles and challenges of a nation and its people in one of the worst the socio-economic periods of the twentieth century.