Historical+and+Political+Context



**__Historical Context__** Of Mice and Men was set in California during the 1930's. During the late 1930s, California was struggling not only with the economic problems of the Great Depression, but also with severe labour strife.

**__The Great Depression__** The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.

In California in the 1930’s there was a severe drought which lasted a decade. Many crops were damaged by deficient rainfall, high temperatures, and high winds, as well as insect infestations and dust storms that accompanied these conditions. This resulted in agricultural depression which contributed to the Great Depression’s bank closures, business losses, increased unemployment, and other physical and emotional hardships.
 * __Californian Drought__**

__**The Effect**__ The Great Depression and severe drought in the Midwest (which became known as the Dust Bowl) forces a population shift from rural to urban areas. People leave their farms and move to the cities to find jobs. This change in demographics spurs industrialization within the cities, a trend that is accelerated in the 1940s with the beginning of World War II. Farms once owned by families begin to be bought out by corporations and consolidated into "farm factories."

__**Political context**__ Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of America from 1933- 1945. He was in office during the depth of the Great Depression. During their time in office, the Roosevelt government put laws into effect, including the National Labour Relations Act of 1935, that facilitate unionization. Disputes among skilled versus unskilled labourers arose which caused unskilled workers to split from the American Federation of Labour (AFL) and founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).