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The Effects of the Great Depression on the Residents of Troup County and Surrounding Areas
Carole Camp
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This lesson will help students better understand the economic impact of the Great Depression on the residents of Troup County and surrounding areas using primary documents such as tax tables and city directories.
Handout #1---Names, addresses, and occupations from 1937 Tax Record and 1936, 1938 City Directories of LaGrange.
Handout #2---Names, list of taxable possessions, and total market value of those items taken from 1937 Tax record of LaGrange.
Handout #3---Teacher created tax record containing names, list of taxable possessions and the value of same, total market value of those items, and amount of tax owed. Also listed is a place to record "paid" or "insolvent" by total tax owed.
Handout #4---Blank receipts.
A small sack to hold the slips of paper (not furnished with this lesson).
One 90 minute block
1S2
How did the Great Depression of 1929 affect the economic status of the residents of Troup County and the surrounding areas?
Suppose someone gave you $50 today. List the things you would buy with it. Take 7% of the amount for sales tax and add it to the original amount. How does that affect what you can buy? Now think of another, more expensive, item. List the item and the amount you think it would cost. If you don't know the cost, make an estimate. Take 7% of the item's cost for sales tax. Now add that back into the original cost. How does the tax change your buying power?
The teacher will ask students to share a few of the items they would buy with their $50 and list these on the board. Then list some of the more expensive items the students chose. Say, "Tax can make a big difference in the amount you actually have to pay." Now say," In 1937 $50 was the total market value of taxable possessions owned by many people. We are going to look at some people who actually lived in LaGrange in 1937 and see what the total market value of their taxable possessions was. Then we're going to see if they had enough money at the end of the year to pay their taxes."
1.In advance, the teacher will cut apart the slips of paper from handout #1, fold each one and place them in a sack. Tell students that they will each draw a slip of paper from the sack. On this slip of paper, they will find the name, address, and occupation of the person they will be portraying. Only first names and/or initials will actually be printed on the paper for the sake of confidentiality. After all students have drawn, allow them a few minutes to "get to know" the person whose name they have drawn.
2. Slips of paper from the second handout (see handout #2) should be cut apart and placed (with the writing side facing up) randomly on a front table or desk. Tell the students that they will find the slip of paper on the front table (or desk) that matches the one they've drawn from the sack. There will only be one match for each name. Explain that these slips of paper have more information about the person they are to portray. Included on these slips are market values for all the taxable possessions the person has plus the total market value. Allow students to spend a few minutes reading the market values they have. Note the different categories. Tell students that not all the names have all the categories because not all the people owned all the things listed. Also on the bottom of each slip will be an additional, unnamed amount. If students question this amount, tell them they will use that information later in the class.
3.The teacher will sit at a front table or desk with the "Tax Record Book" (see handout #3). Each name is listed in the book. The teacher will explain that each name will be called as it appears on the slip of paper and when that name is called, the student with that name will come to the front of the room. The "tax assessor" (the teacher) will ask the student to read "their" possessions from the slip of paper. The "tax assessor" will check this list against the one in the book as the student reads his list. The "tax assessor" will then tell the amount of tax owed by that person. Tell the students they will then be asked if they can pay the tax owed. If the answer is "yes" (depending on the amount listed at the bottom of the slip of paper), they will receive a receipt (see handout #4) with the word "Paid" on it. If the answer is "no" (also from the amount at the bottom of the slip of paper), they will receive a receipt with the word "insolvent" written on it. Explain that "Paid" means they have enough money and can pay the tax. "Insolvent" means they do not have enough money and cannot pay the tax. As the teacher calls each name, the student portraying that person will come to the front of the room bringing with them their two slips of paper. The "tax assessor" will tell the person how much tax they owe. Then the "tax assessor" will ask if that person can pay their tax. The student will answer "no" or "yes" depending on the amount (unnamed) printed on their slip of paper. If the answer is "no", they will be handed a receipt with the word "insolvent" written on it and that word will be recorded in the tax book. If the answer is "yes", they will be handed a receipt with"paid" written on it and that word will also be recorded in the tax book. After each student answers "no" or "yes" and receives the appropriate receipt, he/she will sit down. Then the next person will be called, etc.
4. After all the students have been called to the front of the room, have them stand up and group themselves as "paid' or "insolvent". Allow students a few minutes to compare and discuss occupations. They should look for common occupations such as mill worker or clerk or mechanic. Ask them to also consider the following questions: What do you think the people with "none listed" did for a living? Which occupations provided workers the most resources? The least?
5. After comparisons have been made and conclusions drawn, the teacher will list similarities and differences of the two groups on the board. As a group, these should be discussed. The teacher should ask questions such as, "What occupations seem to have the most insolvent people?", "Can you determine whether the person owned or rented from the types of possessions listed?", "What occupations are the most common among the names you have been given?", "Why do you think they could/could not pay?", "What, if anything, do the people who could not pay have in common besides occupation?"
The students will write three to five paragraphs telling how they felt when they were asked whether they had enough money to pay the tax owed. In writing the paragraphs, questions such as the following should be considered: Were you relieved? Were you embarrassed? Did you wonder what was going to happen to you? Be thoughtful as you write your response. Be prepared to share your response with the class. What do you suppose happened to the "person" you portrayed?
The 1937 Tax Record for LaGrange, the 1936 and 1938 LaGrange City Directories were used as primary sources. In order to maintain confidentiality, as many students' ancestors have lived in Troup County for generations, only first names and last initials or only initials were used in the handouts.
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Handout 4_SI2 Camp
Handout 3_SI2 Camp
Handout 2_SI2 Camp
Handout 1_SI2 Camp