¶ … History of the Pacific Northwest [...] how the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War impacted regional demographics in the Pacific Northwest. What social ramifications resulted from population shifts in the Northwest (consider rural and urban area)? How did demographics shape/influence Pacific Northwest politics? The Pacific Northwest did not escape the ramifications of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. No area in the country did. However, since the Pacific Northwest had not been quite as economically successful in the decade leading up to the stock market crash in 1929, its residents were not quite as deeply affected as those who had been more indulgent with their income.
Before the Great Depression in 1929, the Pacific Northwest had been growing significantly. By 1920, the area had grown by 254% from 1900 (Schwantes 365). However, the Great Depression put a stop to the growth and migration. By the time the Great Depression hit, the area was economically sound, but still rural in much of its' character. The Great Depression had a deep effect on the economy of the region, because so much of the area relied on agriculture, timber, and mining for their livelihood, and these industries suffered as the nation suffered. Historian Schwantes writes, "The Pacific Northwest as a whole experienced mortgage foreclosures, delinquent taxes, and sharply rising unemployment. A sense of desperation led to protests and in some cases to direct action and other forms of self-help by angry farmers and industrial workers" (Schwantes 382). To make matters worse, arrivals from the Midwest Dust Bowl arrived in the area looking for work, but there was none. They simply added to the problem of unemployment and public assistance that was facing the entire area. Another historian states, "During the great depression of the thirties, half a million wanderers from Oklahoma and other Dust Bowl states wended their way into the Inland Empire, seeking to escape the scourge of economic distress" (Warren 329). Thus, the population grew even as the economy sank.
Socially, this time in Pacific Northwest...
Pacific Northwest [...] role natural resources played in the peopling of the Pacific Northwest, including the natural resources that became commodities and how the commercialization of those resources affected interactions between various groups. What impact did the exploitation of natural resources have on the region's environment? The Pacific Northwest is a diverse area full of natural resources that helped it grow and prosper as the population forged west. Many
History of the Pacific Northwest [...] how representative the lives of Mary Arkwright Hutton, Annie Pike Greenwood, and Teiko Tomita were considering the racial and class tensions of the twentieth century. Race and class have been important influences throughout the Pacific Northwest's long history. In fact, some of the most racist laws in America were in effect in the Pacific Northwest at the beginning of the twentieth century. Race
Northwest Airlines Many airlines have faced difficult times after deregulation, and the problems were exacerbated by the downturn in air travel after 9-11. Smaller airlines like Northwest Airlines have had even more problems, and yet Northwest in particular persists and so far has voided going out of business in spite of a series of threats, including poor traveler performance, lowered expectations in business terms, labor problems, and so on. Before deregulation in
American History Final Exam Stages of the American Empire Starting in the colonial period and continuing up through the Manifest Destiny phase of the American Empire in the 19th Century, the main goal of imperialism was to obtain land for white farmers and slaveholders. This type of expansionism existed long before modern capitalism or the urban, industrial economy, which did not require colonies and territory so much as markets, cheap labor and
The town, originally born of the railway, remains strongly on the maps of Washington as a small college town, and the railway, which brought the teachers college to the modern, maintains its place in the town. The historical society of Bellingham and the Bellingham Railway Museum mark the importance of the railway in not only settling the town, but bringing the academics that laid out the teachers college, the
Many foresters supported Pinchot's policies along with pulp, timber and paper companies, and in fact the U.S. Forest Service (commanded by Chief Forester Henry Graves) adopted "fire control" as the "principle duty of the agency" (Fowler). However there was plenty of opposition to Pinchot's strategy of suppressing fires, both from state and federal agencies that supported "light burning" and "Indian fires" policies. By 1910, Fowler writes in the Forest
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